Jewish studies
Encyclopedia
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism
. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary
and combines aspects of history
(especially Jewish history
), religious studies
, archeology, sociology
, language
s (Jewish languages
), political science
, area studies
, women's studies
, and ethnic studies
. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at college
s and universities
in North America
.
Related fields include Holocaust research
and Israel studies
, and in Israel, Jewish Thought
.
s. Torah study
(compromising study of the Torah
and more broadly of the entire Hebrew Bible
as well as Rabbinic literature
such as the Talmud
and Midrash
) is considered a religious obligation
.
Since the Renaissance
and the growth of higher education
, many people, including people not of the Jewish faith, have chosen to study Jews and Judaism as a means of understanding the Jewish religion, heritage, and Jewish history.
Religious instruction specifically for Jews, especially for those who wish to join the rabbi
nate, is taught at Jewish seminaries
(and in Orthodox Judaism
, yeshiva
s). Among the most prominent are the Conservative
Jewish Theological Seminary
and the Reform
Hebrew Union College
. For the majority of Jewish students attending regular academic colleges and universities there is a growing choice of Jewish studies courses and even degrees available at many institutions.
The subject of antisemitism and the Holocaust, as well as the establishment of the modern State of Israel
and the revival of the Hebrew language
have all stimulated unusual interest in greater in-depth academic study, research, reading and lecturing about these core areas of knowledge related to current events. In the United States, the unique position that Jewish Americans
have held within the nation's complex social structure has created substantial scholarship, especially with regards to topics such as interfaith marriage, political activism, and influence on popular culture.
The political situation in the Middle East
, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, has raised the profile of Jews, Judaism
, and Zionism
on campuses, spurring many on to study this subject for non-degree as well as for credits in obtaining a Bachelor of Arts
or Master of Arts
degree
. A growing number of mature students are even obtaining Ph.D.s
in Jewish studies judging by the quantity of courses and programs available. Many hope to obtain employment in the field of Jewish education or in Jewish communal service agencies.
Many Christians are searching for an understanding of the Jewish background for Jesus
and Christianity
and for the source of monotheism
that sprang from Judaism
. There are those who are seeking an understanding of the complex and volatile relationship between Islam
and Judaism
. Others are searching for spirituality
and philosophy
and therefore seek classes in Kabbalah
(Jewish mysticism) and Jewish philosophy
. There are also those who have a genuine concern and attachment to modern Israel
as Christian Zionists and therefore seek to learn more about the subjects related to their beliefs.
The following are only a few significant examples of places where Jewish studies are offered and flourish in an academic setting:
Courses range from basic introductory courses on particular topics in Judaic studies to more advanced seminars where students can explore questions and ideas in more depth. Many of the courses, both upper- and lower-level courses, are cross-listed with other departments, providing students with exposure to different disciplinary methods. There are also opportunities for students to earn independent study credit through which they can work on an idea or question particular to their own interests, while also gaining valuable research and writing experience. Practicum credit may also be earned by assisting a professor in a course, and Internship credit is available through community service. http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/a_jst.html
Qualified students also have the option of enrolling in the Honors Program to be considered for a BA in Judaic Studies with Honors upon successful completion of an honors thesis. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_honors.shtml
Hebrew language classes are also available at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, and for students who are advanced in their language studies, Practicum and Independent study credit may also be earned. http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/a_heb.html
Students may also apply for department-sponsored scholarships to help further their educational goals. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_study_awards.shtml
The Center for Jewish Studies, which is affiliated with the Judaic Studies department, sponsor several talks each semester, which are open to both the local, as well as academic communities, and include lectures and discussions by Jewish Studies scholars and writers. http://www.albany.edu/jewishstudies/
Many students also take advantage of the SUNY-wide Israel study program for a semester or a year, which is overseen by the Judaic Studies department and is open to everyone. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_study_abroad.shtml
and Brandeis-Bardin Institute
, is a Jewish, non-denominational and highly eclectic institution. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in which 12,000 students are enrolled annually in non-credit granting courses. A prominent program of the Center is the university's annual speaker series, featuring luminaries like Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, and other political and diplomatic leaders. AJU's academic division includes the College of Arts and Sciences, leading to a B.A. degree in majors such as Bioethics (pre-med), Business, Communication Arts & Advocacy, Jewish Studies, Political Science and Psychology. In addition, AJU offers graduate degrees through the Fingerhut School of Education, The David L. Lieber Graduate School, and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
, a Conservative
Jewish rabbinical seminary. AJU is host to two "think tanks," the Center for Israel Studies (CIS) and the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust. Through the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, the University has oversight over Camps Ramah, Alonim, and Gan Alonim.
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, has the world's largest school of Jewish Studies, which includes 14 teaching departments, 21 research institutes, some 300 faculty members and over 2,000 students http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/centersE.htm. The school publishes 11 journals http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/journalsE.htm and the only internet journal in Jewish Studies - "Jewish Studies" http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/JSIJ. Flagship projects of the Faculty of Jewish Studies include: the Responsa Project http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Responsa which is the largest data base of classical Jewish sources throughout the ages; The "Mikraot Gdolot Haketer" which is the most accurate edition of the Mikraot Gdolot; The Ingeborg Rennert Center of Jerusalem Studies http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert; and the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project http://www.dig-gath.org, the excavations of the site of biblical Gath of the Philistines
.
Binghamton University
Binghamton University (SUNY) offers a major and a minor in Judaic Studies (JUST). The department offers two concentrations: 1) Jewish history and culture and 2) Hebrew language and literature. There are a wide variety of courses offered. The faculty members are prolific scholars and interested in diverse areas of Jewish studies. Internship credits are available. http://just.binghamton.edu/
Brandeis University
The Lown School of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, one of the most comprehensive centers for Judaic studies outside Israel, reflects Brandeis's special commitment to scholarship that illuminates issues of concern to the Jewish community, scholars in religion, and students of the ancient and modern Near East. It houses the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, the Steinhardt Social Research Institute, the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry, the Jacob and Libby Goodman Institute for the Study of Zionism, the Bernard G. and Rhoda G. Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness, and the Benjamin S. Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service. The National Center for Jewish Film
and the American Jewish Historical Society
are associated with the Lown School. http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/
Brown University
Brown University
offers a Judaic Studies program that includes an undergraduate concentration and graduate MA and PhD degrees. This interdisciplinary department brings scholars with a specific focus on Jewish Studies together with those from other Brown departments including history
, political science
, anthropology
, and sociology
. Faculty areas of focus include the Hebrew Language, Jewish Thought, Modern Hebrew and Jewish Literature, Ancient Judaism, Modern Jewish History, Biblical Studies, Rabbinics and Early Judaism, and Latin American Jewish Literature. http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Judaic_Studies/about/
works in cooperation with the local Jewish community of Birobidzhan
. The university
is unique in the Russian Far East
. The basis of the training course is study of the Hebrew language
, history and classic Jewish texts. http://www.eao.ru/eng/?p=365
In recent years, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
has grown interested in its Jewish roots. Students study Hebrew and Yiddish at a Jewish school and Birobidzhan Jewish National University. In 1989, the Jewish center founded its Sunday school
, where children studyYiddish, learn folk
Jewish dance
, and learn about the history of Israel
. The Israeli government helps fund the program. http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2000/ISS207/focus.html
http://www.iijs.columbia.edu/index.html remains one of the leading institutions in Jewish studies in the country and the world. Undergraduate enrollment in these courses has historically been robust and continues to grow. Columbia also offers a joint undergraduate degree with the Jewish Theological Seminary
with which it is affiliated. Columbia is home to one of the most successful graduate programs in Jewish history and Yiddish studies outside of Israel, and its graduate program in Talmud and Judaism is world renowned.
