Between the Lines: Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora

Embracing Exile: The Case for Jewish Diaspora

Part of Between the Lines: Author Conversations from The Library of JTS

Monday, June 9, 2025
7:00 p.m. ET
In Person at JTS and Livestream
3080 Broadway (at 122nd Street) 
New York City  

Dr. David Kraemer, JTS’s Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, will be interviewed by Rabbi Irwin Kula, a 7th generation rabbi and a disruptive spiritual innovator. Rabbi Kula is President-Emeritus of Clal—The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

Embracing Exile analyzes biblical and rabbinic texts, philosophical treatises, studies of Kabbalah, Hasidism, and a multiplicity of modern expressions. It offers revised readings of the Bible’s book of Esther, a survey of Talmudic treatments of exile, an in-depth analysis of the thought of the early modern master, the Maharal of Prague, as well as the work of novelist Philip Roth, among other modern authors. David Kraemer shows that Diaspora Jews through the ages insisted that God joined them in their exiles, that “Zion” was found in Babylon and Eastern Europe, and that, as citizens of the world, Jews could only live throughout the world. The result is a convincing assertion that lament has not been the most common Jewish response to diaspora and that Zionism is not the natural outcome of either Jewish ideology or history. Kraemer also argues that as the world’s most experienced surviving refugees, Jews also offer a model to more contemporary refugees, demonstrating how they may not only survive but thrive and endure.

About the Author

David Kraemer has been part of the JTS community since 1977 when he enrolled at The Graduate School after completing his undergraduate degree at Brandeis University.

He began teaching as a graduate student in 1980, receiving his PhD in 1984. Dr. Kraemer’s focus as a professor is on the literary analysis of rabbinic literature, rabbinic ritual, the social and religious history of Jews in late antiquity, and Jewish diaspora ideologies. He accepted the position of Librarian in 2004 and has since played a crucial role in forging policy and expanding the impact of the Library’s world-renowned collections and programs. 

Dr. Kraemer is a prolific author and commentator. In addition to his books (see below), he has written influential articles on the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Mishnah, and other subjects, along with a commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, 2nd edition). His book traces Jewish justifications of diaspora life from the Tanakh to the present.

More in Author Conversations: Between the Lines

Add To Calendar