AJS Review Instructions for Contributors

AJS Review publishes scholarly articles and book reviews covering the field of Jewish studies. From biblical and rabbinic textual and historical studies to modern history, social sciences, the arts, and literature, the journal welcomes articles of interest to academic audiences around the world. A substantial portion of each issue is devoted to reviews of recent scholarly books, including review essays. Reviews of non-book material, such as digital resources, films, and other media are also published on occasion.

As a journal covering the field of Jewish studies broadly, AJS Review places particular emphasis on publishing scholarly articles that not only make an original contribution to scholarship in a one subfield or area but also have a potential to make a contribution to other fields and have a broader impact on scholarship. We welcome articles in all areas of Jewish studies in both English and Hebrew.

COPYRIGHT

Submission of an article is taken to imply that it has not been previously published in any language and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Articles that may in the future be revised and incorporated into monographs may be submitted, but if the monograph is already completed and under consideration at a press, the unrevised article cannot be considered for publication in AJS Review.

A Copyright Transfer Agreement, with certain specified rights reserved by the author, must be signed and returned to the editors by senior authors of accepted manuscripts, prior to publication. This is necessary for the protection of both author and the Association under copyright law.

Authors must obtain written permission for material in their article for which they do not own the copyright, including figures, charts, tables, photographs, or excerpts of text. As the author it is your responsibility to obtain this permission and pay any related fees.

REVIEW PROCESS

Articles submitted are first read by an editor, the managing editor, or member of the editorial board. This internal review assesses whether the subject is appropriate for the journal, whether the article proposes an original contribution to scholarship, whether the article clearly explains the significance of the topic and the contribution it makes to existing scholarly literature; and whether the submission conforms to norms for academic writing in English or Hebrew. The editors reserve the right to decline to send any submission for external review that does not meet these criteria or for any other reason is deemed inappropriate for the journal. The decision to send articles for external review is entirely at the discretion of the editors.

If the editors decide to proceed with external review, the article will be reviewed in a double-blind process by expert reviewers commissioned by the editors of the journal for their expertise in the area(s) covered by the article. The journal usually commissions two or three reviews depending on the nature of the article.

Following receipt of all reviews, the editors will decide one of the following
a) to accept the article for publication, pending only minor editorial changes.
b) to conditionally accept the article for publication, pending revisions to be specified.
c) to ask the author to revise and resubmit according to the guidance offered by the reviewers and the authors.
d) to reject the article.

For articles conditionally accepted, normally the editors will read the revised version and decide if the conditions have been met. In some cases, they will also consult with one or more of the original reviewers in this process.

Revisions received as part of the revise and resubmit process will be sent out to a mix of original and new reviewers, depending on the circumstances and availability. Following this review and a rereading by the editors, they may decide to accept or conditionally accept the article, ask for further revisions, or reject the article. “Revise and resubmit” does not imply or guarantee subsequent acceptance.

If an article is “conditionally accepted” or offered a “revise and resubmit” option, we ask that authors submit the revised article within a year from receipt of the editorial letter. Revised articles received after one year, except in special cases, may be considered new submissions and subject to new reviews.

Except in unusual circumstances, the editors will normally not review new submissions by an author with a pending submission at any stage prior to full acceptance.

The journal occasionally publishes clusters of articles on a related theme, curated by one or more guest editors. Scholars proposing a cluster should first consult with the editors of the journal. Each article in a cluster will undergo a separate peer-review process. Once the articles for a cluster are accepted, the guest editors will be invited to write a short introduction to the cluster. While this introduction will not undergo the full peer-review process, it is subject to the approval of the editors.

The journal does not accept unsolicited book reviews or review essays. If you have a suggestion for a book to review or for a review essay in a particular topic, please consult with the appropriate book review editor.
Dov Weiss – books dealing primarily with ancient Judaism, biblical studies, or rabbinic literature
Arnold Franklin – books dealing primarily with the medieval or early modern periods, or books on general themes and issues that cannot be characterized by period
Eliyana Adler – books dealing with the modern or contemporary periods

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

To submit your article through AJS Review's online submission system, click here:

For any questions please contact the managing editor at review@associationforjewishstudies.org.

