Tauber Institute Events

Upcoming Events

An image of the Mazaltob book cover featuring a portrait of a woman staring off to the left.
Mazaltob - Sephardi Women in Translation Book Talk at The Vilna Shul

March 28, 2024

At The Vilna Shul in Boston, a discussion featuring translators/editors Frances Malino and Yaëlle Azagury moderated by Jonathan Decter will take place Thursday, March 28 at 6:30pm. Registration is required.

Mazaltob is a first-ever English translation of a compelling work by a forerunner of modern Sephardi feminist literature.

Mazaltob, by Blanche Bendahan, is a fascinating portrait of a young Moroccan Sephardi woman as she navigates the ever-shifting ground between tradition and modernity, East and West, self and other, obligation and desire. Stylistically bold, culturally rich, by turns comic and wrenching, this polyphonic novel is both historically important and, in its new translation, a gift for our times.

headshot of Susannah Heschel in front of a blurry, green outdoor scene
The 60th Annual Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture

April 4, 2024

Susannah Heschel, the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, will deliver the 60th Annual Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 4:30pm Eastern at Brandeis University. This year's lecture, "Does Jewish Studies Have a Theory? Changing Historiographical Methods and Contexts from the 19th Century to the Present," will be in-person, with a reception to follow. RSVPs are recommended.

The Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture is named for Simon Rawidowicz (1896–1957), one of the most innovative Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century and a founding member of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. Recordings of Rawidowicz lectures from 2018 to 2023 can be viewed on our Lectures page. 

Headshot of Hasia Diner.
Hasia Diner — Jewish Studies Colloquium

April 16, 2024

The Tauber Institute welcomes Hasia Diner of New York University to the Jewish Studies Colloquium. She will present her paper "Writing American Jewish History: An Irish Project" at 12:45pm on April 16, 2024 in Lown 315 and streaming live on Zoom. Registration is required for Zoom

The event is free and open to the public, and a light kosher lunch will be served at 12:30pm. The paper will be available two weeks in advance.

Recent Events

A headshot of Eugene Sheppard.
Eugene Sheppard — Jewish Studies Colloquium

March 12, 2024

The Tauber Institute hosted Eugene Sheppard—the associate director of the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry and faculty member in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the History of Ideas Program at Brandeis University—at the Jewish Studies Colloquium. He presented his paper "Valeriu Marcu: Dialectics, Power, and the Writing of History" at 12:45pm on March 12, 2024.

A headshot of Kirsten Collins.
Kirsten Collins — Jewish Studies Colloquium

February 27, 2024

The Tauber Institute hosted Kirsten Collins of the University of Chicago Divinity School to the Jewish Studies Colloquium. She presented her paper "That Other Fornication: Race and Judaism in Foucault's Concept of Critique" on February 27, 2024.

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Headshots of Scott Ury and Guy Miron.
Author Conversations at the Tauber Institute: Scott Ury and Guy Miron on "Antisemitism and the Politics of History"

February 13, 2024

The Tauber Institute held another installment of our Author Conversations on Tuesday, February 13 featuring Scott Ury (Tel Aviv University) and Guy Miron (Open University of Israel) in conversation on Zoom with the associate director of the Tauber Institute, Eugene Sheppard.

Ury and Miron are the editors of the new volume Antisemitism and the Politics of History, a groundbreaking study comprised of seventeen essays by prominent scholars from Europe, Israel, and the United States that examines the history of and dilemmas associated with using "antisemitism" and related terms as tools for both historical analysis and public discourse. Antisemitism and the Politics of History is a Sarnat Library book in the Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry, published by Brandeis University Press.

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A series of three headshots of Jonathan Crane, Emily Filler, and Mira Wasserman.
Jonathan Crane, Emily Filler, and Mira Wasserman — Jewish Studies Colloquium

January 23, 2024

The Tauber Institute hosted Jonathan Crane of Emory University, Emily Filler of Washington and Lee University, and Mira Wasserman of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College at the Jewish Studies Colloquium. They presented their paper "Introducing Modern Jewish Ethics, 1970-Present" on January 23, 2024. 

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An image of Paola Tartakoff smiling at the camera.
Paola Tartakoff — Jewish Studies Colloquium

December 5, 2023

The Tauber Institute welcomed Paola Tartakoff of Rutgers University to the Jewish Studies Colloquium. She presented her paper "Mendicant Jewish Converts and Miracle Stories in the Medieval Pyrenees" on December 5, 2023.

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A headshot of Hadar Feldman Samet
Hadar Feldman Samet — Jewish Studies Colloquium

November 14, 2023

The Tauber Institute hosted Hadar Feldman Samet of the Tel Aviv University to the Jewish Studies Colloquium. She presented her paper "Between the Public and the Communal: Depictions of Sabbatian Spaces in the Late Ottoman Era" on Tuesday November 14, 2023.