was founded in 1994 with an initial endowment of $1.5 million from Carl and Dorothy Bennett of Greenwich, Connecticut
. The Bennett Center's goal is to provide Fairfield University students exposure to and contact with Jewish ideas, culture, and thinking. For example, the Bennett Center has brought several world-renowned lecturers to the University, including Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel
, Former Ambassador Dennis Ross
, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman
.
Fairfield University also began offering an academic minor in Judaic Studies within the Religion Department beginning in 1996. The major objective of the Program in Judaic Studies is to provide a variety of courses that will deepen students' knowledge and understanding of Jewish faith, history, and culture. It seeks to integrate Judaic Studies into the curriculum of the Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences
and to offer programs and special events of interest to the University community and to audiences drawn from the Fairfield County, Connecticut
community.
Since their inception, Dr. Ellen Umansky
has served as both the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and the Director of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center.
, internships with organizations such as the American Jewish Committee, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Embassy of Israel
in Washington, the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
are not only easily accessible but also very common.
With study abroad connections at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, Tel Aviv University
, Ben Gurion University, and the University of Haifa
there is also a strong emphasis in the program on learning Hebrew. Professors such as Max Ticktin, Eric H. Cline
, Amitai Etzioni
, Yaron Peleg, Lauren Strauss, Sergio Waisman, and Mark Saperstein are readily accessible to students and are considered some of the best experts in their field. For example, Dr. Eric H. Cline
has appeared in many television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel
, the Discovery Channel
, the BBC
, and the History Channel. Traveling professors such as Jacob Lassner
have also taught courses at the program.
Due to its nearly perfect location in downtown Washington,D.C. students also have access to the Library of Congress
. The George Washington University's Gelman Library also hosts the I. Edward Kiev Collection - one of the largest Jewish academic archives on the East Coast. http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/kiev/
was the first major American university to establish a department of Judaic Studies and appointed Dr. Harry Austryn Wolfson
as the first head of department: The Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University is the focal point for the study and teaching of Judaica through publications, fellowships, lectures, and symposia on topics of interest to scholars and to the general public. The Center sponsors visiting scholars and post-doctoral research fellows and coordinates undergraduate and graduate studies on an interdisciplinary basis...Harvard was the first university in America to establish a Chair in Jewish Studies, the Nathan Littauer Professorship of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy (1925). Since then, Harvard's commitment to Jewish Studies has continued unabated, and its efforts to solidify and broaden the presence of this field in the curriculum ultimately resulted in the creation of Harvard's Center for Jewish Studies in 1978. The hope of the Harvard alumni, faculty and administration involved in this project was that the new Center would not only satisfy an unmistakable need for further growth within the University itself but would also benefit the study and teaching of Judaica throughout the country. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cjs/
was established in 1924, a few months before the official opening of the university http://jewish.huji.ac.il/about.html. Widely considered to be the world's premier center of Jewish studies, the Institute currently includes 8 teaching departments and 18 research institutes, oversees the publication of a wide variety of journals and periodicals and has student body of over 1200 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in Jewish studies. In addition, the university has several institutes dedicated to specific subjects of Jewish studies, such as the Institute of Contemporary Jewry http://icj.huji.ac.il/research.asp, the Institute for Research in Jewish Law http://mishpatim.mscc.huji.ac.il/jewish/jewres0e.htm, the Institute of Archaeology http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/, the Center for Jewish Art http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/cja/, the Jewish Music Research Center http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/, the Center for Jewish Education http://melton.huji.ac.il/, and the Department of Jewish Thought
http://jewish.huji.ac.il/departments/thought.html. The Jewish National and University Library
, which serves as the library of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, houses the world's largest collection of Hebraica and Judaica. The university also benefits from Jerusalem's unparalleled concentration of resources, which include: some 50 museums, most of which are dedicated to, or contain significant exhibits pertinent to, Jewish studies; dozens of independent research institutes and libraries dedicated to Jewish studies; over 100 rabbinical colleges representing all streams of Judaism; and the city of Jerusalem itself, the ancient and modern center of Jewish life, thought and study.
continues to be a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. Its graduate school describes itself as offering "the most extensive academic program in advanced Judaic Studies in North America." The school grants MA, DHL, and PhD degrees in the areas of: Ancient Judaism
; Bible
and Ancient Semitic
Languages; Interdepartmental Studies; Jewish Art and Visual Culture; Jewish History
; Jewish Literature
; Jewish Philosophy
; Jewish Studies and Public Administration
; Jewish Studies and Social Work
; *Jewish Women’s Studies; Liturgy
; Medieval Jewish Studies; Midrash
; Modern Jewish Studies; and Talmud
and Rabbinics. In addition to its Graduate School, JTS also runs the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies (which is affiliated with Columbia University
and offers joint/double bachelors degree programs with both Columbia and Barnard College
); the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education; the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music; and the Rabbinical School.
was originally formed as an independent program under the leadership of Jehuda Reinharz
in 1976 and expanded into its current model in 1988. A strong faculty with a variety of expertise has allowed the interdisciplinary program to grow significantly in recent years. Areas of special interest include numerous faculty with strengths in Rabbinics, Yiddish literature and modern Jewish history. The current director, Dr. Deborah Dash Moore, is the author of GI Jews, chronicling the role of Jews in the United States military and co-editor of the two-volume Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Other leading faculty members include Zvi Gitelman, Todd Endelman
, Anita Norich, Madeline Kochen, Mikhail Krutikov, Elliot Ginsburg, Scott Spector and Julian Levinson. Recent arrivals include Ryan Szpiech (Spanish, Sephardic Culture, Medieval Iberia) and Rachel Neis (Rabbinics, Late Antique Judaism).
