Beth Ames Swartz, “The 32 Paths of Wisdom #8”
About the Cover Artwork
The Tree of Life is a symbol that occupies a central place in many mythologies, religions and wisdom traditions. The Tree of Life symbol was visualized in the Jewish mystical tradition (in Hebrew, Kabbalah) in a diagram that consists of 10 nodes and 22 lines connecting the nodes to each other. Represented as 10 spheres, the nodes are known in Hebrew as Sefirot (singular, Sefirah) that manifest the attributes of God. The Sefirot are associated with the letters of the ineffable divine Name as well as with numbers, colors, biblical characters and virtues. In its totality, the Sefirotic Tree of Life offers a visual model, or a prism, through which to view and interpret all aspects of life. The 22 “lines,” “paths” or “pipes” transmit the divine spiritual energy (in Hebrew, Shefa) from the divine world to all levels of reality and all beings, ensuring their vitality and endowing life with spiritual meaning and purpose. The purpose of human life is to engage in Tikkun Olam (literally, “repair of the world”), namely, to do good deeds that bring the divine spiritual energy into the corporeal world.
About the Artist
Beth Ames Swartz, a Jewish ecofeminist artist, has been inspired by many intellectual, religious and wisdom traditions since the beginning of her career as an artist in 1957. In an event cosponsored by ASU Jewish Studies and the Phoenix Art Museum (Jan. 31, 2024), Professor Susan Aberth (Bard College) offered a thematic overview of Swartz’s artistic career and held a dialogue with the artist. Swartz explained how her spiritual quest led her to integrate symbols from many wisdom traditions, including Kabbalah, and how her love of nature and her concern for women and gender equality cohered with her Jewish commitment to the ideal of Tikkun Olam. The recorded event is available on our website at jewishstudies.asu.edu/ArtTalkBeth.
Beth Ames Swartz created “Jerusalem #10” from her “Israel Revisited” series on site in 1970. This picture shows Beth Ames Swartz using her “fire painting process” ritual to create “Jerusalem #10” in 1980. To learn more about Beth and her work, visit her website at bethamesswartz.com.
A welcome from our Director, Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Welcome to the new academic year of 2024–25!
The past academic year, 2023–24, has been extremely challenging due to the horrendous attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and Israel’s military retaliation. These painful events have generated protests throughout the U.S. and the world, especially on university campuses, including ASU. The Center for Jewish Studies responded to these challenges by offering three public-facing programs. Some of the highlights include: a lecture by Professor Victor Peskin (ASU) on the failed peace efforts (Oct. 30, 2023); a lecture by Professor Arieh Saposnik (BenGurion University of the Negev) on the history of Zionism (Nov. 12, 2023); and a panel that reflected on how to talk about the war in the Middle East (Nov. 9, 2023). The panel was organized in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict and the Center for the Muslim Experience in the U.S.
To help the ASU community better understand the complexity of events in the Middle East, the Center for Jewish Studies hired Dr. Adam Hefetz (University of Haifa) as a visiting Israel studies scholar to teach courses on the history of Zionism and the politics and economics of Israel. The hire is funded by a generous grant from The Israel Institute. We welcome Dr. Hefetz and his spouse to the ASU community and to Phoenix.
Despite these challenging events, Jewish Studies has offered a very robust public-facing program. Some of the highlights include:
• International workshop on “Jews and Their Neighbors: 20th Century East/Central Europe in Times of War and Beyond” (Oct. 22–23, 2023). The workshop was funded by the Lowe Family Holocaust and Genocide Education Endowment.
• Two recital-lectures by Adam Millstein on Jewish musicians of the Holocaust era: “Survival, Exile and Music and the Shadow of Nazism and Stalinism” (Nov. 16, 2023) and “Music and Modernism: The World of Erwin Schulhoff” (Nov. 20, 2023).
• Annual conference of the Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG); 2024 theme: “Biotechnology, Judaism and the Future of Humanity” (Feb. 25–26, 2024).
• Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence lectures by Professor Arnold Eisen (Jewish Theological Seminary): “Judaism, Science and the Search for the Hiding God” and “American Jewry Today and Tomorrow: Challenges, Opportunities, Crises (March 11, 2024).
