fe^ssbciation for Jewish Studies IfiiVSLETTER

Number 45 Fall 1995

25-Year Report of the Executive Secretary

From the Seventh Annual Conference, 1975 From the Twenty-Sixth Annual Conference, 1994 Standing, 1. to r.: Charles and Judith Berlin, Frank Talmage, Ismar Schorsch Left to right: Bernard Cooperman, Jehuda Reinharz, Marvin Fox, Seated, 1. to r.: Marvin and June Fox, Salo and Jeanette Baron, Arnold Band Charles and Judith Berlin, Herbert Paper, Arnold Band, Robert Seltzer

members, the premier association in its 25-Year Report IN THIS ISSUE field. of the Executive Secretary It has been a quarter-century of Page 1 Charles Berlin enormous achievement. This, our 26th 25-Year Report Harvard University annual conference has 74 sessions and of the Executive Secretary some 300 individuals on the program; in AT THE ANNUAL BANQUET of the AJS on 1973, at our Fifth conference there were Page 6 December 18, 1994, Charles Berlin pre- 8 sessions and 24 names on the program. Gender and Women's Studies sented his report on the state of the Associa- As of this evening, we have some 600 tion after twenty-five years. His report is conference registrations. At our Tenth Page 8 followed here by the edited remarks of the annual conference, in 1978, we had 210 Pedagogy at the AJS current and former officers of the organi- members registered at the conference. zation who spoke on that occasion. After The annual conference of the AJS has Page 10 twenty-two years as Executive Secretary, become the primary meeting for the Jewish Music in the Curriculum Dr. Berlin retired December 31, 1994. field of Jewish Studies. The AJS annual (Ed.) conference now houses the largest dis- Page 11 play of academic Judaica publications in AJS in the ACLS FROM ITS MODEST BEGINNINGS in 1969, the country and has become an impor- Page 14 when forty-seven of us gathered to- tant meeting place for publishers and ACLS Travel Grants gether at Brandeis University to estab- authors. lish the Association for Jewish Studies, The Association itself has made sig- Page 14 the Association has grown into an in- nificant contributions as a publisher of Notes ternational learned society and profes- Judaica scholarship. Its journal, the AJS sional organization with over 1500 Review, now in its nineteenth year of

