1. See Israel J. Yuval, Ḥakhamim be-doram (Jerusalem, 1989), 311–318. To a large extent, my understanding of this exchange and its significance has been shaped by Yuval’s treatment. See as well Agnes Romer-Segal, “Yiddish Works on Women’s Commandments in the Sixteenth Century,” Studies in Yiddish Literature and Folklore (Jerusalem, 1986), 37–59;
2. Edward A. Fram, My Dear Daughter: Rabbi Benjamin Slonik and the Education of Jewish Women in Sixteenth-century Poland (Cincinnati, 2007), 12–15.
3. Sha‘aré dura was a work that focused on prohibitions relating to food preparation and family purity. The work was authored in Germany by Isaac of Dura during the last quarter of the thirteenth century. Semak or as its author titled his work ‘Ammudé golah is a popular legal handbook (discussed below) covering all relevant laws to a Jew living in medieval Europe. The work was completed in France by Isaac of Corbeil around the years 1276–1277. Turin should be read Turim is the work known as Arba‘ah turim, a four-volume work that treats in depth all aspects of the law relevant to a medieval Jew. It was authored in Toledo by a German émigré to Spain, Jacob b. Asher ca. 1320–1340. For brief descriptions of all these works see Menahem Elon, Jewish Law–History, Sources, Principles (Philadelphia, 1994), 3: 1248–1249 (Sha‘aré dura); 1263–1265 (Semak); and 1277–1302 (Turim).
4. One may also add the professionalization of the rabbinate at this time. On these events and their impact see Yedidya A Dinari, Ḥakhmé ashkenaz be-shalhé yemé habenayim (Jerusalem, 1984), 56–63
5. and Mordechai Breuer’s “Prologue: The Jewish Middle-Ages,” in German-Jewish History in Modern Times, ed. Michael A. Meyer (New York, 1996), 1: 54–57;