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic
In Fall 2005, the Frankel Center announced the establishment of a new Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. The Institute hosts a dozen scholars annually for intensive research. The 2008-09 Frankel Institute theme is titled "Studying Jews" and visiting scholars include Hana Wirth-Nesher, Aharon Oppenhiemer, Regina Morantz-Sanchez
, Howard Lupovitch, Chaya Halberstam, and Gabriele Boccaccini. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/frankel_institute_3_0.htm
Michigan Jewish Institute
MJI provides academic baccalaureate and other degree granting programs that combine an arts and sciences foundation with concentrations in Education, Leadership and General Judaic Studies for career development in applied Judaic disciplines. The Institute is part of the Chabad-Lubavitch
movement.
http://www.mji.edu/
is home to the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, which offers both a minor and major in Jewish studies. The center consists of faculty across various departments, and offers courses in Hebrew, Yiddish, Jewish history
, rabbinics, Jewish literature
, political science
and more. Notable faculty include Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern
, Irwin Weil
, Jacob Lassner
, Beverly Mortensen
and Elie Rekhess
. http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/jewish-studies/
offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Judaic Studies and minors in Judaic Studies and Hebrew. The University is home to the Schusterman Program in Judaic
and Israel Studies which began in 1993 with the establishment of a Chairmanship by the Schusterman Family Foundation as a memorial to Sam Schusterman and Harold Josey. The program expanded to include a major in 2009. Classes include Hebrew, Jewish Literature, Jewish Mysticism, Israel, the Shoah, and Jewish History. Students can find other Jewish learning opportunities at the OU Hillel, and at monthly brown-bag lectures sponsored by the department. Notable faculty include: Dr. Norman Stillman
, Judaic Studies Program Director and holder of the Schusterman/Josey Chair in Judaic History and Dr. Ori Kritz
, Associate Professor of Hebrew, who leads the Hebrew language portion of the program. http://www.ou.edu/cas/judaicstudies
is the only institution in the world devoted exclusively to post-doctoral research on Jewish civilization in all its historical and cultural manifestations. Located in its award-winning building on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, the Center was created in the fall of 1993 by the merger of the Annenberg Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. http://www.cjs.upenn.edu.
, located in San Diego, California
, is an interdisciplinary program serving the students of SDSU as well as the greater San Diego community. SDSU offers a Major in Modern Jewish Studies and a Minor in Jewish Studies and are teaching a broad range of topics related to Jewish history, religion and culture from the biblical through the modern period. In addition, SDSU faculty are actively engaged in teaching to the broader San Diego community. SDSU also offers a minor in Hebrew language within SDSU's Department of Linguistics, Asian/Middle Eastern Languages program In addition, SDSU hosts the Archives of the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego as well as The Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies.
SDSU is ranked #28 in the country in public universities for Jewish students.
SDSU has the largest Jewish student population in San Diego, and the fourth (4th) largest in California.
has facilities that allow students to achieve their studies in academic and professional degrees. The College takes its name from Judah Touro
and Isaac Touro
, Jewish community leaders of colonial America, who represent the ideals upon which the College bases its mission.http://www.touro.edu/general/mission.asp
University College London
University College London (UCL) houses the largest department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies in Europe. The department is the only one in the UK to offer a full degree course and research supervision in Jewish Studies at the BA Honours, MA, MPhil and PhD levels in every subject of Hebrew and Jewish Studies—philology, history, and literature—covering virtually the entire chronological and geographical span of the Hebrew and Jewish civilisation from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the modern period. As the first university in England to open its doors to Women, Roman Catholics and Dissenters, UCL was also the first to admit Jewish students. This traditional link of the College with the Anglo-Jewish community is very much alive today. Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778–1859), one of the leading figures in the struggle for Jewish emancipation in England, was among the principal founders of University College and the chief promotor of its Hebrew department. At his instigation, Hyman Hurwitz
was appointed as the first Professor of Hebrew in 1828. In 1967 the department was renamed the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies and extended to include, in addition to the established courses in Hebrew language and literature, a much wider range of courses with an emphasis on Jewish history. The department acts as host to both the Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE)http://www.jhse.org/ and the Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS),http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/ijs/index.htm which organises annual public lecture series and international conferences on all aspects of Jewish civilisation.http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/home/index.php
has one of the largest departments of Jewish studies outside Israel and is the home of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, the leading modern-orthodox rabbinical college in the United States. Its Jewish studies library contains over 300,000 volumes. It also houses the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies
.
Prominent Jewish Studies faculty members include Richard C Steiner
, Barry Eichler, Debra Kaplan, Haym Soloveitchik
, Ephraim Kanarfogel
, David Berger
, Mordechai Z. Cohen, Shalom Carmy
, Steven Fine
, Adam Zachary Newton
, and Jeffrey S. Gurock
.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
and combines aspects of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
(especially Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
), religious studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
, archeology, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s (Jewish languages
Jewish languages
Jewish languages are the various languages and dialects that developed in Jewish communities around the world.Although Hebrew was the daily speech of the Jewish people for centuries, by the fifth century BCE, the closely related Aramaic joined Hebrew as the spoken language in Judea and by the third...
), political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, area studies
Area studies
Area studies are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what are, in the practice of scholarship, many heterogeneous fields of research, encompassing...
, women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
, and ethnic studies
Ethnic studies
Ethnic studies is the interdisciplinary study of racialized peoples in the world in relation to ethnicity. It evolved in the second half of the 20th century partly in response to charges that traditional disciplines such as anthropology, history, English, ethnology, Asian studies, and orientalism...
. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
s and universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Related fields include Holocaust research
Holocaust research
Holocaust research is a scholarly discipline that encompasses the historical research and study of the Holocaust.Among the research institutions and academic programmes specializing in Holocaust research are the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel, the...
and Israel studies
Israel Studies
Israel Studies is a multidisciplinary academic journal covering the history, politics, society and culture of the modern state of Israel....
, and in Israel, Jewish Thought
Jewish thought
Jewish Thought is a field of Jewish Studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, and their historical development...
.
History
The Jewish tradition generally places a high value on learning and study, especially of religious textReligious text
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...
s. Torah study
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
(compromising study of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and more broadly of the entire Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
as well as Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
such as the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
) is considered a religious obligation
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
.
Since the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and the growth of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
, many people, including people not of the Jewish faith, have chosen to study Jews and Judaism as a means of understanding the Jewish religion, heritage, and Jewish history.
Religious instruction specifically for Jews, especially for those who wish to join the rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nate, is taught at Jewish seminaries
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
(and in Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s). Among the most prominent are the Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
and the Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
Hebrew Union College
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
. For the majority of Jewish students attending regular academic colleges and universities there is a growing choice of Jewish studies courses and even degrees available at many institutions.
The subject of antisemitism and the Holocaust, as well as the establishment of the modern State of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the revival of the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
have all stimulated unusual interest in greater in-depth academic study, research, reading and lecturing about these core areas of knowledge related to current events. In the United States, the unique position that Jewish Americans
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
have held within the nation's complex social structure has created substantial scholarship, especially with regards to topics such as interfaith marriage, political activism, and influence on popular culture.
