2020 Events

HBI Virtual Conversations with Anna Solomon, author of "The Book of V."

December 2, 2020

Watch here

Become a Gett Advocate

Gett advocates receive training to be able to to accompany women through the Jewish divorce process in the Boston Rabbinical court.

Presented by the Boston Agunah Taskforce

The World Split Open: Redefining Sexual Harm in Halakhah

November 18, 2020

Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture

Rachel Adler
David Ellenson Professor of Modern Jewish Thought
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Los Angeles Campus

Watch here

Healing, Support & Commemoration: Reform Jewish Liturgy for HIV/AIDS

November 16, 2020

HBI Seminar Series

Elazar Ben-Lulu, The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania & Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Discussant: Professor Shirley Idelson, director of Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program

Watch here

TLV TV Israeli TV Binge: Unchained - Live Q&A

November 15, 2020

Sponsored by the Boston Jewish Film Festival, the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, and the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies with cosponsorships from the following Brandeis University partners: Brandeis Alumni Association,  Hebrew Language and Literature Program, Hillel, and the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies.

Unsung Heroines of the Holocaust: A Personal Reflection in Contemporary Times

October 26, 2020

HBI Seminar Series

Sarah Swartz, HBI Research Associate

Watch here

Braided Memories: A Journey of Words and Photographs

October 20, 2020

HBI Project on Latin American Jewish & Gender Studies

Poet and scholar Marjorie Agosín and photographer Samuel Shats explore the truth that lies in fragmented memories, the legacy of refugees defined by truncated pasts, and the power of art as a vehicle for healing across generations.

Watch here

Monologues from the Makom

October 19, 2020

A conversation and readings by editors and contributors: Rivka Cohen ’17, Naima Hirsch (HBI Intern 2018), Alona Weimer ’18, and Jordyn Kaufman, moderated by HBI Director Lisa Fishbayn Joffe.

Watch here

HBI Virtual Conversations with Marra B. Gad, author of "The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl"

October 14, 2020

HBI and Marra B. Gad discussed The Color of Love, Marra’s award-winning and compelling memoir about growing up as “a mixed-race, Jewish unicorn” and how she transcended intolerance, trauma, and racism through love.

Jewish Women Medical Practitioners in Europe Before, During and After the Holocaust

October 13, 2020

Launch Event for NASHIM Issue 36

Watch here

Wandering Jews and Latinx Migrations

October 8, 2020

HBI Project on Latin American Jewish & Gender Studies

During Sukkot and Latinx Heritage month, join HBI Project on Latin American Jewish & Gender Studies and Jewtina y Co., for a panel discussion on contemporary Jewish Latinx migration in the context of race, gender, and legality.

Co-Sponsored by Jewtina y Co., Brandeis Alumni Association, the Latin America Initiative, International Business School, Brandeis Latin American and Latino Studies Program, Brandeis Hispanic Studies, J-Lats Princeton

Watch here

The Days Between: Blessings, Poems, and Directions of the Heart for the Jewish High Holiday Season

September 23, 2020

For those seeking to connect more deeply with their Judaism, and for all those in search of a contemplative approach to these challenging times, poet and scholar Marcia Falk reads from and comments on her groundbreaking book, which re-creates prayers and rituals from a meditative, inclusive perspective.

To purchase a personally inscribed copy of the book please email Marcia Falk with "Purchase Days Between" in the subject line.

Watch here

Friendship, Kinship, Partnership: Women’s Networks as a Political Mechanism

September 21, 2020

HBI Seminar Series

Bat-Sheva Margalit Stern, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies

Watch here

Femicide in Israel: A Pandemic during a Pandemic

September 14, 2020

HBI Seminar Series

Shalva Weil, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Watch here

Braided: A Journey of A Thousand Challahs

September 10, 2020

HBI Virtual Conversations with Beth Ricanati, MD

Watch here

HBI Virtual Conversations with Pamela Nadell

July 8, 2020

Watch here

Jewish Artist Experience: Lynne Avadenka

June 30, 2020

Artist Lynne Avadenka, 2019 HBI Research Award Recipient and 2008 Artist in Residence, explored her newest endeavor, an artistic investigation into Jewish women's involvement in early Hebrew printing. Lynne is an American artist/printmaker specializing in multimedia works influenced by the Jewish experience. She is known for her art that explores text and image, and the physical and philosophical idea of the book.