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A headshot of Ildikó Barna with brown framed glasses looking into the camera and smiling.
Ildikó Barna — Jewish Studies Colloquium

October 24, 2023

The Tauber Institute welcomed Ildikó Barna of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest to the Jewish Studies Colloquium. She presented her paper "Interdisciplinary Exploration of Post-Holocaust History through Digital Tools: Opportunities and Limitations" on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

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headshot of Tomaz Jardim wearing glasses and a dark red sweater
Tomaz Jardim on the "Bitch of Buchenwald"

October 20, 2023

Brandeis students, faculty and staff were invited to join an open session of Laura Jockusch's course "Revenge, Justice, and Reconciliation: Mass Atrocity Trials in the Long Shadow of Nazi Crimes" (NEJS 136B) with Tomaz Jardim of the Toronto Metropolitan University discussing his book Ilse Koch on Trial: Making the Bitch of Buchenwald
Logo of "Celebrating Brandeis at 75" with blue garlands below
Brandeis in 1948: The Quest for Rights and Social Justice

October 13, 2023

The Tauber Institute presented a discussion of the founding of Brandeis University in the postwar moment, against the backdrop of the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust, the Nuremberg Trials, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, antisemitism in America, and the founding of the State of Israel. 

The event featured opening remarks by Sylvia Fuks Fried, executive director of the Tauber Institute, and a conversation between faculty associates Eugene R. Sheppard, Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought, Laura Jockusch, Albert Abramson Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies, and ChaeRan Freeze, Frances and Max Elkon Chair in Modern Jewish History, moderated by Jonathan Decter, Edmond J. Safra Professor of Sephardic Studies. The event was part of Brandeis University's 75th Anniversary Celebration.  

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Headshot of Miriam Goldstein in front of a beige background
Miriam Goldstein — Jewish Studies Colloquium

September 12, 2023

The Tauber Institute hosted Miriam Goldstein of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for the first installment of the Jewish Studies Colloquium of the 2023-24 academic year on September 12, 2023. She presented her paper "The Bible in Baghdad: A Medieval Karaite Interprets Genesis."

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book cover of "The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines" by Marat Grinberg featuring the hammer and sickle emblem in the upper left background and book spines of different colors in the foreground, alongside photos of author Marat Grinberg and ChaeRan Freeze
"The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines" Author Marat Grinberg in conversation with Prof. ChaeRan Freeze

April 27, 2023

"The Soviet Jewish Bookshelf: Jewish Culture and Identity Between the Lines" author Marat Grinberg discussed his book over Zoom with Prof. ChaeRan Freeze. 

"Here is the untold story of [Soviet Jews'] ongoing, multigenerational struggle for self-determination as told by a native son with great clarity, thoroughness, and empathy. Were this not enough, Marat Grinberg has also redefined Jewish literature as that which a living polity has rescued through conscious acts of creative rereading." — David G. Roskies, Sol & Evelyn Henkind Emeritus Professor of Yiddish Literature and Culture, The Jewish Theological Seminary

Purchase from Brandeis University Press.

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Sven-Erik Rose in front of a background of green trees

April 25, 2023

The Tauber Institute welcomed Sven-Erik Rose from the University of California, Davis, for the final installment of the Jewish Studies Colloquium of this academic year. He presented his paper "Making and Unmaking Literature in Nazi Ghettos in Poland." The event was exclusively streamed live on Zoom at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. 

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Michael Rosenthal wearing a blue shirt and glasses, smiling with his head in his hand
Spinoza & Revolution

April 18, 2023

 Prof. Eugene Sheppard's class "Spinoza Now" (NEJS 157A) featured Michael Rosenthal of the University of Toronto as he gave a talk entitled "Spinoza & Revolution." The event was scheduled for 11:10am in Schwartz 103 on the Brandeis campus.

The event was sponsored by the Tauber Institute, with the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, the Center for German and European Studies, and the History of Ideas Program

Jordan Katz seated with her arms folded outside with a house in the background
Jordan Katz — Jewish Studies Colloquium

March 14, 2023

The Tauber Institute's Jewish Studies Colloquium hosted Jordan Katz of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as she presented her paper "Registers of Belonging, Registers of Difference: Early Modern Jewish Midwives and their Records." The event was held on Zoom on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

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Susan Neiman seated on a leather sofa with her hands folded
The 59th Annual Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture

March 9, 2023

Susan Neiman delivered the 59th Annual Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture, "Racism, Antisemitism, and Rethinking Historical Reckoning," on Thursday, March 9, 2023, in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Brandeis University. 

Susan Neiman is an American philosopher and writer, and the director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, Germany. She has written extensively on the Enlightenment, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and politics.

The Simon Rawidowicz Memorial Lecture is named for Simon Rawidowicz (1896–1957), one of the most innovative Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century and a founding member of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University.

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Elias Sacks headshot seated at a desk with books in a bookcase in the background.
Elias Sacks — Jewish Studies Colloquium

February 14, 2023

Elias Sacks, director of the Jewish Publication Society, presented the paper "Do Citizens Need to be Philosophers? Nachman Krochmal's Diasporic Jewish Politics" at the Jewish Studies Colloquium

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Joshua Picard in front of stone building
Joshua Picard — Jewish Studies Colloquium

January 24, 2023

Joshua Picard of Princeton University presented the paper "The Precedents and Origin of Djerba's Or Torah Fund," at the Jewish Studies Colloquium

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