The political situation in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, especially the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, has raised the profile of Jews, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, and Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
on campuses, spurring many on to study this subject for non-degree as well as for credits in obtaining a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
or Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
. A growing number of mature students are even obtaining Ph.D.s
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Jewish studies judging by the quantity of courses and programs available. Many hope to obtain employment in the field of Jewish education or in Jewish communal service agencies.
Many Christians are searching for an understanding of the Jewish background for Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and for the source of monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
that sprang from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. There are those who are seeking an understanding of the complex and volatile relationship between Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. Others are searching for spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and therefore seek classes in Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
(Jewish mysticism) and Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
. There are also those who have a genuine concern and attachment to modern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
as Christian Zionists and therefore seek to learn more about the subjects related to their beliefs.
The following are only a few significant examples of places where Jewish studies are offered and flourish in an academic setting:
Albany, State University of New York
The Judaic Studies (JST) department at UAlbany offers undergraduate courses at elementary and advanced levels in Jewish history and culture, as well as Hebrew. Both a major and a minor in Judaic Studies are offered, as well as a minor in Hebrew. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/Courses range from basic introductory courses on particular topics in Judaic studies to more advanced seminars where students can explore questions and ideas in more depth. Many of the courses, both upper- and lower-level courses, are cross-listed with other departments, providing students with exposure to different disciplinary methods. There are also opportunities for students to earn independent study credit through which they can work on an idea or question particular to their own interests, while also gaining valuable research and writing experience. Practicum credit may also be earned by assisting a professor in a course, and Internship credit is available through community service. http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/a_jst.html
Qualified students also have the option of enrolling in the Honors Program to be considered for a BA in Judaic Studies with Honors upon successful completion of an honors thesis. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_honors.shtml
Hebrew language classes are also available at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels, and for students who are advanced in their language studies, Practicum and Independent study credit may also be earned. http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/a_heb.html
Students may also apply for department-sponsored scholarships to help further their educational goals. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_study_awards.shtml
The Center for Jewish Studies, which is affiliated with the Judaic Studies department, sponsor several talks each semester, which are open to both the local, as well as academic communities, and include lectures and discussions by Jewish Studies scholars and writers. http://www.albany.edu/jewishstudies/
Many students also take advantage of the SUNY-wide Israel study program for a semester or a year, which is overseen by the Judaic Studies department and is open to everyone. http://www.albany.edu/judaic_studies/js_study_abroad.shtml
American Jewish University
The American Jewish University, formerly the separate institutions University of JudaismUniversity of Judaism
The American Jewish University, formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish, non-denominational educational institution in Los Angeles, California....
and Brandeis-Bardin Institute
Brandeis-Bardin Institute
The Brandeis-Bardin Campus of American Jewish University is a Jewish retreat located in Simi Valley, California, USA. Formerly known as the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, it is used for nondenominational summer programs for children, teens and young adults....
, is a Jewish, non-denominational and highly eclectic institution. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in which 12,000 students are enrolled annually in non-credit granting courses. A prominent program of the Center is the university's annual speaker series, featuring luminaries like Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Colin Powell, and other political and diplomatic leaders. AJU's academic division includes the College of Arts and Sciences, leading to a B.A. degree in majors such as Bioethics (pre-med), Business, Communication Arts & Advocacy, Jewish Studies, Political Science and Psychology. In addition, AJU offers graduate degrees through the Fingerhut School of Education, The David L. Lieber Graduate School, and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, informally known as the "Ziegler School" or simply "Ziegler", is the graduate program of study leading to Ordination as Conservative Rabbis at the American Jewish University...
, a Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
Jewish rabbinical seminary. AJU is host to two "think tanks," the Center for Israel Studies (CIS) and the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust. Through the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, the University has oversight over Camps Ramah, Alonim, and Gan Alonim.
Bar-Ilan UniversityBar-Ilan UniversityBar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, has the world's largest school of Jewish Studies, which includes 14 teaching departments, 21 research institutes, some 300 faculty members and over 2,000 students http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/centersE.htm. The school publishes 11 journals http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/journalsE.htm and the only internet journal in Jewish Studies - "Jewish Studies" http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/JSIJ. Flagship projects of the Faculty of Jewish Studies include: the Responsa Project http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Responsa which is the largest data base of classical Jewish sources throughout the ages; The "Mikraot Gdolot Haketer" which is the most accurate edition of the Mikraot Gdolot; The Ingeborg Rennert Center of Jerusalem Studies http://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert; and the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project http://www.dig-gath.org, the excavations of the site of biblical Gath of the PhilistinesPhilistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
.
University of California-Berkeley
The University of California-Berkeley offers the Joint Doctoral Program in Jewish Studies (JDP) in collaboration with the Graduate Theological Union. Graduate Students in this interdisciplinary program pick one major and one minor period as well as a discipline. The JDP's strengths lie in its cutting-edge approaches to Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Rabbinics, cultural studies and critical theory. Professors and Graduate students with scholarly interest in Jewish Studies can be found across the Humanities.Binghamton UniversityBinghamton UniversityBinghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
Binghamton University (SUNY) offers a major and a minor in Judaic Studies (JUST). The department offers two concentrations: 1) Jewish history and culture and 2) Hebrew language and literature. There are a wide variety of courses offered. The faculty members are prolific scholars and interested in diverse areas of Jewish studies. Internship credits are available. http://just.binghamton.edu/Brandeis UniversityBrandeis UniversityBrandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
The Lown School of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, one of the most comprehensive centers for Judaic studies outside Israel, reflects Brandeis's special commitment to scholarship that illuminates issues of concern to the Jewish community, scholars in religion, and students of the ancient and modern Near East. It houses the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, the Steinhardt Social Research Institute, the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry, the Jacob and Libby Goodman Institute for the Study of Zionism, the Bernard G. and Rhoda G. Sarnat Center for the Study of Anti-Jewishness, and the Benjamin S. Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service. The National Center for Jewish FilmNational Center for Jewish Film
The National Center for Jewish Film is a non-profit motion picture archive, distributor, and resource center. It houses the largest collection of Jewish-themed film and video outside of Israel...
and the American Jewish Historical Society
American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American...
are associated with the Lown School. http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/
Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
offers a Judaic Studies program that includes an undergraduate concentration and graduate MA and PhD degrees. This interdisciplinary department brings scholars with a specific focus on Jewish Studies together with those from other Brown departments including history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
. Faculty areas of focus include the Hebrew Language, Jewish Thought, Modern Hebrew and Jewish Literature, Ancient Judaism, Modern Jewish History, Biblical Studies, Rabbinics and Early Judaism, and Latin American Jewish Literature. http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Judaic_Studies/about/
Birobidzhan Jewish National University
The Birobidzhan Jewish National UniversityBirobidzhan Jewish National University
The Birobidzhan Jewish National University is a university in Russia.-Overview:The university works in cooperation with the local Jewish community of Birobidzhan and the Birobidzhan Synagogue. It is unique in the Russian Far East. The basis of the training course is study of the Hebrew language,...
works in cooperation with the local Jewish community of Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan
Birobidzhan is a town and the administrative center of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Trans-Siberian railway, close to the border with the People's Republic of China....
