 PROGRAM SCHEDULE
12:00 – 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 – 12:45 pm Welcome
12:45 – 1:15 pm Opening Session
1:30 – 2:30 pm Study Session I
2:45 – 3:45 pm Study Session II
4:00 – 5:00 pm Study Session III
5:00 – 6:00 pm Mincha and Closing Keynote
Opening Session:
Riding on the Marrakech Express: Inclusion of the Other in Muslim Countries Dr. Burton L. Visotzky
Study Session Topics:
Crises of Identity in 17th Century Amsterdam: The Case of Barukh/Benedictus Spinoza
Dr. Benjamin Gampel
Benedictus Spinoza is probably one of the most famous heretics in Jewish history. Born Barukh in 1632, he was excommunicated on July 27, 1656 by the Jewish community in Amsterdam where he lived. In this session, we will follow the life and thought of Barukh/Benedictus within the social and religious contexts that nourished him. We will attempt to understand how and why Amsterdam Jews rejected him; and why today the Jewish community seeks ways of incorporating him and his ideas back into our notion of the Jewish community and of Judaism. Along the way we will learn much about the nature of identity within modern Jewish culture, how we treat individuals who return today to the Jewish fold, and what we do with the ideas they bring with them.
The Scholarly Woman: Anxiety, Difference and the Dangers of Being ‘Other’
Dr. Marjorie Lehman
During the time of the Talmud, scholarly or learned women were somewhat rare. Together we will examine the way in which women were portrayed in this period by studying the life of Beruria, an extraordinary, scholarly woman who stood out in her generation. Why did Beruria cause anxiety, and what other types of women caused similar anxieties? We will also compare and contrast the way in which women are treated/portrayed/understood in Jewish life today.
A Matter of Dignity: The Path to Gay Rights in Conservative Halakhah
Rabbi Daniel Nevins
Ten years ago the Conservative Movement’s Law Committee approved a paper written by Rabbi Danny Nevins with Rabbis Elliot Dorff and Avram Reisner that supported the recognition of same sex relationships. Together we will study the core texts that were used in favor and against the gay rights agenda. We will explore the evolution of the acceptance of homosexuality in the Conservative movement from a once marginalized group to one that has joined the religious leadership of the Jewish community.
The Other in Current Jewish Interreligious Dialogue: Reflections on Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Muslim Dialogue
Dr. Burton L. Visotzky
This session will examine inter-religious dialogue in America and globally over the past decade, and offer a look at JTS’s role in inter-religious dialogue for the past 75 years. Together we will study relevant Jewish texts that have informed inter-religious dialogue, and seek to discern the reasons that our tradition obligates us to reach out to “the Other.”
Closing Keynote:
Jews and Others and Other Jews Professor Arnold M. Eisen, Chancellor, JTS |