Bourse en études juives médiévales

Call for Applications

Postdoctoral research associate positions in Medieval Hebrew Palaeography – ERC Synergy MiDRASH

Application deadline: 20 July 2023 Midnight, Central European Summer Time

The École Pratique des Hautes Études, PSL-University in Paris, France, is hiring two postdoctoral research associates in Hebrew Palaeography. The successful candidates will join the team led by Professor Judith Olszowy-Schlanger in the framework of the ERC Synergy project MiDRASH (Migrations of Textual and Scribal Traditions via Large-Scale Computational Analysis of Medieval Manuscripts in Hebrew Script).

MiDRASH is composed of four teams led respectively by Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra (EPHE, PSL), Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (EPHE, PSL/Oxford), Nachum Dershowitz (Tel Aviv-University), Avi Shmidman (Bar Ilan University), in collaboration with the National Library of Israel and Haifa University. Its overall aim is to advance our understanding of the literary, textual and manuscript production processes in Ancient and Medieval Judaism by applying computational methods in order to transcribe and analyse thousands of medieval Hebrew manuscripts. For a brief presentation of the project please check https://escripta.hypotheses.org/500 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqAWSw-vtn0

Working closely with Judith Olszowy-Schlanger and the other team members, the selected postdoctoral research associates will be responsible for annotating palaeographical samples of Medieval Hebrew manuscripts for the online Hebrew Palaeography Album (HebrewPal) (https://www.hebrewpalaeography.com/).

Download the Call for Applications


Position : Full-time postdoctoral research associate (35h/week)

Employer : Paris, France : Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL, Section des Sciences Historiques et Philologiques. The postdoctoral research associates will be also affiliated with the research cluster EA 4116 – SAPRAT-Savoirs et pratiques du Moyen Âge à l’époque contemporaine (https://www.saprat.fr/)

Place of employment : EPHE, PSL, Condorcet Campus, Paris, France.

Gross Salary: 2600 € / month

Length of the contract : 2 years with possibility of extending for at least 1 additional year.

Start date : 1 October 2023


Essential qualifications :

    • Doctorate in Hebrew and Jewish Studies, with specialisation in medieval history, manuscripts, art history or book history
    • Training / experience with Manuscript Studies

Required competencies :

    • Excellent knowledge of Hebrew
    • Excellent writing skills in English and preferably knowledge of French
    • Experience with / knowledge of large databases
    • Research experience
    • Excellent organisation and sense of responsibility
    • Capacity to work in a team

To apply :

    • Send (as a single PDF file with your name and MiDRASH):
    • Letter of motivation
    • CV
    • List of publications
    • Sample of a published work or a thesis chapter
    • Two letters of recommendation from thesis advisers and/or senior academic figures

To: Judith Olszowy-Schlanger at the address: judith.schlanger@ephe.sorbonne.fr by 20 July 2023 at the latest

Contact :

For further particulars, please contact Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, judith.schlanger@ephe.sorbonne.fr