Jewish Storytelling and American Law in Post-WWII America 

Jun 8, 2026 By Shira Billet | Public Event video | Video Lecture

In the decades after World War II, Jewish American legal thinkers began drawing on biblical and rabbinic stories to help explore fundamental questions of constitutional interpretation. The work of Robert Cover in the 1980s, first developed in the context of the Vietnam war, is the most famous and influential example. But lesser-known figures such as Edmund Cahn and JTS professor Shalom Spiegel began developing this discourse in the context of the postwar moment in 1950s America, and the civil rights movement that emerged in its wake.

Hard Cases: Facing Law’s Challenges in American Legal Theory and Rabbinic Literature

Jun 1, 2026 By Sarah Wolf | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”   Download Sources With Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS How do judges settle cases when there is no clear right answer? How are precedents mined for new rulings? Should laws be the product of a legislator’s own creativity, or are […]

The Talented Dr. Finkelstein: His Initiatives, Allies and Critics

May 18, 2026 By Jack Wertheimer | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Within the first decade of his JTS presidency, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein energetically launched a broad range of new initiatives.  His efforts garnered widespread attention and even an adulatory cover story in Time magazine. They also prompted sharp public challenges from some of his closest colleagues.

Baseball (A Jewish American Pastime) 

May 4, 2026 By Robert Harris | Public Event video | Video Lecture

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”   Download Sources With Dr. Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS Baseball has long been called America’s pastime—but what happens when we read the game through the lens of philosophy, theology, halacha and aggadah? This session explores the striking parallels between rabbinic interpretation and […]

America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, this series explores the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. Sources for sessions can be […]