The main body of articles cannot exceed 10,000 words in length, not counting notes, tables, and charts. Notes, tables, and charts should not exceed an additional 5,000 words, except in unusual cases. If the article has a lengthy appendix, please consult with the editors in advance of submission. Articles should conform to Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition.

Hebrew articles should also conform to Chicago Manual of Style, ed. 17 in all respects, including citation style. Hebrew articles are subject to the same word limits as articles in English.

To facilitate the double-blind review process, authors should avoid any identifying references in their submissions. In the main body of the article and in the footnotes, avoid references to “my work”; “as I address elsewhere”; and similar phrases. Remove any acknowledgements and references to forthcoming works for the purpose of review.

Figures

• • We recommend that only TIFF, EPS or PDF formats are used for electronic artwork. JPEGs, Microsoft PowerPoint files, images created in Microsoft Word, GIF images downloaded from the web are not preferred.
• • All figures should be supplied as separate files, unless you are using LaTeX.
• • The figure files should be named in a logical way (e.g. [first author surname] Fig1.tif).
• • Please ensure that the material you submit is of the best possible quality. We cannot improve overall appearance and resolution.
• • Resolution: color and black and white halftone images must be saved at 300 dpi (dots per inch) at approximately the final size. Line drawings should be saved at 1000 dpi, or 1200 dpi if very fine line weights have been used. Combination figures must be saved at a minimum of 600 dpi.
• • If in any doubt, submit the source files that were used to create your figures.
• • Please supply captions at the end of the text of your article, and not as part of the figure files.
• • Please ensure that every figure is cited within the article. We will try to place your figures as close as possible to their citations in the text, but because of the limitations of page layout, it may not always be possible.

Please note that Penn Press charges authors a fee for publishing color figures in the journal’s print edition. The author will be solely responsible for this fee. There is no fee to publish color figures in the digital edition. Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions from copyright holders for the use of any figures.

Citations of Texts

1. For both English- and Hebrew-language articles, AJS Review follows the documentation guidelines as laid out in the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, footnote style.

2. All notes should appear as footnotes.

3. Hebrew titles in English-language articles:  If a title page of a book or article lists an English translation of the title, include the translated title followed by “[in Hebrew].” If no translation is supplied for the title in the publication being cited, the Hebrew title should appear in transliteration with only the first word of the article and proper names capitalized.

4. The titles of works in other foreign languages should appear in the original language or in transliteration from non-Roman scripts.

5. The shortened versions of edited by (ed.), translated by (trans.) and compiled by (comp.) are preferred. 6. When citing a note, the page number should be listed first followed by n. and the note number: 20 n. 17.

Some examples from the Chicago Manual of Style

Books:

1. Yves Bonnefoy, New and Selected Poems, ed. John Naughton and Anthony Rudolf (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995). 

2. Allen Forte, The Harmonistic Organization of "The Rite of Spring" (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1978). 

3. William H. Keating, "Fort Dearborn and Chicago," in Prairie State: Impressions of Illinois 1673-1967, by Travelers and Other Observers, ed. Paul M. Angle (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967), 84–87.

Short forms of book: 

4. Sara Clarke Lippincott, "Chicago" in Angle, Prairie State, 362–70. 

5. Bolinger, Language, 200 n. 16.

Journals:

6. Christopher S. Mackay, "Lactanius and the Succession to Diocletian," Classical Philosophy 94, no. 2 (1999): 205. 

7. Judith Lewis, "'Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie': Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558-1959," Journal of British Studies 37 (1998): 26–53. 

8. Russell W. Belk and Janeen Arnold Costa, "The Mountain Man Myth: A Contemporary Consuming Fantasy," Journal of Consumer Research 25, no. 3 (1998): 218–40.

Short forms of journals:

9. Belk and Costa, "Mountain Man Myth," 220.

Theses and Dissertations (for PhD dissertation use PhD diss.):

10. Dorothy Ross, "The Irish-Catholic Immigrant, 1880–1990: A Study in Social Mobility" (Master's thesis, Columbia University, n.d.), 142–55.

