“Another year, another piece of wisdom”: The Sephardic Studies Program 2017 recap
Three Years of the Sephardic Studies Program at a glance.
The paradox of Hanukkah in Greece—and in Auschwitz
Professor Devin Naar explores Greek-Jewish identity through letters from the Holocaust and prayers from Salonica.
“An unjustified s(ch)mear campaign”: Narratives of American Jewish food
Professor Rachel B. Gross tracks popular narratives around American Jewish cuisine--and deli food's recent resuscitation.
Spinoza, Industrialization, and the Nineteenth-Century Ethos of Repose
Tracie Matysik explains the controversy around Spinoza's unconventional ideas about God and humanity, and why they suggest we should slow down in a fast-paced world.
The Greatest Thing: Spinoza, Loving God, and Being Loved in Return
Professor Benjamin Pollock brings together multiple philosophers' perspectives on love and the Divine to argue that our ideas about "true love" are deeply entwined with our sense of God and ourselves.
The Haskalah: Jewish Modernity & Shame
Professor Yitzhak Melamed argues that the German Jewish Enlightenment movement, the Haskalah, was motivated by a profound sense of shame.
How did the Enlightenment shape the Jews?
2017 Stroum Lecturer Jonathan Israel explores how Enlightenment thinkers both fueled anti-Semitism and created greater space for Jewish people in society.
Spinoza on the Divinity of Scripture
Does it matter if scripture is divine? Spinoza expert Steven Nadler weighs in on the philosopher's ideas about the Bible.