The Council of Lithuanian Jews (Lithuanian Vaad) was the central representative organ of the Jews in the Grand Duchy of Lithua¬nia. It operated for nearly one and a half centuries (1623-1764), touching all spheres of the Jewish community’s life. It undertook important initiatives for the benefit of its constituency at diets and dietines (legislative assemblies of the nobility), at the courts of the King and important magnates, and in non-Jewish courts of law. This book discusses the Council’s activities in the context of processes and phenomena present in Jewish society of the time, illustrating the life of Lithuanian Jewry as a separate estate guided by a common sense of identity transcending local affiliation.

Anna Michałowska-Mycielska is a historian working at the Institute of History, Warsaw University. The subject of her studies is the history and culture of Jews in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th–18th centuries.\nhe published: \nMiędzy demokracją a oligarchią. Władze gmin żydowskich w Poznaniu i Swarzędzu (od połowy XVII do końca XVIII wieku), Warszawa 2000 \nThe English translation: \nThe Jewish Community. Authority and Social Control in Poznań and Swarzędz, 1650-1793, Wrocław 2008 (2nd edition: Warszawa 2015) \nGminy żydowskie w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej. Wybór tekstów źródłowych, Warszawa 2003 \nPinkas kahału swarzędzkiego (1734-1830), Warszawa 2005 \nSejmy i sejmiki koronne wobec Żydów. Wybór tekstów źródłowych, Warszawa 2006 \nSejm Żydów litewskich (1623-1764), Warszawa 2014 \nPinkas kahału boćkowskiego (1714-1817), Warszawa 2015