. The university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
is unique in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. The basis of the training course is study of the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, history and classic Jewish texts. http://www.eao.ru/eng/?p=365
In recent years, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Jewish Autonomous Oblast
The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated in the Russian Far East, bordering Khabarovsk Krai and Amur Oblast of Russia and Heilongjiang province of China. Its administrative center is the town of Birobidzhan....
has grown interested in its Jewish roots. Students study Hebrew and Yiddish at a Jewish school and Birobidzhan Jewish National University. In 1989, the Jewish center founded its Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
, where children studyYiddish, learn folk
Folk
The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...
Jewish dance
Jewish dance
Jewish dance refers to dance associated with Jews and Judaism. Dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions...
, and learn about the history of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The Israeli government helps fund the program. http://vn.vladnews.ru/Arch/2000/ISS207/focus.html
Columbia University
The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
http://www.iijs.columbia.edu/index.html remains one of the leading institutions in Jewish studies in the country and the world. Undergraduate enrollment in these courses has historically been robust and continues to grow. Columbia also offers a joint undergraduate degree with the Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
with which it is affiliated. Columbia is home to one of the most successful graduate programs in Jewish history and Yiddish studies outside of Israel, and its graduate program in Talmud and Judaism is world renowned.
Cornell University
The Program of Jewish Studies was founded as an extension of the Department of Semitic Languages and Literatures, now the Department of Near Eastern Studies, in 1973 and attained status as an intercollegiate program in 1976. The program has grown out of the conviction that Judaic civilization merits its own comprehensive and thorough treatment and that proper understanding of any culture is inconceivable without adequate knowledge of the language, literature, and history of the people that created it. Accordingly, the offerings in the areas of Jewish languages and literatures have been considerably expanded, and courses in ancient, medieval, and especially modern Jewish history and culture have been added to the program. It is a broadly based, interdisciplinary program, bringing together faculty from various Cornell departments and colleges. The scope of the Jewish Studies curriculum covers Jewish civilization from its ancient Near Eastern origins through its contemporary history and culture in Israel and the diaspora communities around the world. It is a secular, academic program, the interests of which are diverse and cross-cultural. The program recognizes its special relationship to teaching and research in classical Judaica and Hebraica pursued by the members of the Department of Near Eastern Studies. It presently enables students to obtain basic instruction and specialization in the fields of Semitic languages; the Hebrew Bible; medieval and modern Hebrew literature; ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish history; and Holocaust studies. In some of these fields students may take courses on both graduate and undergraduate levels. Faculty throughout the university provide breadth to the program by offering courses in related areas of study. http://www.arts.cornell.edu/jwst/gen.htmlFairfield University
The Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield UniversityFairfield University
Fairfield University is a private, co-educational undergraduate and master's level teaching-oriented university located in Fairfield, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1942, and today is one of 28 member institutions of the...
was founded in 1994 with an initial endowment of $1.5 million from Carl and Dorothy Bennett of Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...
. The Bennett Center's goal is to provide Fairfield University students exposure to and contact with Jewish ideas, culture, and thinking. For example, the Bennett Center has brought several world-renowned lecturers to the University, including Nobel Prize-winner Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
, Former Ambassador Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross
Dennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He has served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W...
, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...
.
Fairfield University also began offering an academic minor in Judaic Studies within the Religion Department beginning in 1996. The major objective of the Program in Judaic Studies is to provide a variety of courses that will deepen students' knowledge and understanding of Jewish faith, history, and culture. It seeks to integrate Judaic Studies into the curriculum of the Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences
Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences
The Fairfield College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest schools within Fairfield University located in Fairfield, Connecticut. The College is host to 15 departments and 19 programs, led by roughly 150 full-time faculty and serving approximately 2,000 students...
and to offer programs and special events of interest to the University community and to audiences drawn from the Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The county population is 916,829 according to the 2010 Census. There are currently 1,465 people per square mile in the county. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut and contains...
community.
Since their inception, Dr. Ellen Umansky
Ellen Umansky
Dr. Ellen Umansky is the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University located in Fairfield, Connecticut....
has served as both the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and the Director of the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center.
The George Washington University
Through the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the Judaic Studies Program at The George Washington University offers students the ability to study in the proximity to some of the most influential Jewish and Jewish-related institutions in the United States. http://www.gwu.edu/~judaic/ Because of its location on the Foggy Bottom campus in downtown Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, internships with organizations such as the American Jewish Committee, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Embassy of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in Washington, the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
The Sixth & I Historic Synagogue is a non-denominational, non-membership, non-traditional Jewish synagogue located at the corner of Sixth Street and I Street, NW in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the city...
, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
are not only easily accessible but also very common.
With study abroad connections at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, Ben Gurion University, and the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
there is also a strong emphasis in the program on learning Hebrew. Professors such as Max Ticktin, Eric H. Cline
Eric H. Cline
Eric H. Cline is an author, historian, archaeologist, and professor of ancient history and archaeology at The George Washington University in Washington DC, where he is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations as well as Director of...
, Amitai Etzioni
Amitai Etzioni
Amitai Etzioni is a German-Israeli-American sociologist.-Biography:In 1933, Amitai Etzioni was only four years old when the Nazis rose to power in Germany. He was separated from his family but reunited with them by the year 1947...
, Yaron Peleg, Lauren Strauss, Sergio Waisman, and Mark Saperstein are readily accessible to students and are considered some of the best experts in their field. For example, Dr. Eric H. Cline
Eric H. Cline
Eric H. Cline is an author, historian, archaeologist, and professor of ancient history and archaeology at The George Washington University in Washington DC, where he is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations as well as Director of...
has appeared in many television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and the History Channel. Traveling professors such as Jacob Lassner
Jacob Lassner
Jacob Lassner is the Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish civilization at Northwestern University.Professor Lassner specializes in Medieval Near Eastern History with an emphasis on urban structures, political culture and the background to Jewish-Muslim relations.-Education and...
have also taught courses at the program.