Co-Sponsored by the Vilna Shul

Masculinity, Race, and Jewish Stardom

June 25, 2020

Jonathan Branfman, Cornell University, 2020-2022: Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies

Summer 2020 HBI Scholar in Residence

HBI Conversations with Jennifer Cody Epstein, author of "Wunderland"

June 3, 2020

Watch here

Virtual Workshop: Exercises for the Quiet Eye with Annie Storr

May 27, 2020

WSRC Scholar, museum educator and art historian, Annie Storr leads a virtual workshop in reflective looking using imagery from the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute exhibition "Ich Bin Di Sitra Achra (I am the Other)" by Shterna Goldbloom.

A Look at Women's Letters in the Cairo Geniza

May 20, 2020

Renée Levine Melammed, Schechter Institute in Jerusalem

Watch here

Reading Glikl: Life Stories from the Pen of a 17th-Century Jewish Working Mother, a virtual learning series

May 5, 12, 19, 2020

HBI Conversations with Susan Solomont, author of "Lost and Found in Spain: Tales of an Ambassador’s Wife"

May 13, 2020

Watch here

HBI Conversations with Rachel Barenbaum, author of "A Bend in the Stars"

May 6, 2020

Watch here

Virtual Workshop: Self(ie) in Isolation

May 3, 2020

As part of the Create@Brandeis Living Room Fest, Shterna Goldbloom leads a workshop in fine-tuning your selfie techniques during these selfie-necessary times. Goldbloom will talk about her self-portraits from her current exhibition “Ich Bin Di Sitra Achra (I Am the Other)” at the Kniznick Gallery through the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Artist Program.

HBI Conversations with Goldie Goldbloom, author of "On Division"

April 22, 2020

Watch here

The Concubine in the Refrigerator: Objectifying Women in Comics and Scripture

March 30, 2020

Esther Brownsmith, Brandeis University

Watch here

Latina Jews Crafting Bridges

February 27, 2020

A conversation with Aileen Josephs ’86, Rosa Lowinger ’78 and Dalia Wassner as they engage the many ways Latina Jews are impacting America in the fields of law, architecture, art and academia. 

The event was co-sponsored by Brandeis Alumni Club of South Florida and HBI's Project on Latin American Jewish & Gender Studies.

Next Year in Argentina

February 12, 2020

A film screening of "Next Year in Argentina" followed by a panel discussion. The speakers examined Argentinian Jewry and the subject of return migration.

The Cultural Power of Religious Women

February 11, 2020

Karen Skinazi, University of Bristol

Skinazi discussed the ways that women have inspired change in Orthodox Judaism through creative and cultural channels, such as memoirs, novels, film, and social media, using Naomi Alderman’s novel Disobedience (2006) as a case study.

Holocaust Remembrance: "Only Someone Forgotten is Dead" Restoring Through Stories

February 6, 2020

The Holocaust Research Study Group presents lectures, readings, visual talks, and break-out sessions in a half-day Holocaust Remembrance event

A Suffrage and Citizenship Teach-In: 72 Years in 72 Minutes

January 30, 2020

It took 72 years for women to get the right to vote in the US. Come to this Teach-In to learn about the mobilization from 1848 at Seneca Falls to 1920 with passage of the 19th Constitutional Amendment. 

Co-sponsored by the Women's Studies Research CenterWomen's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Politics Department at Brandeis University

Jewish Women and Religious Change in Israel and the United States: Divergence and Dialogue

January 30, 2020

A conversation about developments concerning Israeli women in Judaism, both Orthodox and secular, and how they have impacted similar issues in the US. Co-sponsored by the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and JFAB: Jewish Feminist Association of Brandeis.

Watch Here