In 2024–25, we will continue our public programs that cover many aspects of Jewish history, religion and culture. Please consult the calendar of events for further details. I wish all friends of Jewish Studies a healthy, happy and peaceful year, and I especially thank all those who inquired about my health after my injury on May 6, 2024.
With warmest regards,
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson Director, ASU Jewish Studies Regents Professor of History
Irving and Miriam Lowe
Professor of Modern Judaism
Series
A Year in Review 2023 - 2024
Lectures
Lost Voices of the Holocaust: Lectures and Musical Performances by Adam Millstein (The Colburn School)
• Survival, Exile and Music Under the Shadow of Nazism and Stalinism: The Story of Mieczystaw Weinberg.
• Music and Modernism: The World of Erwin Schulhoff.
Lowe Family Lecture Series
• Voices of Jewish Child Survivors as an Important Historical Source in Documenting the History of the Holocaust and its Aftermath. Joanna Michlic (Lund University, Sweden).
• Citizens of Yiddishland, or When Jewish Communists Did Not Cease to Be Jewish. Joanna NalewajkoKulikov (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland).
• Ukrainian Jews in Early TwentiethCentury: Contested Visions of Diaspora and Nation. Brian Horowitz (Tulane University).
Why Josephus? The Ancient Jewish Historian and the Shaping of Jewish and Christian Identity
• Who Was Josephus? The FirstCentury Jewish Historian Between Judea and Rome. Françoise Mirguet (ASU).
• How Josephus Read the Jewish Past: The First-Century Historian Rewrites the Bible. Daniel Stein Kokin (ASU).
• Whose Josephus? The FirstCentury Historian’s Afterlives Among Christians and Jews. Daniel Stein Kokin (ASU).
Jewish Literature Beyond the Cold War: Legacies and Futures
• From Behind a Star: Philip Roth, Rita Klimova, and the American Arrival of a Forgotten Jewish Classic. Brian Goodman (ASU).
• David Grossman’s “More Than I Love My Life” and Carceral Legacies. Joe Lockard (ASU).
• Writing Home: Identity and Belonging in New German-Jewish Literature. Natalie Lozinski-Veach (ASU).
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Why Have Peace Efforts Failed So Far? Victor Peskin (ASU).
Toward Mutual Understanding: How Do We Talk About the War in the Middle East? Anand Gopal (ASU), Chad Haines (ASU), Victor Peskin (ASU), Hava TiroshSamuelson (ASU). Moderated by John Carlson (ASU) and Tracy Fessenden (ASU). Cosponsored by CSRC and CMEUS.
The Origins of Zionism and the Making of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Arieh Saposnik (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel).
Prospects for Peace in the Middle East: Toward a Sustainable Solution. Alon Tal (Tel Aviv University, Israel).
The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Finding a Path Forward. Alon Tal (Tel Aviv University, Israel).
Artist Talk: Beth Ames Swartz in Dialogue With Professor Susan Aberth. (Bard College).
The Challenges of Modernity and the Nature of Jewish Philosophy. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (ASU).
Albert and Liese Eckstein Scholarin-Residence Program I: Judaism, Science and the Search for the Hiding God. Arnold Eisen (Jewish Theological Seminary).
Albert and Liese Eckstein Scholar-inResidence Program II: American Jewry Today and Tomorrow: Challenges, Opportunities, Crises. Arnold Eisen (Jewish Theological Seminary).
GAW Jewish Studies Opening Event: From Kishinev to Sderot: Considering “Spectacular Violence” and Mass Murder Against Jewish Communities. Edward Westermann (Texas A&M University-San Antonio). Funded by grants from the Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation at the Arizona Community Foundation and The Center for Jewish Philanthropy.
Conferences
Murray and Sabina z”l Zemel Educators Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide. Cosponsored by ASU Jewish Studies, SHPRS and many external organizations.
International academic workshop in memory of Mark von Hagen (ASU): Jews and Their Neighbors — 20th Century East/Central Europe in Times of War and Beyond. Funded through the Lowe Family Holocaust and Genocide Education Endowment. Cosponsored by the Melikian Center.
Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG) Annual Conference: Biotechnology, Judaism, and the Future of Humanity: Can Technology Make Us More Human?
Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation Genocide Awareness Week (GAW) 2024: Nationalism, State Violence and Genocide. Cosponsored by ASU Jewish Studies, SHPRS, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and many internal units and external organizations. Funded by grants from the Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation at the Arizona Community Foundation and The Center for Jewish Philanthropy.
Western Jewish Studies Association Conference (WJSA). Cosponsored by ASU Jewish Studies and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Faculty Accomplishments 2023 - 2024
Books
Goodman, Brian K. The Nonconformists: American and Czech Writers Across the Iron Curtain. Harvard University Press, 2023.
Hartung, Blake. Imagining the Death of Jesus in Fourth-Century Mesopotamia: A Study of Ephrem of Nisibis. Brill Press, 2023.
Sandler, Kevin & Williams, Tyler S. editors. Hanna and Barbera: Conversations. University Press of Mississippi, 2024.
Awards, Fellowships, Grants
Clay, J. Eugene. Humanities Institute Fellowship, Arizona State University. “Regulating the Russian Religious Marketplace From Catherine the Great to Vladimir Putin.”
Goodman, Brian. Zebulon Pearce Distinguished Teaching Award in the Humanities, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University.
Mirguet, Françoise. Research Fund Award, ASU Melikian Center.
Published Articles (Selection)
Cichopek-Gajraj, Anna. “Review of the August Trials: The Holocaust and Postwar Justice in Poland.” Antisemitism Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, fall 2023, pp. 449–54.
Cichopek-Gajraj, Anna. Review of Adler, Eliyana R., “Survival on the Margins: Polish Jewish Refugees in the Wartime Soviet Union”. H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews. September, 2023.
Clay, J. Eugene. “Buddhism in the Post-Soviet Religious Marketplace.” Journal of Church and State, vol. 65, no. 2, 2023, pp. 175–96.
Leket-Mor, Rachel (with Uri Kolodney and Joseph GalronGoldschläger). “Israel Studies Collections in Research Libraries and Archives Outside of Israel: A Survey.” Journal of Israeli History, vol. 42, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1–19.
Lozinski-Veach, Natalie. “Poetic Involution: Adorno, Celan, Nature.” Thresholds, Encounters: Celan and the Claim of Philology, edited by Kristina Mendicino and Dominik Zechner, SUNY Press, 2023, pp. 83–105.
Mirguet, Françoise. “Touch and Responses to Pain in the Hebrew Bible: Between Biology and Cultural Construction.” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, vol. 13, no. 2, 2024, pp. 183–220.
Mirvis, Stanley. “Jews and Free People of Color in Eighteenth-Century Jamaica: A Case Study in Experiential and Ethnic Entanglement”. Jewish Entanglements in the Atlantic World, edited by Aviva Ben-Ur and Wim Klooster, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2024, pp. 136-155.
Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava. “Jewish Environmentalism in the United States: Achievements, Characteristics, and Challenges.” Religion and Development, vol. 2, no. 1, 2024, pp. 381–417.
Tirosh-Samuelson, Hava. “On Kabbalah and Nature: Language, Being, and Poetic Thinking, in New Paths.” Jewish and Religious Studies: Essays in Honor of Professor Elliot R. Wolfson, edited by Glenn Dynner, Susannah Heschel, and Shaul Magid, Purdue University Press, 2024, pp. 285–306.
Editorial Works
Lozinski-Veach, Natalie and Groves, Jason (2023) “Reading Celan Today.” The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory, vol. 98 no. 4, 2023, pp. 355–359.
Post Doctoral Scholar joins ASU Jewish
Studies and SHPRS to teach about Israel and the Middle East
Beginning fall 2024, Dr. Adam Hefetz will join ASU faculty to provide historical information and context about the Middle East and current conflicts.
Dr. Hefetz is a historian who will teach courses on the history of Zionism, the state of Israel and the modern Middle East. Hefetz received both his doctorate in Jewish History and his master’s degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies from the University of Haifa. His dissertation is on the Israel banking system in Mandatory Palestine and his master’s thesis on the Israeli-Egyptian peace process.