Citations of Ancient and Medieval Texts

Biblical and Extracanonical Texts

1. Biblical citations should cite the title in full (e.g., "Genesis") followed by chapter and verse (e.g., 1:1) following the JPS titles and versification. 

2. Extracanonical Jewish texts of Second Temple period should be cited in accord with The HarperCollins Study Bible. New Revised Standard Version, With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books (1993). Alternatively these texts may be cited in accord with a specific critical edition or translation, as follows: II Maccabees 2:19 (J. Goldstein, tr., The Anchor Bible. II Maccabees [New York, et al.: Doubleday, 1983], 189). 

3. Dead Sea Scrolls should be cited in accord with the titles and identifying rubric of the editions published by the DJD series, e.g., 4Q MMT 394, 3 (E. Qimron and J. Strugnell, eds., Discoveries in the Judaean Desert X. Qumran Cave 4.V. Miqsat Ma`ase Ha-Torah [Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1994], 47). Alternatively these texts may be cited in accord with a specific edition or translation, as follows: The Halakhic Letter (4Q MMT 394, 3 in the edition of F. Martinez, tr., The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English, 2nd ed. [New York & Cologne/Grand Rapids: E.J.Brill/ William B. Eerdmans, 1994], 80). 

4. Greek works of Hellenistic authors should be cited in accord with the most recent Loeb edition unless one is not available. In that case, citation should follow a reputable scholarly edition or translation. 

5. New Testament citations should follow the conventions of the HarperCollins Study Bible (see above). Patristic and other early Christian citations should follow the conventions of reputable scholarly editions or translations.

Rabbinic Works

1. Works included in the mishnaic canon should be cited in accord with standard printed editions, e.g., M. Berakhot 1:1, M. Beẓah 1:1, etc. 

2. Works in the toseftan canon should be cited in accord with standard printed editions, e.g., T. Berakhot 1:1, T. Yom Tov 1:1, etc. 

3. Works in the Palestinian talmudic canon should be cited in accord with the divisions and pagination of the Venice edition and its various reprints, e.g., Y. Berakhot 1:1 (2d). 

4. Works in the Babylonian talmudic canon should be cited in accord with the pagination of the Vilna edition and its various reprints, e.g., B. Berakhot 2b. 

5. Midrashic compilations should be cited, where possible, in accord with the conventions of a well-known edition. Some models follow:

Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, par. B'o, to Exodus 12:1 (ed. Horovitz-Rabin, p. 1 or corresponding page of ed. Lauterbach).

Sifra, Dibura de-nedavah, per. 3:2, to Leviticus 1:3 (ed. Weiss, p. 5a or corresponding page of ed. Finkelstein where available)

Sifra, Dibura de-nedavah, par. 3:1, to Leviticus 1:2 (ed. Weiss, p. 5a or corresponding page of ed. Finkelstein where available)

Sifrei Bamidbar, Nas'o, pis. 1, to Numbers 5:3 (ed. Horovitz, p. 3)

Sifrei Devarim, 'Ekev, pis. 42, to Deuteronomy 11:14 (ed. Finkelstein, p. 89)

Bereshit Rabba, Va-yer'a, par. 48:6, to Genesis 18:1 (ed. Theodor-Albeck, 2:480)

Vayikra Rabba, Shemini, par. 12, to Leviticus 10:9 (ed. Margoliot, 2:244)

Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Parah 'adumah, pis. 4:2, to Numbers 19:2 (ed. Margoliot, 1:55)

Avot de-Rabbi Natan, A:2 (ed. Schechter, p. 8)

Avot de-Rabbi Natan, B:2 (ed. Schechter, p. 10)

In both text and citations, the following transliterations should be used for tractates:

Medieval Halakhic, Mystical, and Philosophical Works

In citing such works authors should attempt to follow conventional citation systems. In the first reference to such texts, authors should provide full publication information about the edition used. Thereafter, it is sufficient to cite the text in an abbreviated title.

Examples of citations of common medieval texts:

Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, hilkhot ’ishut 15:7

Shulḥan ‘arukh, yoreh de‘ah, no. 110

Tosafot, B. Bava Batra 3b, s.v. kol

Hebrew Transcription Chart