Due to its nearly perfect location in downtown Washington,D.C. students also have access to the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. The George Washington University's Gelman Library also hosts the I. Edward Kiev Collection - one of the largest Jewish academic archives on the East Coast. http://www.gwu.edu/gelman/spec/kiev/
Harvard University
Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
was the first major American university to establish a department of Judaic Studies and appointed Dr. Harry Austryn Wolfson
Harry Austryn Wolfson
Harry Austryn Wolfson was a scholar, philosopher, and historian at Harvard University, the first chairman of a Judaic Studies Center in the United States...
as the first head of department: The Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University is the focal point for the study and teaching of Judaica through publications, fellowships, lectures, and symposia on topics of interest to scholars and to the general public. The Center sponsors visiting scholars and post-doctoral research fellows and coordinates undergraduate and graduate studies on an interdisciplinary basis...Harvard was the first university in America to establish a Chair in Jewish Studies, the Nathan Littauer Professorship of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy (1925). Since then, Harvard's commitment to Jewish Studies has continued unabated, and its efforts to solidify and broaden the presence of this field in the curriculum ultimately resulted in the creation of Harvard's Center for Jewish Studies in 1978. The hope of the Harvard alumni, faculty and administration involved in this project was that the new Center would not only satisfy an unmistakable need for further growth within the University itself but would also benefit the study and teaching of Judaica throughout the country. http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~cjs/
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Institute of Jewish Studies of The Hebrew University of JerusalemHebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
was established in 1924, a few months before the official opening of the university http://jewish.huji.ac.il/about.html. Widely considered to be the world's premier center of Jewish studies, the Institute currently includes 8 teaching departments and 18 research institutes, oversees the publication of a wide variety of journals and periodicals and has student body of over 1200 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in Jewish studies. In addition, the university has several institutes dedicated to specific subjects of Jewish studies, such as the Institute of Contemporary Jewry http://icj.huji.ac.il/research.asp, the Institute for Research in Jewish Law http://mishpatim.mscc.huji.ac.il/jewish/jewres0e.htm, the Institute of Archaeology http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/, the Center for Jewish Art http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/cja/, the Jewish Music Research Center http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/, the Center for Jewish Education http://melton.huji.ac.il/, and the Department of Jewish Thought
Jewish thought
Jewish Thought is a field of Jewish Studies that deals with the products of Jewish thought and culture throughout the ages, and their historical development...
http://jewish.huji.ac.il/departments/thought.html. The Jewish National and University Library
Jewish National and University Library
The National Library of Israel , is the national library of Israel...
, which serves as the library of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, houses the world's largest collection of Hebraica and Judaica. The university also benefits from Jerusalem's unparalleled concentration of resources, which include: some 50 museums, most of which are dedicated to, or contain significant exhibits pertinent to, Jewish studies; dozens of independent research institutes and libraries dedicated to Jewish studies; over 100 rabbinical colleges representing all streams of Judaism; and the city of Jerusalem itself, the ancient and modern center of Jewish life, thought and study.
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaJewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
continues to be a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. Its graduate school describes itself as offering "the most extensive academic program in advanced Judaic Studies in North America." The school grants MA, DHL, and PhD degrees in the areas of: Ancient Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
; Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Ancient Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
Languages; Interdepartmental Studies; Jewish Art and Visual Culture; Jewish History
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
; Jewish Literature
Jewish literature
Jewish Literature refers to works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works of various themes written in Jewish languages, or literary works in other languages written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature...
; Jewish Philosophy
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
; Jewish Studies and Public Administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
; Jewish Studies and Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
; *Jewish Women’s Studies; Liturgy
Jewish liturgy
Jewish liturgy refers specifically to following the Torah in all of its rites and ceremonies, whether in the home or in the Synagogue. The main purposes of following the carefully laid out observances is to maintain uniformity, and to avoid improper and unacceptable practices at variance with those...
; Medieval Jewish Studies; Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
; Modern Jewish Studies; and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Rabbinics. In addition to its Graduate School, JTS also runs the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies (which is affiliated with Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and offers joint/double bachelors degree programs with both Columbia and Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
); the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education; the H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music; and the Rabbinical School.
Michigan, University of
The Jean and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
was originally formed as an independent program under the leadership of Jehuda Reinharz
Jehuda Reinharz
Jehuda Reinharz is the former President of Brandeis University, where he is Richard Koret Professor of Modern Jewish History and Director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry. On September 25, 2009 he announced his resignation as president; at the request of trustees he stayed...
in 1976 and expanded into its current model in 1988. A strong faculty with a variety of expertise has allowed the interdisciplinary program to grow significantly in recent years. Areas of special interest include numerous faculty with strengths in Rabbinics, Yiddish literature and modern Jewish history. The current director, Dr. Deborah Dash Moore, is the author of GI Jews, chronicling the role of Jews in the United States military and co-editor of the two-volume Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Other leading faculty members include Zvi Gitelman, Todd Endelman
Todd Endelman
Todd M. Endelman is the William Haber Professor of Modern Jewish History at the University of Michigan. He specializes in the social history of Jews in Western Europe and in Anglo-Jewish history...
, Anita Norich, Madeline Kochen, Mikhail Krutikov, Elliot Ginsburg, Scott Spector and Julian Levinson. Recent arrivals include Ryan Szpiech (Spanish, Sephardic Culture, Medieval Iberia) and Rachel Neis (Rabbinics, Late Antique Judaism).
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic
In Fall 2005, the Frankel Center announced the establishment of a new Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. The Institute hosts a dozen scholars annually for intensive research. The 2008-09 Frankel Institute theme is titled "Studying Jews" and visiting scholars include Hana Wirth-Nesher, Aharon Oppenhiemer, Regina Morantz-Sanchez
Regina Morantz-Sanchez
Regina Markell Morantz-Sanchez is an American historian, and professor at University of Michigan.She graduated from Columbia University with a PhD in 1971.-Awards:*1997 Margaret W...
, Howard Lupovitch, Chaya Halberstam, and Gabriele Boccaccini. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/judaic/html/frankel_institute_3_0.htm
Michigan Jewish InstituteMichigan Jewish InstituteMichigan Jewish Institute is a Jewish-sponsored independent institution of higher and professional education, in the Metro Detroit, Michigan area, United States...
MJI provides academic baccalaureate and other degree granting programs that combine an arts and sciences foundation with concentrations in Education, Leadership and General Judaic Studies for career development in applied Judaic disciplines. The Institute is part of the Chabad-LubavitchChabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
movement.
http://www.mji.edu/
New York University
The Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies offers one of the most comprehensive Jewish Studies programs in North America, encompassing Hebrew language and literature as well as all facets of Jewish history and culture, from the ancient through the medieval to the modern. Courses are taught by faculty whose specialties include ancient Judaism, medieval Jewish history, modern Jewish history, Biblical studies, Middle Eastern studies, Postbiblical and Talmudic literature, Jewish mysticism, Jewish philosophy, and related fields http://hebrewjudaic.as.nyu.edu/page/home.Northwestern University
Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
is home to the Crown Family Center for Jewish Studies, which offers both a minor and major in Jewish studies. The center consists of faculty across various departments, and offers courses in Hebrew, Yiddish, Jewish history
Jewish history
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...