1 25-Year Report (continued from p. 1) may still be of value in the future. First, technological "wish list" implemented in and of paramount importance has been the not too distant future—to supple- publication, is the leading general jour- assuring the independence of the Asso- ment the instant communication net- nal of Jewish Studies in the United ciation, independence of any ideology work of e-mail, fax and voice mail al- States. The four volumes of AJS confer- or institution, of any community or ready instituted for AJS members since ence proceedings are major contribu- partisan group, whether external or in- the start of this transition period by our tions in their disciplines. In addition to ternal. Equally important has been an very talented incoming Executive Secre- academic conferences and scholarly pub- inclusive approach rather than an exclu- tary, Aaron Katchen, as part of a wide- lications which reflect the role of the sive one—assuring that all concerned ranging technological enhancement pro- AJS as a learned society, the Association with Jewish Studies, regardless of field gram. has compiled an impressive twenty-five- or rank, feel welcome in AJS. This de- Our founders have done their work year record in its function as a profes- mocratization also manifests itself in the well and have passed on to a new gen- sional organization. Its catalog of internal affairs of the Association, where eration a strong, disciplined, thriving, courses in Jewish Studies at American volunteerism has become the Associa- and respected organization, a solid and Canadian universities is now a stan- tion's greatest strength—witness the foundation on which to build even dard reference source. Its Information work of the AJS Review Editorial Board, more impressively. It has been a privi- bulletin: positions in Jewish Studies, of the Conference Program Committee, lege to have participated in this process which twenty-eight issues have ap- other Association committees, and fi- over the last quarter-century, as Treas- peared, plays an important role in dis- nally the AJS Board of Directors, most urer for the first three years, and as Ex- semination of information and recruit- of whose membership in recent years ecutive Secretary for the past twenty- ment. The Association's mailing list had not yet completed their graduate two years. I am grateful to the Associa- rental service has become a major source studies when the AJS was founded. To tion for this opportunity to have par- of information about positions, confer- these should be added two other ele- ticipated in this effort to enhance Jewish ences, and publications in Jewish Stud- ments: the first is a sense of realism. Studies in the academy. And I shall al- ies. Issues of significance to the profes- That is, an awareness of the real ways cherish the warm friendships of sion have been addressed in Association strengths of the Association—and they the many AJS colleagues with whom I publications such as The Teaching of Ju- are many—that always took into ac- had the pleasure of working closely dur- daica in American Universities which count the equally real limitations and ing those twenty-five years, and who appeared in 1970; forty-four issues of constraints. The second is a sense of offered their unstinting support and the AJS Newsletter, and the recently pub- humor that always served to provide a encouragement, individuals like Arnie lished Report of the Task Force on Acqui- sense of proportion and proper perspec- Band, Berny Cooperman, Marvin Fox, sitions: Israel, a joint project of the AJS tive in Association affairs and kept our Jane Gerber, Ben Ravid, Jehuda Rein- and the Association of Research Librar- founding fathers and their heirs from harz, Nahum Sarna, Bob Seltzer, and ies. All this activity is reflected in the taking themselves as seriously as some- Ruth Wisse, and our colleagues now of growth of the Association's budget times the many achievements of AJS blessed memory Frank Talmage and from some $23,000 in 1973 to one cur- might allow. Independence, openness, Marshall Sklare, and many others whom rently of some $104,000. Recognition of democratization, volunteerism, realism, I cannot mention for lack of time. the Association's achievements and of humor—they have served the Associa- However, I would like to express my its proper place in the academy was ac- tion well in its first quarter-century; gratitude to Elizabeth Vernon who has corded it in 1985 when the Association they can serve the Association well in for the past five years assisted me in the was admitted as a constituent member the future. administrative tasks of the Association of the American Council of Learned Finally, the AJS is moving from and has served so ably as Conference Societies. what in many respects was—to use a registrar. And a very special and im- However, it is not my intention, in popular term—a virtual reality, certainly measurable "thank you* to one whose the few minutes allotted me by the Pro- in terms of office location and its accou- support, encouragement, and counsel gram Chairman, to attempt a descriptive trements, to what is very much a real have lovingly sustained me throughout or chronological account of those office, thanks to the generous hospital- my AJS endeavors, as in all that I do, to twenty-five years of achievement; a dif- ity of our colleague Jehuda Reinharz. my dear wife Judy. ferent, perhaps printed, forum would be The Association will be well-positioned I am very pleased to welcome my more appropriate for that. At this time to avail itself of new technologies to successor, Aaron Katchen; it gives me of transition, as the AJS emerges from assist its future growth both in size and great pleasure to know that the AJS is the generation of its founders and enters in services offered. Electronic newslet- being entrusted to a person of such tal- its second quarter century, I would like ters with current book reviews and a ent, dedication, and integrity. I look to point to certain operating principles calendar of conferences and events; elec- forward to being of assistance to the that have served the AJS administration tronic conference programs and advance Association in the coming years and I as guidelines in the Association's devel- listings of conference abstracts—we will wish it well as it enters its second quar- opment until now in the belief that they not be surprised to find such items on a ter-century.

