JSMG Conference Program
Sunday, March 2, 2025
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Welcome Dean Jeffrey Cohen (ASU)
Representative of the Anbar Family | Dr. Michael Anbar Keynote Address on Judaism, Science, and Medicine
Chair: Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (ASU)
Aaron Ben Ze’ev (University of Haifa), “Love and the Science of Emotions: The Case of Choosing a Partner”
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Session 1: Love, Evolution, and the Brain Sciences
Chair: Adam Cohen (ASU)
• Lani Shiota (ASU), “Love and the Evolution of the Human Brain: The Interplay of Nature and Culture”
• Stephen T. Asma (Columbia College, Chicago), “The Emotional Mind and the Integration of Science and Religion”
• Heidi Ravven (Hamilton College), “On Love, Democracy, and Peace: What Spinoza and the Brain Sciences Teach Us”
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Break
1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Session 2: Love, Human Wellbeing, and Public Health
Chair: Michel Yudell (ASU)
• Alan Jotkowitz (Ben Gurion University of the Negev), “Maimonides: A Physician-Scientist on the Power of Love”
• Naomi Kalish (JTS), “Love, and the Ethics of Care: Fixing the Crisis in Public Health”
• Nadav Davidovitch (Ben Gurion University of the Negev), “Solidarity, Love, and Public-Health Ethics in the Age of Existential Risks”
• Jeff Levin (Baylor University), “Love of God, Jewish Religious Observance, and Population Health”
3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Session # 3: The Embodiment of Love: Emotions, Affects, and the Imagination
Chair: Joel Gereboff (ASU)
• Sarah Pessin (University of Denver), “The Embodied Self/ The Imagined Self”
• Elliot Dorff (American Jewish University), “The Effects of Dementia on Love and Companionship”
• Jonathan K. Crane (Emory University), “Edenic Affects: Love and Lust in Visual and Midrashic Imagination”
• Sarah V. Zager (St. Olaf College), “The Musar Tradition: Finding Love in Negative Emotions”
Conference Program (cont.)
Monday, March 3, 2025
9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Session 4: Love, Sexuality, and the Pandemic of Loneliness
Chair: Elliot Dorff (American Jewish University)
• Marc Katz (Temple Ner Tamid, Bloomfield NJ), “Finding the Tools to Combat Loneliness: Love, Connection, and Purpose”
• Lisa Grushcow (Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, Montreal, Canada), “Love, Sexuality, and Changing Social Norms and Practices”
• Debora M. Roffman (National Advisory Council for Sexual Health), “Teach Our Children Well: Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexual Ethics”
• Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (ASU), “Friendship: The Age-Old Antidote to Loneliness”
12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Break
12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Session 5: Jewish Philosophies and Theologies of Love
Chair: Jonathan K. Crane (Emory University)
• Benjamin Samuels (Shaarei Tefillah, Boston), “Beyond Love Sickness: Maimonides on Love of God as Spiritual Discipline”
• Philip Cohen (Temple Beth El, Los Angeles), “Love, Revelation, and Immortality: Hasdai Crescas and Franz Rosenzweig”
• Ronen Pinkas (University of Potsdam, Germany), “Love in Humanistic Judaism: Erich Fromm’s “The Art of Loving”
• Nadav S. Berman (Bar Ilan University, Israel), “Does the Human Love of Nature Depend Upon a Thing? A.D. Gordon Reconsidered.”
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Closing Session: Reflections on Judaism and Love
Chair: Nadav S. Berman (Bar Ilan University, Israel)
• Shai Held (Hadar Institute, New York) “Is Judaism Really about Love? Revising a Deliberately Provocative Thesis”
About JSMG
The Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG) is an international organization of natural and social scientists, philosophers, historians, physicians, rabbis, theologians and educators who act to promote and facilitate a close relationship between Jewish religion, cultures and values, and the sciences, for the mutual benefit of both.
Sponsored by the Harold and Jean Grossman Chair in Jewish Studies and Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism at Arizona State University.
With support from the Dr. Michael Anbar Memorial Lecture in Judaism, Science and Medicine Endowment at Arizona State University.