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 were no session on February 20, April 3, or April 10.
A complete listing of the sessions can be found here.
About the Series
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.”
We will explore themes of borders, thresholds and transitions as they pertain to the story of Creation, gender, conversion, birth and death, the duality of living as a Jew in America, and more.
Sponsor a Session
At JTS, we are committed to providing the Jewish community with outstanding classes in Judaic studies. We hope you will partner with us so that we can continue to do so. Did you know that you can sponsor a learning session to honor a loved one, celebrate an occasion, or commemorate a yahrzeit? You can find sponsorship information here.
The World as Liminal: Genesis and the Incompleteness of Creation
with Dr. Benjamin Sommer
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Between This World and the Next:
Rabbinic Visions of Purgatory
with Dr. Rachel Rosenthal
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The Tent of Meeting: Central or Marginal?
with Dr. Benjamin Sommer
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Between Law and Narrative in the Talmud
with Dr. Sarah Wolf
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Between Obligation and Free Choice
with Rabbi Gordon Tucker
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Jewish-American, American-Jewish
with Dr. Arnold Eisen
Download Sources ǀ The Four Questions by Allegra Goodman
On the Margins: Conversos and the Question of
Jewish Belonging Throughout History
with Dr. Jonathan Ray
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Gender Identity in Rabbinic Literature
with Dr. Marcus Mordecai Schwartz
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Defying All Categories: Witches in the Talmud
with Dr. Marjorie Lehman
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The Blasphemer in Leviticus:
A Marginal Figure
with Dr. Alan Cooper
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Sarah’s Laugh:
Doubt, Trust, and the Ambiguity of the Womb
with Rabbi Mychal Springer
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Talmudic Writings on the Passage from
this Life to the Next
with Dr. David Kraemer
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Between Suns:
Twilight in Rabbinic Sources
with Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz
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Kiddush and Havdalah:
Marking the Boundaries of Sanctified Time
with Dr. Judith Hauptman
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