Zvi Kunshtat is a Ph.D. candidate in history at Johns Hopkins University, focusing on early modern European history and Jewish studies.

My dissertation project, "Learning for the Sake of Heaven: Learning, Religiosity, and Community in Early Modern Ashkenazi Culture," charts the history of Ashkenazi learning institutions and learning practices, especially those dedicated to studying Talmud. Drawing on archival materials and through the lens of the History of Knowledge, I explore these institutions' bearing on the development of early modern Ashkenazi society, culture, and religious consciousness.