Imagined Classrooms? Revisiting Hillel of Verona’s Autobiographical Records

The title of this article suggests a micro-historical perspective of the overall inquiry discussed in this volume (Disciples and Masters). I address this subject with a case study - the career of a thirteenth-century Jewish Italian intellectual - which, beyond its unique merits, bears historical, methodological and historiographic significance. This study opens with an overview of our current understanding of Jewish higher education as an independent entity and in comparison with contemporaneous Muslim and Christian institutions. I then aim to demonstrate how Hillel ben Samuel’s comments on his educational experiences shed light on the hybrid nature and openness of Jewish approaches to intellectual pursuits during his lifetime. Through this analysis, I seek to counter biases that have contributed to the negative assessment of Hillel that dominates modern scholarship.