, rabbinics, Jewish literature
Jewish literature
Jewish Literature refers to works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works of various themes written in Jewish languages, or literary works in other languages written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature...
, political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and more. Notable faculty include Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern
Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern
Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern is a historian, philologist and essayist, noted in particular for his studies of the institution of Cantonism, his critique of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's controversial two volume-work about Jews in Russia, Two Hundred Years Together, as well as translations of Jorge Luis...
, Irwin Weil
Irwin Weil
Irwin Weil is a Professor Emeritus in the at Northwestern University.He is noted for his work in promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding betweenthe USA and the USSR/Russia,and for attracting large numbers of studentsto his courses....
, Jacob Lassner
Jacob Lassner
Jacob Lassner is the Philip M. & Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish civilization at Northwestern University.Professor Lassner specializes in Medieval Near Eastern History with an emphasis on urban structures, political culture and the background to Jewish-Muslim relations.-Education and...
, Beverly Mortensen
Beverly Mortensen
Beverly P. Mortensen is a musician, composer, and scholar of ancient Jewish religion at Northwestern University. In 2006, she published the book The Priesthood in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Renewing the Profession , in which she argues strongly her thesis that Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a late...
and Elie Rekhess
Elie Rekhess
Elie Rekhess born 1945 in Haifa, Israel is a scholar of political history of the Arabs in Israel; Islamic resurgence in Israel; the West Bank and Gaza and Palestinian affairs...
. http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/jewish-studies/
Oklahoma, University of
The University of OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Judaic Studies and minors in Judaic Studies and Hebrew. The University is home to the Schusterman Program in Judaic
and Israel Studies which began in 1993 with the establishment of a Chairmanship by the Schusterman Family Foundation as a memorial to Sam Schusterman and Harold Josey. The program expanded to include a major in 2009. Classes include Hebrew, Jewish Literature, Jewish Mysticism, Israel, the Shoah, and Jewish History. Students can find other Jewish learning opportunities at the OU Hillel, and at monthly brown-bag lectures sponsored by the department. Notable faculty include: Dr. Norman Stillman
Norman Stillman
Norman Arthur Stillman, also Noam , b. 1945, is the Schusterman-Josey Professor and Chair of Judaic History at the University of Oklahoma. He specializes in the intersection of Jewish and Islamic culture and history, and in Oriental and Sephardi Jewry, with special interest in the Jewish...
, Judaic Studies Program Director and holder of the Schusterman/Josey Chair in Judaic History and Dr. Ori Kritz
Ori Kritz
Ori Kritz is an Associate Professor and head of the Hebrew Language and Literature program at the University of Oklahoma, a part of the Judaic studies department. She is a prolific writer and speaker, specializing in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Jewish literature and in Jewish and Israeli...
, Associate Professor of Hebrew, who leads the Hebrew language portion of the program. http://www.ou.edu/cas/judaicstudies
Oxford University
A nine-month course offers a chance to study Judaism at many different stages in its history - from its roots as the religion of the Israelites to the 20th century - as well as the opportunity to develop skills in a language important to the knowledge, understanding, practice and interpretation of the Jewish faith (or learn a language from scratch). http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/hjs/Pennsylvania, University of
The Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
is the only institution in the world devoted exclusively to post-doctoral research on Jewish civilization in all its historical and cultural manifestations. Located in its award-winning building on Philadelphia's Independence Mall, the Center was created in the fall of 1993 by the merger of the Annenberg Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania. http://www.cjs.upenn.edu.
Princeton University
Since its establishment in 1996, the Program in Judaic Studies at Princeton University has offered a variety of courses, lectures, conferences, film series, and exhibitions taking advantage of Princeton’s rich resources in Judaic studies in a range of disciplines and departments. http://www.princeton.edu/~judaic/San Diego State University
The Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University (SDSU)San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, located in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, is an interdisciplinary program serving the students of SDSU as well as the greater San Diego community. SDSU offers a Major in Modern Jewish Studies and a Minor in Jewish Studies and are teaching a broad range of topics related to Jewish history, religion and culture from the biblical through the modern period. In addition, SDSU faculty are actively engaged in teaching to the broader San Diego community. SDSU also offers a minor in Hebrew language within SDSU's Department of Linguistics, Asian/Middle Eastern Languages program In addition, SDSU hosts the Archives of the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego as well as The Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies.
SDSU is ranked #28 in the country in public universities for Jewish students.
SDSU has the largest Jewish student population in San Diego, and the fourth (4th) largest in California.
Touro College
Touro CollegeTouro College
Touro College is a sponsored independent institution of higher and professional education, in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by Dr. Bernard Lander, the College was established primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American community...
has facilities that allow students to achieve their studies in academic and professional degrees. The College takes its name from Judah Touro
Judah Touro
Judah Touro was an American businessman and philanthropist.-Early life and career:...
and Isaac Touro
Isaac Touro
The Reverend Isaac Touro was a Jewish leader in colonial America. Born in Amsterdam, in 1758 he left for Jamaica. In 1760, he arrived to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Congregation Jeshuath Israel in Newport, Rhode Island...
, Jewish community leaders of colonial America, who represent the ideals upon which the College bases its mission.http://www.touro.edu/general/mission.asp
University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
University College London (UCL) houses the largest department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies in Europe. The department is the only one in the UK to offer a full degree course and research supervision in Jewish Studies at the BA Honours, MA, MPhil and PhD levels in every subject of Hebrew and Jewish Studies—philology, history, and literature—covering virtually the entire chronological and geographical span of the Hebrew and Jewish civilisation from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the modern period. As the first university in England to open its doors to Women, Roman Catholics and Dissenters, UCL was also the first to admit Jewish students. This traditional link of the College with the Anglo-Jewish community is very much alive today. Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778–1859), one of the leading figures in the struggle for Jewish emancipation in England, was among the principal founders of University College and the chief promotor of its Hebrew department. At his instigation, Hyman HurwitzHyman Hurwitz
Hyman Hurwitz , was a learned Jew who became first professor of Hebrew at University College, London. He was born in Poznan, Poland in 1770, came to England about 1797 and conducted a private academy for Jews at Highgate, where he established a close friendship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and...
was appointed as the first Professor of Hebrew in 1828. In 1967 the department was renamed the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies and extended to include, in addition to the established courses in Hebrew language and literature, a much wider range of courses with an emphasis on Jewish history. The department acts as host to both the Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE)http://www.jhse.org/ and the Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS),http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/ijs/index.htm which organises annual public lecture series and international conferences on all aspects of Jewish civilisation.http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hebrew-jewish/home/index.php
Virginia, University of
Jewish Studies at the University of Virginia allows students to focus on the history, languages, and literature of the Jewish people; the beliefs and practices of Judaism; and the enduring contributions of Jewish wisdom to human civilization. Courses in Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Yiddish, Bible, Rabbinic literature, Jewish ancient and modern history, Jewish literature and culture, Holocaust studies, Jewish theology, and Jewish communities and cultures worldwide. Study abroad in Israel or in other centers of Jewry beyond North America. http://www.virginia.edu/jewishstudies/Yeshiva University
Yeshiva UniversityYeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
has one of the largest departments of Jewish studies outside Israel and is the home of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, the leading modern-orthodox rabbinical college in the United States. Its Jewish studies library contains over 300,000 volumes. It also houses the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies
Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies
The Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies was Yeshiva University’s first graduate school. Founded in 1937, it was named for Yeshiva University's first president, Bernard Revel...
