Jews and Puritans in Colonial New England

Jews and Puritans in Colonial New England

by Dr. Michael Hoberman

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When the early New England Puritans chose to reject the excessive ritual and structure of the Roman Catholic and established Anglican churches, they went back to the Bible for guidance and found a ready-to-hand model for governance in its depiction of the ancient Jews. But their relations with contemporary Jews were more problematic, as was the application of biblical law to their everyday problems, and the issues of transatlantic trade.

Dr Michael Hoberman of Fitchburg State University is the author of New Israel/New England: Jews and Puritans in Early America. He will share the findings of his historical studies in the American colonial era.