2 For Charles Berlin: Remarks by Colleagues and Friends (continued)

Arnold. J. Band God is found in the details." The choice first—Charlie's reason—the price was UCLA led to a partnership which, I believe, right; and second—my reason—when I Past President was special. We discussed business fre- was a boy growing up in Boston, this quently, and often rung up impressive "Von Berlin Nach Boston" hotel did not welcome Jewish guests. telephone bills. We agreed on most The irony was irresistible. Again and THE END OF THE BERLIN PERIOD in the issues, but, when we didn't, I noticed again, we complemented each other history of the AJS should occasion the that Charlie had an uncanny under- remarkably. He liked lists of figures beginning of the writing of the history standing of Max Weber's theories on and bibliographies, while I liked figures of our Association. Twenty-five years bureaucracy which say, in essence, that of speech; I seasoned the language, in the life of a significant learned soci- administration is really shaped by the while he cooked the books. ety, particularly one that deals with the person nearest to the xerox machine. Charlie also had to cope with a sweep of Jewish history, certainly sug- After the Maryland conference, our surge in Association activity generated gests that we owe our heirs the materials Fourth, which had fewer participants by the Regional Conferences that we for a coherent history. It is therefore than the previous conference held at were mounting, each involving compli- only proper that we celebrate Charlie Brandeis, Charlie and I sat down to as- cated logistics and a publication. We Berlin's years of service with a modest sess our situation. On paper, we were also expanded the AJS Newsletter, which contribution to the history of the Asso- clearly bankrupt, for while we could we published together several times a ciation. count on an infusion of cash in some six year through the early 1980s. These Let me tell you how Charlie be- months from the Regional Conference publications prepared us for the next came the Executive Secretary of our Program that Baruch had so cleverly step, the AJS Review, which was Association. Sometime in the fall of worked out with the NEH, we had no launched in 1976, after several years of 1972, after Baruch Levine, our second money and bills from the Maryland arduous preparatory work by our gifted President, had persuaded me to assume Conference kept tumbling in. We also editor, the late Frank Talmage, and the the Presidency of the Association at the discovered that dues had not been col- Managing Editor, Charlie Berlin. We coming Conference to be held in Mary- lected from our members in over a year. offered our services as a clearing house land in December, I asked for copies of So while we had something short of 200 for job placement. As one who was the minutes and the budget. I had some members on the books, they were there in the beginning, I can tell you sense of our administrative difficulties, mostly 200 non-dues-paying members. that most of the features of the Associa- that we had serious cash-flow problems, To cope with this dire situation, we tion which we all take for granted to- and that we really didn't have a working had to do what all good statesmen do: day, were the work of Charlie Berlin. office. I realized that administering a we moved quickly to raise taxes, and we Let me conclude by describing our primarily East Coast organization while bluffed. In all humility, I must admit lunch together here in the hotel after living in Los Angeles was a daunting that we did both very well. The smoke our Seventh Conference in 1975, my task. Baruch naturally assured me that and mirrors game we played that year last as President. We had just finished the budget was balanced, that I could outdid the finest efforts of Potemkin. our business meeting and bade good-bye choose my own Executive Secretary, The chicanery was really fun. The only to our colleagues who were leaving the and that he would send me the re- thing that bothered me was that Char- building. As we ate, we reviewed the quested record. Well, what I got would lie, living on the East Coast, always conference and the past three years of make the pinkasim of Eastern European called right before dinner time on the working together. Both were enor- kehillot look like models of Protestent West Coast. mously gratifying. We had by then 900 administrative decorum. It was clear Time will not allow a detailed ac- dues-paying members, a surplus in the that my buddy Baruch was a fine Bibli- count of Charlie's critical contribution budget, a thriving placement service, cal scholar and had secured a handsome to the structuring of the Association— which had radically democratized the NEH grant for us, but was no manager. which resembled a shtibel before he took marketplace in our field, a vastly en- Our situation, in fact, was so stressed, over. We initiated a series of rapid hanced national visibility and credibility that the proper selection of an Executive changes, each of which required an as a result of our vitality, and our publi- Secretary was critical. I considered the enormous investment in energy and cations: the regional conferences, the desired qualifications: I needed someone good sense. To establish our identity, AJS Newsletter, and the beginnings of the who had a scholarly training in Jewish we had to move off the Brandeis cam- AJS Review. Studies, but did not have to publish for pus. Since Charlie had an office at Har- As we tallied up our achievements, survival. He had to be well organized, vard, at the Widener library, that would I said to Charlie: "I guess we don't have tenacious, and, most important, some- do. Similarly, we moved the next con- to bluff any more." He smiled at me one who knew how to count. My rea- ference, our Fifth, to the Harvard Fac- slyly and answered: "But it was more soning led me to chose Charlie Berlin, a ulty Club, and, after we outgrew that fun when we did." person who understands that "the good facility two years later, to this hotel which we selected for two reasons:

3 For Charles Berlin: Remarks by Colleagues and Friends (continued) Marvin Fox only efficient and skillful, but because to the work of the Executive Secretary, Boston University he's tough, and unyielding, that we sur- I do not believe that any of us would Past President vived; that we got through those years genuinely have succeeded in office, and I that Arnie described; that we then came do not believe that we would have suc- BY ARNIE'S STANDARD, since I'm older, to the glorious years of my own presi- ceeded in building what is, as you've I get even more time, but I won't take dency. All of us can tell you: if we were heard repeatedly this evening, certainly it. When Berny Cooperman called to presidents or other officers, we worked the major body of academic Jewish stud- ask me to participate in this session, he for Charlie, he didn't work for us. He's ies in this hemisphere, that has no peer. said to me, "it's going to be very a tough, demanding taskmaster; he I want to add only one final note, which brief"—at that time he said "five min- taught us a good deal about how to do perhaps nobody appreciates as much as I utes," by the way, not "three"—and he our jobs; and he also told us when we (although someone said it, but I don't said to me, "it's very simple: all you were all wrong. And generally he was remember who), and that is, whether have to do is tell a funny story, say right. It's due to his remarkable skills you know it or not, Charlie is deeply something nice about Charlie, and the and tenacity—and toughness—that the committed to the democratic process time will all be gone." So I explained to AJS was transformed from its small be- and has never permitted the officers to him: "I don't know any funny stories, ginnings to what it is today. It's due to get out of line in overlooking or ignor- and I can't think of a nice thing to say his natural frugality—penuriousness— ing the wishes of the membership as a about Charlie, so what is there ... ?" the fact is that he's a tightwad—that whole—and for that we're all deeply He was stunned but he didn't say any- we've managed to be solvent all these indebted to him. Charlie, for myself— thing, and then I accepted. years. And it's due, probably, no less, and I hope I speak for everybody—we Let's not say nice things about to his incredible devotion to the AJS thank you for all you've done and we Charlie, let's tell the truth. The truth and to the profession. Essentially, if it wish you well in whatever you do in is: if he were so nice, we wouldn't be had not been for all of these qualities the future. here today. It's only because he is not and characteristics that Charlie brought