“I hope to provide the necessary historical context for understanding some of the contemporary issues that students probably heard of in the news,” Hefetz said.
Along with teaching and working with our community on issues related to Israel and the Middle East, Hefetz plans to use his time in Arizona to work on the book based on his doctoral dissertation. The focus of this book will be Bank Leumi, one of Israel’s largest and oldest financial institutions, founded in 1903.
Hefetz also plans to further research the history of Israel’s oil companies — Paz, Delek and Sonol — which will also be discussed as part of his Modern Middle East class.
“These companies, established in the 1950s, quickly became integral to Israel’s economy. Due to the nature of the oil industry, they were also deeply involved in Israel’s diplomatic and economic relations with countries in the region and beyond,” Hefetz said.
“My research into the Israeli oil companies is an attempt to bring my background as a business historian to the issue of climate change and its history. Since the economics of energy are central to the climate crisis, I think historical research into the energy sector in various places in the world can be an important contribution to our understanding of the crisis, and possibly to help solve it, as well.”
Hefetz will be teaching two classes in fall 2024 and two in spring 2025.
“I am thrilled to join Arizona State University,” Hefetz said. “Through my eight years of experience as a middle and high school teacher, I have developed a passion for engaging with students and conveying information clearly and memorably. I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share my knowledge with a new student body on subjects I have studied extensively and am deeply passionate about.”
Want to learn more about Dr. Hefetz’s classes?
Fall 2024 Classes;
• HEB/HST/JST/REL/POS/SGS 294: The History of Zionism — From its Origins to the Establishment of the State of Israel (in person)
• HST: 372 Modern Middle East (online)
Spring 2025 Classes:
• HST 372: Modern Middle East (in person)
• HST 294: Politics in Israel: From 1948 to the Present (in person)
For more information on these classes, please visit jewishstudies.asu.edu/Hefetz
If you are not an ASU student but are interested in attending any of these classes, visit asuonline.asu.edu/admission/ nondegree/
Events Calendar 2024 - 2025
Registration is required for all events, both in person and on Zoom. Please follow the links in blue to learn more about an event or to register. Additionally, you can use this QR code to access our online calendar. Please note: All programs are listed according to Arizona time. Arizona does not observe daylight saving time. If you do not live in Arizona, please Google the time difference between where you live and Phoenix, Arizona for the date of the program you are registering for to ensure you join us at the correct time.
FALL SEMESTER 2024
Sunday, Sept. 8 | 12 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
The Lowe Family Holocaust and Genocide Lecture: “Nationalism and Antisemitism: The Case of Poland”. Lecturer: Konstanty Gebert, Polish journalist and political activist; respondent: Joanna Michlic (Lund University, Sweden); moderator: Anna Cichopek-Gajraj (ASU). Cosponsored by the Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wroclaw (Poland). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSPoland
Sunday, Sept. 22 | 3 p.m. AZ time (in person and Zoom) Arizona Jewish Historical Society (AZJHS) - 122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. The Lowe Family Holocaust and Genocide Lecture: “Jewish Music in Poland, Past and Present.” Neal Brostoff, Los Angeles-based concert pianist and musicologist. Cosponsored by the Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wroclaw (Poland). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSPolishMusic
Mondays, Sept. 9, 16 and 23 | 10 a.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“The State of the State of Israel” (three-part series).
Nadav S. Berman (University of Haifa and ASU) will interview leading Israeli scholars who will reflect on “the state of the State of Israel.” These interviews will explore profound questions on Israel’s current political and spiritual crisis, including: Is Israel interested in peace with the Palestinians and Arab nations, and if so, what kind of peace could this be? What does the Jewishness of the State of Israel mean, and how does it relate to democracy? What is the status of religious minorities in Israel, and how does a messianic interpretation of Judaism conflict with the commitment to democracy?
