Jewish Studies Unscrolled: Hostages and Nathan Hanover’s The Abyss of Despair, with Adam Teller

Today on Jewish Studies Unscrolled , we explore Nathan Hanover’s 17th-century work, The Abyss of Despair , or, in the original Hebrew, Yeven Metsulah . The text documents the Chmelnitski Revolt of 1648, a catastrophic uprising that devastated Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. We’re joined by Adam Teller, historian and author of Rescue the Surviving Souls: The Jewish Refugee Crisis of the Seventeenth Century , to examine how Jews across Europe and the Middle East organized a remarkable rescue network to ransom hostages, despite the era’s limited communication tools. Drawing parallels to modern events, Adam Teller sheds new light on this often-overlooked chapter of history, showing how The Abyss of Despair holds untapped insights into Jewish resilience and global solidarity.