Jehuda Reinharz really jumping in the breach every time ciation, Charlie had a major role as the Brandeis University he was needed. If you require any dem- managing editor—as we have heard—of Past Secretary-Treasurer onstration, you saw it this afternoon at the AJS Review from 1976 to 1980. But the business meeting when Rela was even when he had no title, Charlie was I DON'T KNOW what the average tenure somewhat late and there was no report involved in the journal, he was involved of an executive secretary in an organiza- and Charlie just jumped in there and in the newsletter, he saw to it that the tion in America is, but I'm willing to gave the report on her behalf until she regional symposia took place all over bet that twenty-two or twenty-five arrived. Now, take myself as an exam- the country, and, of course, in 1992 he years, if we add the Treasurer's years, is ple: in my six years as Secretary- Treas- published the catalog of Judaica courses some sort of a record. I can tell you urer of the AJS, I had few tasks, except that is so useful. He was the driving what a President's average tenure in this to sign, for the most part, blank checks force behind the task force on Israeli country is and it's not anywhere near (in fact the last blank check that I signed twenty-five; in fact, it hovers around acquisitions for research libraries, a was this afternoon), give the annual five years or so, as we have seen time model of how an assessment of library report, which was co-written by Char- and time again. I'm also willing to bet resources ought to be done anywhere. lie, and generally just hand him the keys that there is no professional organiza- In short, for many years the administra- to the vault. Charlie dealt with the tion that is twenty-five years old which tive structure of the entire organization banks, with the creditors, with invest- has had only one Executive Secretary. was on his shoulders. I do not recall ments, and with deposits, seeing to it Actually Charlie was not only the Ex- once that Charlie ever complained that the books were scrupulously kept, ecutive Secretary, but as you have heard about the amount of work he had; all presumably my tasks. At the first from Marvin Fox, and all of the past maybe he complained to Judy, but not meeting at which the Association was presidents who are here will readily tes- to the rest of us. So for the last 25 years founded at Brandeis in 1969 and during tify, for the many years he served as the Charlie's name has really been synony- which I was a graduate student—by the Executive Secretary, he was also the mous with that of the AJS and, given way, for reasons that are still unknown President, the Vice-President, the Editor the enormous contributions of the AJS to me I kept minutes and a diary of that of the journal, of the newsletter, he was to the entire field of Judaica in this meeting—Charlie was elected treasurer of course the treasurer and, as Marvin country and abroad, much of the credit by the forty-seven scholars who at- mentioned, none of us would have been for the expansion of the field really tended. In the early years of the Asso- able to do our work without Charlie belongs to him. We were lucky that

4 For Charles Berlin: Remarks by Colleagues and Friends (continued)

Jehuda Reinharz (continued from p. 4) Jewish Studies, it is fair to say that Treasurer of the AJS. What an incredi- Charles Berlin was its main driving en- ble record of service, you certainly de- Charles Berlin's scholarly expertise and gine for a quarter of a century. serve relief from the responsibility after many personal skills were so perfectly all these years. The success of the AJS matched with the needs of this fledgling Through some unorthodox means, and the standing of the field in North organization. He did the work for an I was able to obtain a message that America owe you an incalculable debt entire office staff, his memory and at- Charlie received by e-mail from one of and it is no exaggeration to say that tention to every detail, organizational as his many admirers (you'd be surprised what you have contributed so much to well as scholarly is nothing short of what you can do with technology). I is really a historic achievement in the phenomenal. He can just as easily recite would like to read you that message. history of American Higher Education. the first edition of a medieval text as he Upon hearing that Charlie is leaving the Yishar kohakha and many thanks." What can the amount of money owed by a organization, the person writes, "Dear else can one add after hearing such particular member of the AJS. Given Charles, I just read in the latest AJS praise except to say: "Ich bin auch ein his many intellectual and organizational Newsletter of your decision to step down Berliner!" Thank you. contributions to the Association for from your position as Secretary-