.
Prominent Jewish Studies faculty members include Richard C Steiner
Richard C Steiner
Richard C. Steiner is a Semitist and a scholar of Northwest Semitic languages, Jewish Studies, and Near Eastern texts. His work has focused on texts from as early as the Egyptian Pyramid texts to as late as medieval biblical interpretation...
, Barry Eichler, Debra Kaplan, Haym Soloveitchik
Haym Soloveitchik
Rabbi Dr. Haym Soloveitchik is the only son of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He graduated from the Maimonides School which his father founded in Brookline, Massachusetts and then received his B.A. degree from Harvard College in 1958 with a major in History. After two years of post-graduate study...
, Ephraim Kanarfogel
Ephraim Kanarfogel
Ephraim Kanarfogel is a professor and dean at Yeshiva University and one of the foremost experts in the fields of medieval Jewish history and rabbinic literature, as well as an ordained rabbi and Torah scholar.-Education:...
, David Berger
David Berger
David Berger may refer to:* David Berger , deputy district attorney, Los Angeles, California* David Berger , former member of Canada's Parliament and ambassador to Israel...
, Mordechai Z. Cohen, Shalom Carmy
Shalom Carmy
Shalom Carmy is an Orthodox rabbi teaching Jewish Studies and philosophy at Yeshiva University, where he is currently Chair of Bible and Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva College. He is an affiliated scholar at Cardozo Law School of Yeshiva University...
, Steven Fine
Steven Fine
Steven Fine , historian of Judaism in the Greco-Roman World, is professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York, director of Yeshiva University’s Center for Israel Studies and co-editor of Images: A Journal of Jewish Art and Visual Culture.-Education:Ph.D, Jewish History, Hebrew...
, Adam Zachary Newton
Adam Zachary Newton
Adam Zachary Newton isChair of the Department of English at Yeshiva University and the former Jane and Rowland Blumberg Centennial Professor in English at the University of Texas at Austin....
, and Jeffrey S. Gurock
Jeffrey S. Gurock
Jeffrey S. Gurock is Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University. He has written over a dozen books in the field of American Jewish History and also served as associate editor to American Jewish History, the most important journal in that field...
.
See also
- American Jewish University
- Association of Jewish Studies
- Baltimore Hebrew UniversityBaltimore Hebrew UniversityBaltimore Hebrew University was founded as Baltimore Hebrew College and Teachers Training School in 1919 to promote Jewish scholarship and academic excellence, it continues to be the only institution of higher learning in Maryland devoted solely to all aspects of Judaic and Hebraic studies...
- British Association for Jewish StudiesBritish Association for Jewish StudiesThe British Association for Jewish Studies is an organization in the United Kingdom that promotes scholarly study of Jewish culture....
- Cleveland College of Jewish Studies (Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Jewish Studies)
- Gratz CollegeGratz CollegeGratz College is a general college of Jewish studies founded in 1895 offering a broad array of credentials and programs in virtually every area of higher Judaic learning to aspiring Jewish educators, communal professionals, lay people and others seeking to become more knowledgeable of...
- Hebrew CollegeHebrew CollegeHebrew College is an accredited college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, near Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, Hebrew College is committed to Jewish scholarship in a transdenominational academic environment. The president of the college is Rabbi Daniel Lehmann...
- Hebrew Union CollegeHebrew Union CollegeThe Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
- Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des JudentumsHochschule für die Wissenschaft des JudentumsThe Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, or Higher Institute for Jewish Studies, was a rabbinical seminary, established in Berlin in 1872 destroyed by the Nazi government of Germany in 1942...
- Jewish Theological SeminaryJewish Theological Seminary of AmericaThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
- Reconstructionist Rabbinical CollegeReconstructionist Rabbinical CollegeThe Reconstructionist Rabbinical College , is located in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, about 10 miles north of central Philadelphia. RRC is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and...
- Spertus InstituteSpertus InstituteSpertus Institute of Jewish Studies is a leading center for Jewish learning and culture in Chicago, Illinois. Not affiliated with any single branch of Judaism, Spertus offers opportunities for people of all backgrounds to learn about and explore the Jewish experience. Its main campus is located at...
- Wissenschaft des JudentumsWissenschaft des JudentumsWissenschaft des Judentums , refers to a nineteenth-century movement premised on the critical investigation of Jewish literature and culture, including rabbinic literature, using scientific methods to analyze the origins of Jewish traditions.-The Verein für Cultur und Wissenschaft der Juden:The ...
- YeshivaYeshivaYeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
- Gender and JudaismGender and JudaismGender and Judaism is an emerging subfield at the intersection of gender studies and Jewish studies. Gender studies centers on interdisciplinary research on the phenomenon of gender. It focuses on cultural representations of gender and people's lived experience...
- Marshall Sklare AwardMarshall Sklare AwardThe Marshall Sklare Award is an annual honor of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry . The ASSJ seeks to recognize "a senior scholar who has made a significant scholarly contribution to the social scientific study of Jewry." In most cases, the recipient has given a scholarly...
External links
- American Jewish University
- Institute for Global Jewish Affairs
- Ismar Elbogen Network for Jewish cultural history
- Elbogen Network Blog (News on Jewish Studies and related research collections in archives and libraries)
- Academic Jewish Studies Internet Directory (Access to over 400 Jewish Studies sites, including library catalogs and databases)
- jbiblio.com - The Jewish Book Information Network
- Index of Jewish Studies Newsletters
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Bar-Ilan University
- Faculty of Jewish Studies, Bar-Ilan University
- Carl & Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at Fairfield University
- Touro College
- The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
- Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institute for German-Jewish History
- Middle East and Jewish Studies at Columbia University
- The Association for Jewish Studies
- Jewish Studies Resources: Judaic Studies Program at Princeton University
- Paideia - The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden
- Rutgers University Religion Department: Jewish Studies
- Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University
- Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at University of Michigan
- Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
- Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota.
- Judaic Studies Program at Michigan Jewish Institute
- Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University
- Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University
- Jewish Studies at Charles University in Prague