Celebrating Leadership and Scholarship
For thirty-five years, Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz has been an integral part of JTS. Serving as faculty member, dean, provost, and now Chancellor, she has brought intellectual rigor, academic distinction, and visionary leadership to every role she has held. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the wider community—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—have all been enriched by her teaching, scholarship, and thoughtful engagement with the world around her. Through her teaching, writing, and presence, Chancellor Schwartz has inspired and influenced countless individuals, leaving a lasting impact.
Below is a collection of her thought leadership during her tenure as Chancellor.
Thought Leadership
Inauguration Address of Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz, May 17, 2022
Throughout her tenure, Chancellor Schwartz shared numerous communications and reflections on JTS, the Jewish community, and the broader world.
Year in Review: Adapting and Thriving
June 17, 2021
Thoughts on Ukraine
February 25, 2022
Finding Our Next Jewish Leaders
June 27, 2023
Chancellor Schwartz Shares Her Thoughts on the Passing of Rabbi David Ellenson (z”l)
December 8, 2023
Chancellor Schwartz Responds to Protests on Columbia University’s Campus
April 22, 2024
Antisemitism, Resilience, and Leadership: A Video Message from Chancellor Schwartz
May 2, 2024
Chancellor Schwartz Shares Her Thoughts on the Passing of Robert S. Rifkind (z”l), Beloved Board Member
March 13, 2025
In the Media
Through articles and opinion pieces, Chancellor Schwartz offers her insights to the broader community and is often called upon for expert comment.
Reflections on Masorti Mission to Israel
EJewish Philanthropy—July 21, 2021
At Home in America’s Home
EJewish Philanthropy—December 7, 2021
The Themes of Passover, and the Bonds of History, Tie Our Struggles to Those of Ukrainian Jews
JTA—April 12, 2022
A Discourse That is As Flat as Matzah
Times of Israel—April 14, 2022
Finding Balance in the New Year
Hadassah Magazine—September 2022
On the Eve of the Midterms, Antisemitism is Front and Center
EJewish Philanthropy—November 4, 2022
I’m a Jewish Historian and My Grandparents Ran a Deli. Maybe We’re in the Same Business.
JTA—November 14, 2022
When Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Taught My Dad to Pray with His Feet
JTA—January 14, 2024
“The Jewish Texts That Changed for Me Since Oct. 7″: A Symposium
JTA—October 8, 2024
Investing in the Future with One Eye on the Past
EJewish Philanthropy—December 12, 2024
No Shade for Jonah: Engaging the Other in Challenging Times
Times of Israel—September 17, 2025
How Do We Move Forward?
Times of Israel—March 4, 2025
Reflections on the 40th Anniversary of Women’s Ordination
Lilith—June 9, 2025
Publications
“Solomon Schechter in America—and of America,” Shir Hama-alot L’David: Essays in Jewish Studies in Honor of Rabbi Prof. David Golinkin, ed. Martin S. Cohen (Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies: Jerusalem 2025), 381-97.
“An Old/New Zionism for an Old/New People,” Mizpe Hannaton Journal, no.6, April 2023, 22-24, 58.
With Mary C. Boys, “Reorienting ‘Settled Identities’: A Course on Jewish-Christian Relations,” Studies in Jewish-Christian Relations 17:1 (2022), 1-17.
“Choosing Nuance: Inauguration Address, Jewish Theological Seminary, May 17, 2022,“ Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism 67, No. 1, Winter 2022-2023, 9-16.
With Mary C. Boys,” Passover and Easter,” in Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations Online 2020, ed. Walter Homolka, Rainer Kampling, Amy-Jill Levine, Christopher Markschies, Peter Schäfer, and Martin Thurman.
Holiday Messages
Hanukkah Message
December 2020
Believing We Can Do Better
Aug 31, 2021 (High Holidays)
Claiming the Story of Pesah as Our Own
April 3, 2023 (Passover)
The Torah’s Stories—and Our Own
September 12, 2023 (High Holidays)
A Hanukkah Message
December 11, 2023 (Hanukkah)
How We Are All the Four Children
April 17, 2024 (Passover)
Psalm 27, the Yamim Nora’im, and October 7
September 20, 2024 (High Holidays)
Asking the Question, “What is Hanukkah?”
December 23, 2024 (Hanukkah)
Passover 5785: While Much Remains the Same, We Don’t
April 7, 2025 (Passover)
No Shade for Jonah: Engaging the Other in Challenging Times
September 17, 2025 (High Holidays)
Asserting Our Jewishness
December 15, 2025 (Hanukkah)
On Israel
War in Israel
October 9, 2023
A Difficult and Painful Week
October 16, 2023
Shabbat Message from the Chancellor
October 20, 2023
Marking Sheloshim
November 7, 2023
Reflections on the March for Israel
November 15, 2023
Henrietta Szold’s Zionism and Ours: A JTS and Hadassah Event
November 14, 2024
An Emotionally Stirring and Memorable Visit to Israel
February 28, 2024
Commemorating October 7
October 7, 2024
Approaching the Anniversary of October 7
October 1, 2025
Chancellor Schwartz Reflects on the World Zionist Congress
November 5, 2025
In the Community
Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz Receives “Award for Achievement in Elevating Higher Education”
October 16, 2025
Neighborhood Interreligious Open House in the Sukkah
October 21, 2025
Chancellor Schwartz: Engaged Globally and Honored Locally
May 20, 2025
Chancellor Schwartz’s Summer Visit in New England
July 15, 2025
Commencement Addresses
Convening Panels
Upholding Human Dignity in Turbulent Times: An Interreligous Convening (November 2025)
Antisemitism and Allyship: Assessing the Present, Imagining the Future (April 2024)
Zionism: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond
(November 2024)
Chancellor Schwartz’s Time as Faculty Member, Dean, and Provost
Dr. Schwartz, who earned her PhD at JTS, became one of the first women on its faculty and was instrumental in the addition of Jewish gender studies to the curriculum. As a scholar of American Jewish history, she brought to light the previously overlooked contributions of women to the development of American Judaism and expanded our understanding of modern American Jewish society and culture. During her career, she has taught courses exploring Jewish identity, the Jewish family, the depiction of Jews in American popular culture, and Jewish gender studies. Her award-winning book, The Rabbi’s Wife, is a penetrating examination of the role of rabbis’ wives in the development of American Jewish life. She is also the author of The Emergence of Jewish Scholarship in America: The Publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia and numerous articles on modern Jewish life, including pioneering research into the founding of the Ramah Camping Movement.
