Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights, The World Split Open: Redefining Sexual Harm in Halakhah, November 18, 2020, Delivered by Rachel Adler, David Ellenson Professor of Modern Jewish Thought Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Welcoming Remarks: Ronald Liebowitz, Brandeis President About Diane Markowicz z"l: Sylvia Neil, Founder and Chair of the HBI Project on Gender, Culture, Religion, and the Law, chair of Brandeis Fellows Council Introduction to Rachel Adler: Lisa Fishbayn Joffe, The Shulamit Reinharz Director of HBI Rachel Adler: The World Split Open: Redefining Sexual Harm in Halakhah Q&A: Moderated by Lisa Fishbayn Joffe Lamdeini, Elohai: performed by Cantor Andrea Markowicz, Deanna Neil, The annual Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights Series was created by Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law founder Sylvia Neil and her husband Dan Fischel in memory of Sylvia’s late sister, Diane Markowicz, to honor her commitment to gender equality and social justice.

Rachel Adler is the David Ellenson Professor of Modern Jewish Thought at the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). She was one of the first theologian/ethicists to integrate feminist perspectives and concerns into the interpretation of Jewish texts and the renewal of Jewish law and ethics. Her essay "The Jew Who Wasn't There," first published in 1971, is generally considered the first piece of Jewish feminist theology/ethics. She is the author of Engendering Judaism, the first work by a female theologian to win the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish Thought. In Engendering Judaism, Adler proposed a new Jewish legal model for Jewish marriage rooted in partnership law rather than property law. Some Jews use this ceremony rather than the traditional one. She has published more than 50 articles on issues involving Judaism and Gender, many of them reprinted in collections. She recently published a whimsical, adult Jewish education resource, Tales of the Holy Mysticat: Jewish Wisdom Stories by a Feline Mystic., About the Diane Markowicz Memorial Lecture on Gender and Human Rights, Diane (Dina) Markowicz November 9, 1956 - February 25, 1976, Diane (Dina) Markowicz was an extraordinary teenager who inspired people of all ages to pursue social justice. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, she was widely recognized for her advocacy on behalf of human rights, particularly efforts to free imprisoned political and Jewish activists in the former Soviet Union. She began her studies at Brandeis University after participating in a year-long program in Israel for young leaders selected from all over the world. This lecture series was created by Dan Fischel and Sylvia Neil, Diane’s sister, to honor and perpetuate Diane’s work and memory, as part of their grant initiating the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion, and the Law.