Dear readers and friends of Medaon,

This current spring edition once again includes a special focus. It is dedicated to the topic of “Rural Judaism in German-speaking countries in the past”. Our guest editor Rebekka Denz from the chair of Jewish Studies at the Otto Friedrich University in Bamberg and the magazine’s editorial board member Moritz Bauerfeind from the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel have succeeded in compiling a whole series of transdisciplinary and exciting contributions, with the initial support of Susanne Talabardon and Tina Weidemann (both professors of Jewish Studies at the Otto Friedrich University in Bamberg). The historical relevance of rural Judaism is emphasized from an academic perspective. This special focus allows insights into the complexity of the topic and impulses for a broadening of perspectives. A more detailed presentation of the special focus and the related contributions can be found in the introduction.

In addition, Frank Schilling presents a unique outreach project by the Jewish Museum in Augsburg-Schwaben. In our series on important Jewish women, Anna-Dorothea Ludewig writes about the “forgotten author” Hermine Hanel and the reviews section offers a comprehensive look at the current literature in our subject area.

We would like to take the opportunity here to welcome Dana Schlegelmilch to our editorial team. She will now be offering her active support to the education section – welcome and many thanks for your teamwork. Special thanks go to our guest editors for their excellent cooperation as well as to all of those who have contributed to the completion of this issue. We would also like to thank all of our expert reviewers. Steffen Schröter from text plus form, Cathleen Bürgelt, Patricia Casey Sutcliffe and Margret Schellenberg undertook the corrections and translations with their usual thoroughness and reliability – we are also very grateful to them.

The editorial team of Medaon, June 2024.