Robert M. Seltzer standards and maintaining respect for organizational life in recent decades, Hunter College scholarship and scholars. And it has Charles is one of us, a practitioner in President, AJS also been one of the truly successful the advancement of Jewish learning ecumenical associations in the American while keeping this association solvent AN ENGINEER WHO WORKS closely with Jewish community in its goodwill to- and growing. architects of distinction once explained ward such a broad range of methodolo- No doubt there is more that the AJS his role thus: Creative architects dream gies, convictions, and opinions about should do. For example, the most re- dreams, see visions, and design a build- Jewish Wissenschaft and Judaism. cent phase of computer networking may ing according to their aesthetic imagina- Under Charles' eye, the annual con- allow us to provide bibliographies on tion and understanding of the human ference grew ever more ambitious, pro- demand, current news of the profession, activities to be undertaken there. My fessional, inclusive. Credit, of course, is and easier access to existing and possible friend then informs them if, given the due to our series of notable program databases. We have wanted the AJS necessary physical materials, deadlines, chairs—Frank Talmage, Michael Meyer, Newsletter to provide articles on the and budget, their structure will stand Jane Gerber, Steve Katz, David Blumen- practical side of our teaching and re- up. thal, Ruth Wisse, David Berger, Rela search roles and on campus issues that Geffen, and Berny Cooperman. All of affect us directly. This moment of ap- In the course of his years as Execu- them can testify to the behind-the-scenes preciation, however, acknowledges that tive Secretary, Charles has acted as our role that Charles played so calmly and we can do so because we are building on structural engineer, telling us whether determinedly as nudge, facilitator, traffic the substantial foundation laid by Char- our imaginative constructions would cop, guardian angel of modern Jewish les and the officers of the first quarter- stand up to the stresses and strains of learning in America. The same can be century of the association. everyday life, what side-effects were not said with respect to the structure Char- being anticipated, how to accomplish Many of us know only too well the les helped to create for the AJS Review, even more effectively what we wanted glazed look that comes over our chil- which has achieved such distinction un- to do, and, above all, whether eminently dren when urged to appreciate what der Frank Talmage, Robert Chazan, worthy ideas furthered the essential their parents have done to provide the Norman Stillman, and their coworkers. purpose of the AJS—to strengthen Jew- opportunities and choices they now It is due to Charles's watchfulness that ish studies in American institutions of face. Which doesn't make it any less this has been accomplished within our higher learning and the scholarly grasp true. It is because of Charles Berlin's limited resources: modest dues, rental of of the Jewish tradition's place in civili- hard work and dedication that the AJS the mailing list (the sanctity of which zation. has achieved such recognition and re- Charles has guarded so ferociously), and spect among learned societies here and Since we are all bona fide scholars of exceptionally frugal administrative abroad. Judaica, we all know a lot, have well- costs. We have one of the lowest over- I am sad to see him step down as honed critical skills, overcrowded calen- heads of any similar organization and Executive Secretary after only 22 years, dars, and some attitude. To get us to one of the highest percentage of atten- but I interpret this as yeridah le-tsorekh work together smoothly, as Charles has dance at the annual meeting because of 'aliyah. We are not losing the presence done, took meticulous concern for de- Charles's careful planning and skill in of Charles Berlin, but allowing him to tail, considerable perspicuity, and not a mobilizing our members to volunteer gain greater transcendence as eminence, little tough-mindedness, thickness of their time and services to such a re- senior statesman, and rational con- skin, and sagacity. During the last markable extent. Unlike the full-time, science, while we move on to new mat- twenty-five years the AJS has been an professional managers that have become ters for which his solid achievements especially effective agent for upholding an omnipresent feature of academic and paved the way.