Monday, Sept. 9 | 10 a.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“On War and Peace in Israel and in Jewish Tradition: A Conversation With Alexander Yakobson.” (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSIsrael1
Monday, Sept. 16 | 10 a.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Jews, Arabs, Judaism and Islam Under a Christian Canopy: A Conversation With Uriya Shavit.” (Tel Aviv University). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSIsrael2
Monday, Sept. 23 | 10 a.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Political Theology Within the Jewish-Israeli Case: A Conversation With Annabel Herzog.” (University of Haifa). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSIsrael3
Wednesday, Oct. 23 | 12 p.m. AZ time (in person) ASU Tempe: Ross Blakeley Hall, 1102 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe. ASU Humanities Week Jewish Studies Lecture: “Gene Wilder and Jewishness: From ‘The Producers’ to ‘The Frisco Kid.’” Kevin Sandler (ASU). Lunch will be served. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSWilder
Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. AZ time (in person) Burton Barr Library: 1221 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Murray and Sabina z”l Zemel Educators Conference (for educators only). The program will begin at 9 a.m. at Burton Barr Library and move to Arizona Jewish Historical Society for the keynote address at 3 p.m. Additional funding available for substitute teacher stipends. Register for the entire day’s program at jewishstudies.asu.edu/ZemelConference2024
Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. AZ time (in person) AZJHS: 122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. Keynote Address: Accompanying in times of great peril: Stories from the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the journey towards healing”. Carl Wilkens, Rescuer during the Rwandan Genocide. Free and open to all. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/ZemelConference2024
Thursdays, Nov. 14, 21 and Dec. 5 | 7 p.m. AZ time (in person and Zoom) “A Thousand Years of Jewish History” (three-part series). Gary A. Rendsburg (Rutgers University). From the destruction of the First Temple (586 B.C.E.) and the growing Diaspora in the centuries that followed the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.), unprecedented archaeological discoveries have illuminated and brought to life the historical development of Judaism and Jewish society during this period. The evidence stems from synagogues, burial sites, archival material and more, stretching from Yemen in the southeast to Cologne in the northwest and all points in between. The picture that emerges is a vibrant Jewish history spanning the millennium, bridging the biblical and medieval periods.
“A Thousand Years of Jewish History” (three-part series). (continued from previous page)
Thursday, Nov. 14 | 7 p.m. AZ time (in person and Zoom) Beth El Congregation: 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix
“The First Diasporas: Egypt and Babylonia.” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSJewishHistory1
Thursday, Nov. 21 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“What Happened to the Jews After 70 C.E.?” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSJewishHistory2
Thursday, Dec. 5 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“The Jews of Arabia.” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSJewishHistory3
Wednesday, Dec. 11 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“How to be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel and the Jewish People.” Noah Feldman (Harvard University). What does it mean to be a Jew? Join the legal scholar and columnist as he draws on his engagement with his religion to offer a wide-ranging interpretation of Judaism in its current varieties, specifically addressing how Jews today understand their relationship to God, to Israel and to each other. Cosponsored by Valley Beit Midrash. Register at jewishstudies.asu. edu/JSJewToday
SPRING SEMESTER 2025
Wednesdays, Jan. 15, 22 and 29 | 2 p.m. AZ time (in person only) VOSJCC: 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. “Modern Jewish Philosophy” (three-part series). Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (ASU).
A close examination of three leading Jewish philosophers who articulated distinctive pathways to being Jewish in the modern world: Martin Buber (1878–1965) focused on ethics; Joseph Soloveitchik (1903–1993) highlighted the rational interpretation of Jewish Law (Halakhah); and Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983) offered a sociocultural, evolutionary interpretation of Judaism. These three thinkers have shaped how modern Jews, especially in the U.S., have framed the meaning of being Jewish, and they invite us to think anew about what Judaism means to us. Cosponsored by VOSJCC.
Wednesday, Jan. 15 | 2 p.m. AZ time (in person)
“Martin Buber: Judaism as Ethics.” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSBuber
Wednesday, Jan. 22 | 2 p.m. AZ time (in person)
“Joseph Soloveitchik: Judaism as Law.” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSSoloveitchik
Wednesday, Jan. 29 | 2 p.m. AZ time (in person)
“Mordecai Kaplan: Judaism as Civilization.” Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSKaplan
Wednesdays, Jan. 22, Feb. 26 and March 26 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom) “Arguments With a Ghost: A Reading and Discussion Series in American Jewish Literature.” (three-part series). Brian Goodman (ASU). Who owns Anne Frank? This was the provocative question that Cynthia Ozick posed in her classic 1997 New Yorker essay. We will use Ozick’s essay to frame our reading and discuss two important works by Philip Roth and Nathan Englander that grapple with the paradoxes of American Jewish identity and the fraught relationship between art, life and Holocaust memory. We encourage you to read all three pieces ahead of time. We have provided links to each reading below. Please note: each event requires a separate registration.
