Brandeis alumni and scholars win prestigious book awards

A number of Brandeis University alumni and scholars who received research support  from the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education have been awarded the 2014 National Jewish Book Award by the Jewish Book Council. 

Yohanan Petrovsky Shtern won in the category of history for his book, “The Golden Age Shtetl: A New History of Jewish Life in East Europe,” while Orit Kent’s book with Elie Holzer, “A Philosophy of Havruta: Understanding and Teaching the Art of Text Study in Pairs,” won in the category of Jewish education.

Additionally, Adam Mendelsohn won in the category of American Jewish Studies for his book, “The Rag Race,” while Julia Cohen and Sarah Abreyeva Stein’s edited book, “Sephardi Lives: A Documentary History, 1700-1950,” won in the category of Sephardic culture.

Cohen’s other book, “Becoming Ottomans: Sephardi Jews and Imperial Citizenship in the Modern Era,” won in the category of writing based on archival material.

Kathryn Hellerstein’s won in the category of women’s studies with her book, “A Question of Tradition: Women Poets in Yiddish, 1586-1987.”

For more information on the books or to purchase them, visit the Jewish Book Council’s website