5 Gender and Women's Studies

congratulated for choosing forty syllabi Gender and Jewish Studies Some syllabi are especially useful which met the standard of integrating a Dorothy O. Helly for integrating issues of race and sexual gender analysis throughout the topics Professor of History and Women's Studies orientation in their themes, such as involved. These syllabi therefore offer Hunter College and The Graduate School those by Laura Levitt ("Women in Juda- the user of the guide a thoughtful be- The City University of New York ism"), Lynn Davidman ("Women in ginning in terms of what gendered ques- Jewish Culture: Image and Status"), and THE RECOGNITION within Jewish Stud- tions might be raised in a wide range of Judith Baskin ("Women in Jewish His- ies that "the lives and concerns of Jewish Jewish Studies. The thirty-three women tory and Literature"). A syllabus by women have often differed from the and men who created these syllabi give Deborah Hertz (The History of Jewish experiences of men and are deserving of us an excellent overview of what is cur- Women in Europe 1700-1932") provides study on their own terms," has been rently available in books and film for an analysis of Jewish women in terms of gathering momentum in scholarly terms use in the classroom. The syllabi are wider European phenomena such as over the past decade. The contributors organized under the categories of: Bible socialism and feminism. to Gender and Jewish Studies: A Curricu- and Rabbinics; General History; lum Guide, edited by Judith R. Baskin Women in Jewish History; Women and Two syllabi raise methodologically and Shelly Tenenbaum (New York: Religion; Literature; Social Science; and interesting issues regarding immigration Biblio Press, 1994), reveal the consider- Learning Programs in the Women's and autobiographical memory (Yael able range and variety of this scholar- Community. As Baskin and Tenen- Zerubavel's "Jewish Immigration in ship that can now be brought into the baum put it, it is now possible to hear Fiction and Ethnography") and the use classroom. There is always a gap be- gendered voices in many scenes of Jew- of folklore and ethnography (Chava tween the production of new knowl- ish life and to find writing by Jewish Weissler's "Jewish Folklore: The Folk- edge and its introduction to university women which has not only confronted lore and Folklife of Ashkenazic Jewry"). students. The process of integrating living in "a male-dominated Jewish cul- Striking contributions to their fields are new information, new questions, new ture" but also has faced the "duality of Ellen M. Umansky's "History of Jewish methods of analysis about gender—as being part of a Jewish minority in often Women's Spirituality" and Myrna about race, ethnicity, class, sexual orien- uncongenial cultural environments." Goldenberg's "Literature of the Holo- tation, and other particularities that The curriculum guide is a practical con- caust," the latter for the way it deals identify us as social beings—into our sequence of the establishment in 1986 of with problems of historical context, courses is neither easy nor accomplished the Jewish Studies Women's Caucus in ethics, and responsibility, as well as for in a single semester. The nature of the the Association of Jewish Studies to its supplemental bibliography of process itself, transforming the curricu- further the academic study of women in women's Holocaust narratives. Shelly lum to include what has formerly been Jewish life and culture. Tenenbaum's "American Jewish Life," excluded, makes us face difficult deci- demonstrates the wide range of such a sions of selection and emphasis at every There is space here to mention only topic handled by a sociologist. It in- turn, but the more we engage in it, the a few of the innovative and imaginative cludes Eastern European Jewish immi- more intellectually exciting it becomes. efforts at curriculum transformation gration, class formation, intermarriage, The resultant ferment also leads to new represented in this collection. Finding women's roles, religious and secular programs, such as the Master's degree women's voices where they have not bases for Jewish identity, feminism, being offered in Jewish Women's Stud- been recorded has led to innovative anti-Semitism, voting patterns, and ies at the Jewish Theological Seminary methodologies to tease out from the black-Jewish relations. beginning this fall. male- authored sources patterns of gen- dered behavior. Recent sociological and With this curriculum guide and Our disciplines and fields, concep- anthropological theory provides some books like Judith Baskin's Jewish tualized with a default system that has ways to analyze such information and Women in Historical Perspective (1991) usually excluded gender as a critical is- to reconstruct women's status, roles, and Lynn Davidman and Shelly Tenen- sue, make first efforts to include gender and activities. Carol Meyers in her baum's Feminist Perspectives on Jewish usually a patchwork of undigested addi- "Women in the Biblical Tradition," for Studies (1994), no one in Jewish Studies tion. The editors of Gender and Jewish example, takes this approach. can any longer say, "I don't know Studies: A Curriculum Guide are to be where to begin."