Wednesday, Jan. 22 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Who Owns Anne Frank?” Cynthia Ozick, The New Yorker, 1997. Link to article: newyorker.com/magazine/1997/10/06/ who-owns-anne-frank. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSOzick
Wednesday, Feb. 26 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“The Ghost Writer.” Philip Roth, 1979. Link to order book: amazon.com/Ghost-Writer-Philip-Roth/dp/0679748989. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSRoth
Wednesday, Mar. 26 | 7 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.” Nathan Englander, 1991. Link to article: newyorker.com/ magazine/2011/12/12/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-anne-frank. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/ JSEnglander
Monday, Feb. 17 | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. AZ time (in person and Zoom) ASU Tempe: location available upon registration. Albert and Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence Program: “Jews and Jewishness on College Campuses Today: A Look at the Past, a Glance to the Future.” David N. Myers (UCLA).
This lecture will situate the post-Oct. 7 challenges faced by Jewish (and other) students on campus in a wider historical context, noting the growing polarization in American political culture that has also left an imprint on American college life. The talk will also discuss what must change for the university, both to discharge its mission and become a safe and constructive environment for its members. Cosponsored by Valley Beit Midrash. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/ JSCollege
Monday, Feb. 17 | 7 p.m. AZ time (in person and Zoom) VOSJCC: 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. Albert and Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence Program: “Shifting Attitudes Toward Israel Among American Jews.” David N. Myers (UCLA).
This lecture will explore important new ideological and generational fault lines that have emerged in recent decades among Jews in the United States toward Israel. It will assess the impact of Oct. 7, 2023 on those divisions and ask whether a new era in American Jewish attitudes toward Israel has begun — and if so, what it might portend. Cosponsored by Valley Beit Midrash and VOSJCC. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSIsraelAmericanJews
Tuesdays, Feb. 25, March 4 and 11 | 6:30 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“The Italian Renaissance, the Jews, and the Arts” (three-part series). Daniel Stein Kokin (ASU). As the arts (visual, sculpture and theater) flourished across fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy, how did they intersect with the Jews who inhabited the region and with Jewish themes more broadly? The series explores this question from the vantage points of language, lore and literature.
Tuesday, Feb. 25 | 6:30 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Renaissance Christian Art Meets the Hebrew Language.”
Numerous paintings in Italian Renaissance art feature Hebrew letters or words, whether real or imagined. In this lecture, we will investigate how the presence of the holy tongue impacts our interpretation of these works by observing the use of Hebrew as mere adornment, the presence of Hebrew script on “titles of the cross,” and the quotation of biblical verses in Hebrew. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSVisualArt
Tuesday, March 4 | 6:30 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Michelangelo’s Moses and the Jews: A Renaissance Legend and its Reception.”
In his famous biography of the artist, the sixteenth-century painter and author Giorgio Vasari reports that the Jews of Rome came en masse every Sabbath to adore this renowned sculpture. In this lecture, we ask what accounts for this striking claim and how it has been received by historians and others since (Spoiler alert: it’s probably not true). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSSculpture
Tuesday, March 11 | 6:30 p.m. AZ time (Zoom)
“Leone de’ Sommi: A Hebrew Playwright of the Italian Renaissance.”
