יוסף שרביט‬‎

This article is the product of several years of research in Hebrew, rabbinical, and Maskilic archives that may shed light on the history of Algerian Jewry from the beginning of the French occupation (1830) to this day. The purpose of this investigation is to gain familiarity with the narrative that these sources convey and, thereby, enhance the integrity of this community’s historical tableau. Historical-sociological studies depict the Jewish woman as the main force behind the drive for modernity or, indeed, the embodiment of this force. The rabbinical literature, in contrast, portrays the Jewish woman as a victim of modernity, for which reason the Halakhic authorities rushed to protect her. In effect, they reflect the historical reality of women in Algeria in all its complexity: a female identity that seeks a path between the surrounding French society and the Jewish society, with their different focal points of identity. Women maneuvered amid the delicate tension of a personal dri...

This article is the product of several years of research in Hebrew, rabbinical, and Maskilic archives that may shed light on the history of Algerian Jewry from the beginning of the French occupation (1830) to this day. The purpose of this investigation is to gain familiarity with the narrative that these sources convey and, thereby, enhance the integrity of this community's historical tableau. Historical-sociological studies depict the Jewish woman as the main force behind the drive for modernity or, indeed, the embodiment of this force. The rabbinical literature, in contrast, portrays the Jewish woman as a victim of modernity, for which reason the Halakhic authorities rushed to protect her. In effect, they reflect the historical reality of women in Algeria in all its complexity: a female identity that seeks a path between the surrounding French society and the Jewish society, with their different focal points of identity. Women maneuvered amid the delicate tension of a personal drive for modernity in a society that remained traditional.

RÉSUMÉ Cet article traite des relations de réciprocité entre les rabbins d'Algérie et ceux d'Erets Israël au XIX e siècle, à une période qui aura marqué un tournant historique. Erets Israël, en la personne de ses sages, de ses grands rabbanim et de ses émissai-res rabbiniques, a constitué une source unique d'inspiration pour l'élite rabbinique algérienne dont l'autorité avait été passablement entamée par la législation fran-çaise. C'est en fait grâce à leurs confrères de Terre Sainte que les rabbanim locaux recouvrèrent en partie leur autorité passée, meurtris qu'ils étaient par les événe-ments récents. Cet article présente l'ensemble des sources dont des archives hébraï-ques et rabbiniques qui n'avaient jamais été exploitées à ce jour. Nous traiterons en particulier de certaines d'entre elles ici. Ces sources apportent une historiographie hébraïque qui vient compléter l'historiographie française classique, ce qui permet de dégager une image historique plus complexe et plus précise. SUMMARY The article examines the reciprocal relations prevailing between the Jewish Sages of Algeria and Erets Israel during the nineteenth century, an era of radical change for Algeria in which the Jewish community lost its autonomy and its Sages no longer accorded judicial authority and government support. These circumstances enhanced the traditional status of the Sages of Erets Israel substantially, as they became the source of authority for the Sages of Algeria and a stabilizing factor for a community experiencing upheaval and unrest. The article reveals new sources never examined in previous research. Because of the multiplicity of these Hebrew/ rabbinic texts, only part of the extensive archives mentioned are examined in depth. The result is a Hebrew historiography that complements its classic French counterpart , offering a more complex and precise historical image.