Where Are We Now? Rethinking Exile, Diaspora and Home in Israel and America
Jan 29, 2024 By Arnold M. Eisen | Public Event video | Video Lecture
For many Jews in Israel and America, the war with Hamas has provoked a reconsideration of long-held assumptions about Israel, the Diaspora, and the relationship between the two. This lecture considers whether America can be a true home for Jews or whether is it another instance of exile, albeit different in some respects from all others—and it aska these same questions regarding Israel. We examine a variety of responses to these questions by Americans and Israelis, Zionists and non-Zionists, that sharpen debate and challenge convictions that we hold dear.
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“Zion in the Diaspora”: How Jews Imagined They Lived in Zion Wherever They Actually Lived
Jan 22, 2024 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Jews through the ages have hoped that one day the Messiah would come, leading them back to Zion. But in the meantime, they lived all over the world, making homes in one diaspora or another. And remarkably, they often spoke of their diaspora homes as “Zion,” a place of redemption long before actual redemption. In this session, we will examine multiple such teachings and traditions including teachings of the great Maharal of Prague (16th century), early Hasidic masters (18th century), and others. We will consider what it means for Jews to imagine themselves in their eternal homes while living abroad
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Timely Insights, Timeless Wisdom
Jan 22, 2024 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Join JTS’s renowned faculty to learn about their current work and greatest passions. Drawing on their expertise, scholars will offer inspiring learning and expose us to new ideas and insights that help us connect the Jewish past with the Jewish future. Topics will include:
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Civic Friendship in Times of Crisis and War: Jewish Thought, Political Theory, and the Story of Hanukkah
Dec 11, 2023 By Shira Billet | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Ancient philosophers described a political ideal of “civic friendship,” the idea that fellow citizens in a political community ought to pursue a certain kind of bond of friendship, in order to create flourishing societies steeped in a robust social fabric. Dr. Shira Billet explores the central role of notions of civic friendship in traditional Jewish sources. In light of current events in Israel, we will turn our attention to Jewish texts that relate to civic friendship in wartime and in times of crisis, with special connections drawn to the holiday of Hannukah.
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Paradigms of Friendship: What Philosophers and Rabbis Can Teach Us
Dec 4, 2023 By Eliezer B. Diamond | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The Greek philosophers asserted that there are four types of friendship. This model, which was adopted by Maimonides, considered shared joint engagement in intellectual matters the highest form of friendship. Missing from this paradigm is the importance of certain character traits in creating and sustaining friendships. We consider the “four friendships” model and then take a mussar oriented approach to suggest alternative paradigms.
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Friendship During Crisis: Learning from the Book of Job
Nov 27, 2023 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Job’s friends come to Job in the midst of his unspeakable losses and try to comfort him. We will learn from the Book of Job and explore the challenges of being a good friend when someone is suffering.
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Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? A Talmudic Teaching
Nov 20, 2023 By Aaron Koller | Public Event video | Video Lecture
What do we owe our neighbors? How much are we obligated to contribute to our cities, our neighborhoods, our streets, and how much can we just take of ourselves and let everyone else take care of themselves? These are modern questions, but they are ancient Jewish questions, too. The Talmud speaks in a different language than we do, so it probes these issues through law and narrative. We read a short passage from the Talmud about what it means to be a good neighbor, and unpack it to see how these questions are broached and what insight the text has to share.
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Friendship and Interfaith Engagement
Nov 13, 2023 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture
In a world where religious differences have often been a source of division, the concept of friendship emerges as a powerful tool for forging connections, fostering receptiveness to others, and nurturing understanding. Beginning with a discussion of Aristotle’s friendship, followed by several case studies, we investigate how friendship has been actualized and experienced throughout history within the context of interfaith dialogue. We will also consider to what extent an ambivalence about friendship exists in Jewish-Christian relations from the Middle Ages up to the present day.
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