This sixteenth-century Mantuan Jew composed numerous Italian dramatic works, the first-ever treatise on stage direction, and the earliest known play in Hebrew. In this lecture, we consider how the Jewish and Italian sides of Leone’s identity stimulated his remarkable creativity, focusing on the playful subversiveness of his “Comedy of Betrothal,” written as entertainment for the holiday of Purim (March 13–14, 2025). Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/JSTheater
Sunday and Monday, March 2–3 | all day (Zoom)
Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG) Conference: “The Many Faces of Love: Judaism, Science and Medicine.” This conference will explore the complexity of love in light of new developments in brain sciences and the science of emotions, on the one hand, and the ubiquity of loneliness in contemporary society, on the other hand. Convening social and evolutionary psychologists, neuroscientists, physicians, health professionals, rabbis and Judaica scholars, the conference will explore the following themes:
• Love and the neurosciences
• The embodiment of love: Emotions, affects, and the imagination
• The pandemic of loneliness: Love and mental health
• Love and public health
• Love and the human condition: Jewish philosophies and theologies of love This conference is free. Cosponsored by Valley Beit Midrash. Register at jewishstudies.asu.edu/science
Monday to Friday, March 31–April 4 (in person and Zoom)
Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation Genocide Awareness Week 2025: “Memory, Restitution and Reparations.” We will post GAW information as it becomes available. It will be found at jewishstudies.asu.edu/GAW25
Faculty Essay
Religious Fasting and Divine Forgiveness:
Adam Cohen, ASU Psychology Professor and Jewish Studies Faculty Affiliate, leads research projects
ASU psychology and Jewish studies professor Adam B. Cohen is directing two research projects in collaboration with Jewish studies faculty around issues of religion and fasting as well as on divine forgiveness.
One grant, funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, investigates the religious and spiritual exercise of fasting. The team includes Kathryn A. Johnson, psychology research professor; Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Jewish studies director and professor; and Joel Gereboff, Jewish studies professor. The team is investigating whether and how fasting promotes human flourishing. Innovatively, the project also involves the cooperation and guidance of several area religious leaders, including local rabbis.
Taking cues from literature spanning intellectual history, religious studies and psychology, the team hypothesizes that fasting promotes virtues such as self-control as well as aspects of flourishing such as social connection and well-being. The team has followed people over multiple years to ask about their fasting and other religious practices, such as synagogue attendance.
One provocative early finding is that fasting, more so than simply attending religious services, seems to promote a spiritual reexamination of one’s life and commitments to do better. The team also found that, among those who fast, motivations and rationales vary and include tradition, fulfilling God’s commandments, and the belief that fasting is simply what a Jewish person does on Yom Kippur.
“One thing that makes ASU so special is the extent to which innovative, interdisciplinary work is prized,”
“Fasting for the observance of Yom Kippur presents an ideal opportunity to scientifically investigate the wisdom contained in ancient religious practices,” Cohen said.
“It may not be popular in today’s culture, but we have found that honest selfreflection and repentance during times of fasting are strongly linked with later feelings of well-being,” Johnson said.
Cohen said.
A second project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, focuses on divine forgiveness. This study also includes researchers at Florida State University and George Washington University and investigates the conditions people perceive as necessary for God to forgive sin. While a mature literature in psychology exists looking at interpersonal forgiveness, this project is part of a burgeoning effort to better understand how people apprehend God’s forgiveness.
A key challenge for this study is navigating the terminology and conceptual differences between members of different religious traditions. For example, even believers who say that divine forgiveness is “unconditional” often go on to say that a person must first repent or must first have faith. Consequently, using the right wording and asking the right questions of participants are important elements of the study.
Cohen and his colleagues see a lot of synergy between these projects; after all, one key rationale for the practice of fasting on Yom Kippur is to facilitate God’s forgiveness. Cohen also sees synergy in the collaborations within and outside of ASU on these projects.
“One thing that makes ASU so special is the extent to which innovative, interdisciplinary work is prized,” Cohen said.
Jewish Studies Director recognized for making a difference and offering leadership in difficult times
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University has announced Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Regents Professor of history, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism and director of Jewish studies, as this year’s recipient of the Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award.
The annual award was established to honor a faculty member who personifies the vision and spirit of Gary Krahenbuhl, a former dean of The College.
A Jewish intellectual historian, Tirosh-Samuelson’s interdisciplinary scholarship integrates several academic fields, including Jewish philosophy and mysticism, religion and science, religion and ecology, and feminist and gender theory. After joining ASU in 1999, Tirosh-Samuelson was appointed director of Jewish studies in 2008. Under her leadership, ASU Jewish studies became a nationally and internationally renowned program.
