Spring 2023 Learning Series
The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
Mondays, January 30–May 22, 2023
1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Please note that there will be no sessions on February 20, April 3, or April 10.
We are living in an undefined time: our daily existence is no longer dominated by the pandemic, yet neither have we settled into a new normal. This sense of being in transition—neither here nor there—can feel destabilizing; but is the time in between really temporary, or are we always living in between moments, identities, and phases of life?
In this series, JTS scholars will delve into the idea of liminality—the time or space in between—which we encounter often in Jewish ritual, identity, law, and life. Join us to consider what these many manifestations of “in-between-ness” can teach us about ourselves and about Judaism, and to explore how we might find strength and meaning in an orientation not of “either/or” but of “both/and.”
Note: Each Monday series has a new Zoom link. Please register for the series in order to receive the Zoom link for the current series.
Courses, Faculty, and Dates
January 30
The World as Liminal: Genesis and the Incompleteness of Creation
With Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS
February 6
Between This World and the Next: Rabbinic Visions of Purgatory
With Dr. Rachel Rosenthal, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS
February 13
The Tent of Meeting: Central or Marginal?
With Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS
February 27
Between Law and Narrative in the Talmud
With Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS
March 6
Between Obligation and Free Choice
With Rabbi Gordon Tucker, vice chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, JTS
March 13
Jewish-American, American-Jew: The Complexities and Joys of Living a Hyphenated Identity
With Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor of Jewish Thought, JTS
March 20
On the Margins: Conversos and the Question of Jewish Belonging Throughout History
With Dr. Jonathan Ray, Samuel Eig Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Georgetown University, and JTS Alumnus
March 27
Gender Identity in Rabbinic Literature
With Dr. Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, Assistant Professor, Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS
April 17
Defying All Categories: Witches in the Talmud
With Dr. Marjorie Lehman, Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS
April 24
The Blasphemer in Leviticus: A Marginal Figure
With Dr. Alan Cooper, Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies, JTS
May 1
Sarah’s Laugh: Doubt, Trust, and the Ambiguity of the Womb
With Rabbi Mychal Springer, Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and Adjunct Professor, JTS
May 8
Talmudic Writings on the Passage from This Life to the Next
With Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics
May 15
Between Suns: Twilight in Rabbinic Sources
With Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz, JTS fellow and assistant professor of Classical Judaism, Fordham University
May 22
Kiddush and Havdalah: Marking the Boundaries of Sanctified Time
With Dr. Judith Hauptman, E. Billi Ivry Professor Emerita of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture, JTS
Note: Each Monday series has a new Zoom link. Please register for the series in order to receive the Zoom link for this series.
