A virtual event presentation by Dr. Richard Sarason

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Among the most significant finds in the Cairo Genizah are fragmentary prayer books that conform to the liturgical customs and prayer formulations of the old rite of Eretz Yisrael, which died out by the fourteenth century after the Crusades.  This talk will present some of these materials, including those that have recently been incorporated into some contemporary prayer books in Israel and the Diaspora.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

RICHARD S. SARASON is The Deutsch Family Professor of Rabbinics and Liturgy, and Director of the Pines School of Graduate Studies, at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.  His publications include books and articles in the areas of early rabbinic literature, Midrash, and the history and phenomenology of Jewish prayer and ritual.  He earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Brown University (1977) and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College (1974).

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Sarah Imhoff

Please note event times are listed in MT. 

ABOUT THE EVENT:

What happens when we rethink American Jewish thought through the voices of women? This class explores the ideas, writings, and contributions of women who have shaped American Jewish life and thought, from philosophers and scholars to activists, educators, and communal leaders such as Henrietta Szold. Together, we’ll expand our understanding of what counts as “Jewish thought” and consider how these women’s perspectives have shaped American Judaism.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Sarah Imhoff is Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies and Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Chair in the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University. She is author of Masculinity and the Making of American Judaism (Indiana University Press, 2017) and The Lives of Jessie Sampter: Queer, Disabled, Zionist (Duke University Press, 2022) and, with Susannah Heschel, The Woman Question in Jewish Studies (Princeton University Press, 2025). She is also the editor of Judaism in 5 Minutes (Equinox, 2025) and, with Andrea Dara Cooper, co-editor of Jewish Women Thinkers (Wayne State University Press, forthcoming). She is the founding co-editor of the journal American Religion.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Reuven Firestone

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

While Judaism and Islam are obviously different and independent religions, they share many of the same values, practice similar kinds of rituals, and hold similar theologies. This program will explore the similarities and differences between our traditions and practices through a close examination of what Islam calls the Five Pillars of Religion.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Reuven Firestone is Regenstein Professor in medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, and affiliate professor of religion at the University of Southern California. Author of eight books and over one hundred scholarly articles on Judaism, Islam, their relationship with one another, and with Christianity, Professor Firestone lectures at universities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as throughout North America. His books include Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam, Who Are the Real Chosen People, Introduction to Islam for Jews, Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, and Holy War in Judaism. Active on the boards of numerous scholarly journals and boards and commissions treating interreligious relations and dialogue, Firestone is an ordained rabbi, received his Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from New York University, and served as Vice President of the Association for Jewish Studies and President of the International Qur’anic Studies Association.