Public Lectures and Conferences

Where INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS Happen  

Each year, JTS’s public lectures and conferences feature engaging personalities who tackle modern issues through a Jewish lens. These events, which are open to the community, provide a forum where scholars, writers, and community leaders can explore the vital topics that affect our lives.

Unless otherwise indicated below: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Call (212) 280-6093 or email. Please arrive at least fifteen minutes prior to each program to allow sufficient time for registration, and please have photo ID available.

If you wish to be added to our event mailing list, please send your name and mailing address to publicevents@jtsa.edu, or call (212) 280-6093.

JEWISH EATING AND JEWISH IDENTITY

Speaker: Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS

Monday, February 4, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Henry N. Rapaport Memorial Lecture

We are what we eat. Now take this oft-quoted insight a step further: we are also how, when, where, and with whom we eat. Join us as Dr. David Kraemer discusses his recently published Jewish Eating and Identity Through the Ages, the first book ever to explore the history of Jewish eating practices from the Bible to the present, and the first to interpret Jewish eating practices throughout the ages as keys to understanding current Jewish identities.

Invitation to Henry N. Rapaport Memorial Lecture

THE SONG OF THE DISTANT DOVE: PILGRIMAGE POEMS BY JUDAH HALEVI

Speaker: Dr. Raymond Scheindlin, Professor of Medieval Hebrew Literature, JTS, will discuss his recent book.

Monday, February 25, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary

STEM CELLS, UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AND PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE: A JEWISH VIEW

Speaker: Dr. David Novak, J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies, Professor of the Study of Religion and Professor of Philosophy, University of Toronto
Respondent: Rabbi Joel Roth, JTS

Thursday, March 6, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies
Authors Forum: Religion—Politics, Policy, Power

FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE IN BIOETHICS CONSULTATION

Speaker: Nancy Neveloff Dubler, LLB, Director, Division of Bioethics, Montefiore Medical Center, and Professor of Bioethics, and Director, Center for Ethics and Law in Medicine, Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Bernard G. Segal Memorial Lecture in Law and Ethics

What is clinical bioethics consultation? How can intimate decisions in the lives of patients and family members best be addressed? What are the key elements to ensure a fair and just process, both from a legal and bioethical standpoint, that is democratic and non-elitist? What is the role of mediation in fulfilling this goal?

JEWISH RENAISSANCE AND REVIVAL IN AMERICA: A CONFERENCE IN MEMORY OF LEAH LEVITZ FISHBANE, z"l (1974–2007)

Sunday, March 16, 2008, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Keynote Address: Dr. Jonathan Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, and Director, Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program, Brandeis University

Registration fee: $36 ($10 for full-time students)

This conference will explore aspects of religious and cultural renaissance among American Jews in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with attention to how these historical models might be inspirational to the contemporary project of revival and renaissance in the Jewish community.

For complete information, and to register, visit the conference website. Registration required by March 12; earlier registration is encouraged.

JEWS AND POLITICAL POWER

Speaker: Dr. Ruth R. Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University
Respondent: Dr. Alan Mittleman, Director, Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies, and Professor of Jewish Philosophy, JTS

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies
Authors Forum: Religion—Politics, Policy, Power

A DELIGHTFUL COMPENDIUM OF CONSOLATION: A FABULOUS TALE OF ROMANCE, ADVENTURE, AND FAITH IN THE MEDIEVAL MEDITERRANEAN

Speaker: Dr. Burton Visotzky, Nathan and Janet Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, JTS, will discuss his recent book.

Monday, March 31, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary

TAKING THE LEAD: FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY ON AMERICAN RADIO, 1939–1955

Speaker: Jeffrey Shandler, Associate Professor, Department of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University

Thursday, April 3, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Jack and Lewis Rudin Lecture

Listen in as Jeffrey Shandler turns on the radio and shares fascinating audio excerpts aired during WWII and its aftermath. Shandler will tell the story of how the American Jewish Committee and The Jewish Theological Seminary, by producing radio programs that promoted democratic values, played a pioneering role in American public service broadcasting.

Cosponsored with the American Jewish Committee Archives

MORITZ STEINSCHNEIDER, FATHER OF MODERN JEWISH BIBLIOGRAPHY

Speakers:
Dr. Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor Emeritus and Rabbi Herman Abramovitz Professor of Jewish History, JTS
Dr. Menahem Schmelzer, Albert B. and Bernice Cohen Professor Emeritus of Medieval Hebrew Literature and Jewish Bibliography, JTS

Monday, April 7, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary

HAS THE GOD OF LIBERALISM FAILED?

Speaker: Dr. Mark Lilla, Professor of the Humanities, Columbia University
Respondent: Dr. Leora Batnitzky, Professor of Religion, and Acting Director of the Program in Judaic Studies, Princeton University

Thursday, April 10, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies
Authors Forum: Religion—Politics, Policy, Power

Spring 2008 Public Programs Flyer

General Information about JTS's Annual Lectures
 
Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies  

Public Programs at JTS