6 Gender and Women's Studies (continued)

Report from their initial training. Upon the occasion to significant and wide-reaching recon- the AJS Women's Caucus of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ceptualization of these areas. AJS, another group of scholars, also at Pamela S. Nadell Despite the reservations expressed different stages of their careers (Judith The American University by the authors of Feminist Perspectives Hauptman, Pamela Nadell, and Miriam Women's Caucus Co-Chair on Jewish Studies, new materials on Jew- Peskowitz), considered changes they had ish women's and gender studies have THE WOMEN'S CAUCUS of the Associa- observed since they first began attending already entered the classroom. That this tion for Jewish Studies was founded in AJS annual meetings (increased presence new scholarship promised to enrich 1986 after a number of scholars re- of women, their growing representation university Jewish Studies courses led marked that, while women in other on panels, and the emergence of sessions Judith Baskin, then Caucus co-chair, to academic professional associations, no- devoted to Jewish women's and gender begin assembling an archive of gender- tably the American Academy of Relig- studies, including an annual session co- inclusive syllabi and curricular material ion, regularly gathered to discuss their sponsored by the Caucus). At the most from all AJS members. That proved concerns, this had not yet occurred at recent meeting, Kay Kaufman Shelemay such a rich resource that Baskin and the AJS. Founding co-chairs were Susan presented "On Gender and Marginality: Shelly Tenenbaum edited Gender and Shapiro and Ellen Umansky. In 1988, On being an Ethnomusicologist," and Jewish Studies: A Curriculum Guide when the Caucus began its tradition of Ruth Tsoffar offered "Speaking from (Biblio Press, 1994), a compilation of holding a breakfast meeting on the the Margins." These addresses, a high- both gender-inclusive syllabi for stan- Monday morning of the AJS confer- light of Caucus meetings, furnish per- dard Jewish Studies courses, i.e. Modern ence, members adopted a statement of spective and support a sense of collective Jewish Civilization, as well as syllabi purpose. It defined the Caucus as a identity on issues individual scholars, devoted exclusively to aspects of Jewish "support and networking organization working in comparative isolation, often women's and gender studies, i.e. of and for women in Jewish Studies. Its encounter. Women in Jewish Tradition. Royalties from the sale of the Guide benefit the primary concerns are the advancement Another feature of the annual break- Caucus. both of women in the profession and of fast meeting is the dissemination of in- the academic study of women in Juda- formation about new scholarship in To foster the original goal of net- ism." Jewish women's and gender studies. working, a new Women's Caucus direc- Initially, the Caucus was open only Scholars bring their current works to tory was mailed to all members-in-good- to female scholars, reflecting the goal of the attention of Caucus members. In standing earlier this year. Scholars wish- providing a place and a space for addition, Laura Levitt organizes a dis- ing to join the Caucus and to receive women, historically a small minority of play of books from small presses of in- this directory (which includes e-mail AJS members, to meet. But after discus- terest to Caucus members that may not addresses) should contact: sion at the 1993 annual meeting, Caucus appear at the larger AJS book exhibit. members, now numbering close to 200, While the annual meeting provides a Professor Pamela Nadell voted overwhelmingly to open their forum for celebration of this burgeon- Jewish Studies Program ranks to all interested AJS scholars, male ing field, scholars of Jewish women's The American University and female. and gender studies remain cautious. Washington, DC 20016-8042 Current co-chairs Pamela Nadell and Those whose essays appear in Lynn Tamar Rudavsky work with a Steering Davidman and Shelly Tenenbaum's col- e-mail: [email protected] Committee to discuss issues and decide lection, Feminist Perspectives on Jewish phone: 202-885-2425 directions for the Caucus. These are Studies (Yale University Press, 1994), reported and voted upon at the annual contend that much remains to be done. Dues are $5.00 for graduate students, breakfast meeting of the Caucus. In evaluating the cumulative effect upon $10.00 for all other AJS members, and In addition to a time for spontane- various disciplines of the new scholar- are waived for foreign scholars. The ous sharing and networking, this meet- ship on Jewish women's and gender Caucus mailing list is also available for ing has become a forum for informal studies, these scholars find the influence purchase. presentations by Caucus members on of a gendered analysis absent in many The Women's Caucus of the Asso- how the intersections of gender and fields of Jewish Studies. In others, it is ciation for Jewish Studies remains ex- Jewish studies have shaped their careers just at its inception, with many cited about the new directions and de- and scholarship. Past programs have "mainstream" scholars either unwilling velopments in Jewish women's and gen- included reflections by scholars at dif- to incorporate the new scholarship or der studies, and gratified that our collec- ferent stages of their careers (Paula Hy- largely ignorant of it. To date, only in tive efforts have played some part in man, Marsha Rozenblit, and Judith anthropology, biblical studies, and liter- shaping this growing field as well as Romney Wegner) on how the field had ary studies have feminist approaches led scholarly endeavors in Jewish Studies as or had not changed since they began a whole.