“I am very grateful for the formal recognition of my contribution to the vision and mission of ASU,” TiroshSamuelson said. “As director of Jewish studies, I seek to bring understanding of the richness and complexity of the Jewish experience through the ages; as an intellectual historian, I aspire to shed light on the interdependence of religious traditions, intellectual schools and scientific projects.”
Endorsing ASU’s commitment to public-facing scholarship, Tirosh-Samuelson has offered intellectual leadership to the ASU community and to the Jewish community in metropolitan Phoenix and beyond.
Her unique leadership was demonstrated in the days after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. TiroshSamuelson organized public programs that called for a historically grounded understanding of the IsraeliPalestinian and Israeli-Arab conflicts. She endorsed fostering a safe and productive exchange of ideas rooted in deep humanitarianism and a commitment to peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians.
“In a time when emotional reactions to world events have ripped communities apart, Dr. TiroshSamuelson has found ways to ensure that wide publics are better informed with deep historical knowledge, and thereby invited to listen and learn,” Cohen said.
Reflecting on her own leadership style at ASU, Tirosh-Samuelson said, “As a public-facing humanities scholar, I am committed to bridging the gap between the academy and the public to enhance the quality of our social, cultural and political life. In my scholarship, public outreach and teaching, I seek to make a difference in the life of the ASU community and beyond.”
Tirosh-Samuelson is also recognized for her outstanding scholarship and her distinctive contribution to the field of religion and science. In addition to making ASU a leader in this discourse, Tirosh-Samuelson was among the founding members of the Judaism, Science and Medicine Group, an international society that is committed to fostering constructive dialogue of religion and science within Judaism. Managing the society and organizing its annual conferences, Tirosh-Samuelson featured distinctive Judaic approaches to controversial issues, including biotechnology, artificial intelligence, climate change and sexual orientation.
Jeffery Cohen, dean of humanities at The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who has opened several conferences of Judaism, Science and Medicine Group, said that Tirosh-Samuelson is “deeply deserving of recognition through the Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award. Her unwavering stewardship of Jewish studies research, public outreach and education for all has made a difference in the lives of many.”
“In a time when emotional reactions to world events have ripped communities apart, Dr. Tirosh-Samuelson has found ways to ensure that wide publics are better informed with deep historical knowledge, and thereby invited to listen and learn,” he said.
In the letter to the selection committee, Tirosh-Samuelson was praised as being “among the most preeminent scholars of Jewish thought in the world today and one of the most effective leaders within the ASU community.”
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Scholarship Recipients 2023-2024
Angelo Raphael La Rosa, biomedical engineering (biological devices) (BSE)
• Cabot Family Scholarship Endowment
Bonnie Wanstreet, elementary education (BAE)
• Cabot Family Scholarship Endowment
Breann Medina, justice studies (BS)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Christina Alvarez, World War II studies (MA)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Daniel Erlich Herzog, global studies (BA) / political science (BA)
• The Rabbi Morris and Julia Kertzer Scholarship Endowment
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Eleanor Brillo, public administration (certificate)
• Cabot Family Scholarship Endowment
Emily Muench, justice studies (BS)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Emma Mones, theater (BA)
• The Jess and Sheila Schwartz Family Foundation
Isobel-Marie Johnson, religious studies (PhD)
• The Jess and Sheila Schwartz Family Foundation
• Jewish Studies Institute — Great Students
Ivan Robles Barrera, justice studies (BS)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Jacob Willson, linguistics and applied linguistics (PhD)
• Jewish Studies Institute — Great Students
Judith Maribori, justice studies (BS)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Katherine Kloberdanz, history (BA)
• The Rabbi Morris and Julia Kertzer Scholarship Endowment
Nicole Carpenter, history (MA)
• Cabot Family Scholarship Endowment
Samantha Baker, anthropology (BA)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Wesley Charles Sisson, World War II studies (MA)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
Ximena Osorio Canizalez, justice studies (BS)
• Sonia Minuskin Memorial Endowment for Jewish Studies
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