The World as Liminal: Genesis and the Incompleteness of Creation
Jan 30, 2023 By Benjamin D. Sommer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The story of creation in the first chapter of the Torah is one of the most familiar but least understood texts in the Bible. When viewed within its historical context it is a very strange story, because it lacks the expected ending. We will look for the proper ending of the story elsewhere in the Torah. Finding it will allow us to understand a core aspect of biblical theology: that the world God created is incomplete. Poised between chaos and perfection, creation itself is designed to be liminal. That aspect of biblical theology, surprisingly enough, will remind us of a famous idea articulated more than two millennia later in kabbalistic literature.
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The Space In Between: Thresholds and Borders in Jewish Life and Thought
Jan 12, 2023 By The Jewish Theological Seminary | Public Event video | Video Lecture
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.”
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Where Do We Draw the Line? The Importance of Highlighting Multiple Perspectives in Jewish Education
Dec 19, 2022 By Meredith Katz | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Jewish educators address many goals, including building Jewish literacy and Jewish identity. To these ends, they make decisions constantly as curricular gate-keepers, or censors with a purpose. Why and how should they introduce students to the perspectives of those with whom they might not agree, both within and outside the Jewish community? This session explores the importance of highlighting multiple perspectives and helping students develop the skills to navigate conversations with those with whom they disagree, as a key component of civic education in Jewish settings.
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The Hollywood Blacklist and the Whitewashing of American Culture
Dec 12, 2022 By Ellie Gettinger | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The Hollywood Blacklist is one censorious aspect of the larger Red Scare that limited the freedoms of speech and assembly through the 1950s. Yet the political policing and litmus tests required for screenwriters, actors, and producers in this period led to a monumental shift in the way that American culture was represented on screen (both large and small). This session explores the political climate that led to the blacklist and how it fundamentally changed the film industry.
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Censoring the Holocaust: How Books Shape Our View of a Painful Past
Dec 5, 2022 By Edna Friedberg | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Ever since the 1940s, books about the Holocaust have proven flashpoints. From early editions of The Diary of Anne Frank that omitted controversial passages to more recent attempts to ban the graphic memoir Maus from some classrooms, what we read about this difficult history often amplifies broader societal debates. In this session we look back at Holocaust literature (both fiction and non-fiction) and how its popularity shifts depending on time and place.
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How Should a Jewish Philosopher Read the Bible? Hermann Cohen’s Problem with Spinoza
Nov 28, 2022 By Shira Billet | Public Event video | Video Lecture
When the famous German Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen died in 1918, he was described in Jewish periodicals as “the greatest philosopher the Jews have produced since Spinoza.” But in 1915, at a time when Jews had reclaimed the 17th-century philosopher as their own, Hermann Cohen had argued that the herem (ban) on Spinoza had been justified. Cohen’s reasons for banning Spinoza were different from those articulated in the original ban. He agreed with Spinoza far more than we might expect, but he also thought Spinoza’s book on the Bible was misleading and dangerous. Cohen disagreed with central parts of Spinoza’s method of reading the Bible, and for Cohen, the stakes of getting the method right were very high with academic, religious, and political implications.
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Intra-Jewish Censorship: The Case of Spinoza
Nov 21, 2022 By Jonathan Ray | Public Event video | Video Lecture
In July 1656, Baruch Spinoza was excommunicated from the Jewish community of Amsterdam for his “abominable heresies” and “monstrous deeds.” He was 23 years old. This class explore some of the key writings of Spinoza, as well as the social and political context of 17th-century Holland to try to understand the reasons behind Spinoza’s harsh, and historic, banishment.
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The Danger of Spreading the Word: Book Censorship in 16th-Century Venice
Nov 14, 2022 By David C. Kraemer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
In the 16th century, as the new technology of the printing press hit its stride, the church began to realize the danger that the dissemination of knowledge could represent. Instituting a regime of censorship in Venice (the center of the print industry) and elsewhere, all new books—Christian and Jewish—had to pass muster before appearing. But the church was not alone in this effort. Rabbinic authorities recognized the same dangers, and they too sought to outlaw certain “dangerous” books.
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