Northeastern Jewish Studies Blog
A Blog for Northeastern University Jewish Studies Faculty, Students, and Community
Menachem Kaiser is visiting Northeastern University on December 1 as part of the Fall '21 Open Classroom. He will be discussing Plunder, Reparations, and Restorative Justice with University Distinguished Professor Margaret Burnham, calling upon his experiences while writing his book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure. Cayle White, a Northeastern parent, brought… Continue reading Plunder by Menachem Kaiser
By Lori Hope Lefkovitz. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there is no right conduct; where there is no right conduct, there is no Torah. Where there is no wisdom there is no fear of God; where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom. Where there is no… Continue reading Flour and Torah
Kalah Karloff '20 is the recipient of the 2020-2021 Gideon Klein Award, given to a student at Northeastern University or Hebrew College for a project on the Holocaust and music. This award honors the memory of Gideon Klein, pianist and composer, who was imprisoned in Terezin and other concentration camps until his death in 1945.… Continue reading On Composing “Music and the Holocaust: ‘We Made Music in Hell’”
The following article, contributed by Dr. Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, Deputy Director U.S. at the Ruderman Family Foundation, examines the patterns of Jewish philanthropy during the current crisis. The Ruderman Family Foundation is a loyal and much appreciated supporter of the Northeastern Jewish Studies Program, sponsoring the Ruderman Chair (held by Professor Lori Lefkovitz), an… Continue reading Jewish Philanthropy During COVID-19 Focuses on Need, Not Affinity
By Deborah Levisohn Stanhill. Purim, which starts tonight, is one of the happiest of Jewish holidays. A festive shared meal, wine included. Costumes and masks. Singing and comic roasts. Greeting friends and neighbors with gift baskets of food. Donating to charities so that others may enjoy the same. Gathering together to read the biblical Book… Continue reading Celebrating Purim
Tu B’Shvat, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, falls on January 28 this year. Traditionally known as the New Year of the Trees, it is regarded as the point at which the trees in the Land of Israel sprout their buds, a harbinger of the spring agricultural season following the winter rains. Today,… Continue reading Thinking about the Arava desert on Tu B’Shvat
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, Professor Jonathan Kaufman reflects on the cooperation of Jews and Blacks in the Georgia Senate race, asking if it is a harbinger of renewed coalitions. by Jonathan Kaufman. As the country reels from the assault on the Capitol, Georgia’s election of two Democratic senators—one Black, one Jewish—is creating… Continue reading After Georgia, New Hope for a Black-Jewish Alliance?
A student journalist and Ruderman Scholar in Jewish Studies on the changing landscape in Jewish journalism by Deanna Schwartz. In April, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle, shut down for good. They’re not the only Jewish media outlet to shutter recently — over the past 10 years, Jewish media has suffered greatly,… Continue reading The Future of Jewish Media
By Lori Hope Lefkovitz Image above: Italian Chanukah menorah (17th or 18th century) featuring Judith, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Dawn of History At this season, when daylight hours are few and all around us people are displaying decorative lights—on homes, in windows, on evergreens—I like to imagine a time when the planet… Continue reading Secrets of the Sixth Candle
by Deborah Levisohn Stanhill. This week, Jews around the world celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. After the introspection of the High Holidays, we open ourselves once again to the world around us in joyous celebration of the fall harvest season. One of the commandments (mitzvah) of the holiday is to build, and metaphorically live in,… Continue reading Celebrating Sukkot in a pandemic
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