7 Pedagogy at the AJS

"Find(ing) Yourself A Teacher:" dents who now make up the university pedagogy? How does any text teach us Opening the Discussion on (and seminary) population. But we still how to teach it? As Marc Bregman said seem to be employing a mode of schol- in his comments, his goal was not only Pedagogy at the AJS Conference arly discourse appropriate for pre-print to teach his students how to decipher Susan Handelman culture, some aspects of which may rabbinic texts to his satisfaction as their University of Maryland, College Park even harken back to medieval scholasti- teacher ... but also to demand that they cism. think constantly about how they would AT LAST DECEMBER'S AJS conference, communicate these texts to their future Marc Bregman (Hebrew Union College- II students and congregants who know less Jerusalem), Michael Signer (University So our plan for our session was sim- than they. "I like to think that this re- of Notre Dame) and I tried to do some- ply for each of us to talk informally and captures something of the traditional thing different. We organized a session personally for only ten minutes each, on transmission of rabbinic learning." In entitled "Aseb Lekhka Rav u-Qneh Lekha a very practical level, about what tech- teaching, he said, he has learned not Haver—Teaching Traditional Texts: An niques we have found particularly useful only that "the best way to learn is to Open Discussion on Pedagogy." The in teaching traditional Jewish texts to a teach," but also that "the best way to title reflected our aim: we wanted to variety of non-specialists, and to use teach is to teach to teach." initiate discourse on the subject of these remarks as a springboard for an Marc and I also have a special inter- teaching and we wanted an open discus- open discussion with the entire audi- est in midrash and share a sense of the sion rather than another block of paper ence. "performative" nature of these texts. readings. We did not expect a large We first decided to break the "ascetic Marc described a course he has designed turnout, but, much to our surprise, the tradition" of having only ice water on on "Interpreting Scripture" that focuses room filled up with around 80 people hand at AJS sessions and replace it with on the Aqedah, telling how he begins by from the broad spectrum of graduate a more Jewish mode—serving food. The having students elaborate and concretize students and senior scholars who make Passover Seder and Hasidic "tish" aside, the brief biblical text as if they were up the AJS. there is indeed a deep connection be- making it into a film. My comments We had many reasons for proposing tween "opening the mouth" and were based on a handout I gave illustrat- a session on teaching. First, this subject "opening the mind"—a kind of recep- ing methods I have found successful in has been conspicuously absent from AJS tiveness created by the communal shar- teaching "The Bible as Literature" in an programming. It is a commonplace that ing of food that is a great facilitator of English Department to a mix of Jewish with rise of the post-war modern uni- learning. Since our session was sched- and non-Jewish undergraduates, many versity, teaching became a kind of poor uled for 9 PM on Tuesday evening, we of them with little background, at a step-sister to research. In recent years, passed around after dinner liqueurs and large state university. Among the ex- however, that trend has begun to be chocolates. amples were: techniques for "putting a reversed. Some of this interest has come To further foster interchange with text into play," i.e., seeing it as a "script" from transformations in methodology, the audience, we abandoned the dais and to be "performed" by its readers; sam- new questions about what constitutes re-arranged the large room ahead of time ples of student re-writes of biblical sto- knowledge and its modes of transmis- by putting as many of the chairs as we ries in contemporary style (Joseph and sion, and issues surrounding politics in could in a large circle. Many of us do Potiphar's wife as a "Silhouette Ro- the classroom. Some of it has arisen in this routinely in our classrooms—why mance"); role plays; and letters of stu- reaction to attacks on the university and not at a conference? What indeed dents to each other, to biblical personae its ethos. But there is also an independ- physically constitutes a good "scene of and to me. Instead of journals, which ent desire to take teaching more seri- instruction"? Why is it that often the have no real audience, I now have my ously by a new generation of scholars most instructive and interesting intellec- students write letters that are who are questioning the conventions on tual interchanges at conferences take "published" by their bringing copies for which our professional lives as academ- place in the hallways, lounges, and bars the entire class and reading them aloud. ics have been based. rather than at the sessions themselves? We also believed that the AJS con- How can we integrate that lively ex- m ference itself needed some alternative change of ideas into the sessions? Is After the three of us had spoken for formats. What we ourselves do in these there any reason why we must only the first half-hour, we decided to take a conferences implicitly reflects much lecture frontally at colleagues sitting risk. Rather than just open the floor to about what we think teaching and learn- silently before us in straight rows of discussion, we actually employed some ing are, and how we construct academic chairs? techniques from what is now known in community. The fixed structure of The common thread in all our in- educational circles as "collaborative most sessions—three or four separate formal remarks was based on a key learning," a mode of restructuring the papers read to the audience with rela- point made by Michael Signer, that, "in classroom for more interactive and in- tively little time for questions or dia- good teaching, form should follow func- terdependent learning and teaching. logue—reflects an underlying assump- tion, ... i.e., the students should do (Many collaborative learning techniques tion about how we think knowledge is something that imitates the life of the are surprisingly similar to the venerable best communicated. There have been text they are studying." In what sense, hevruta method of yeshiva learning.) We radical changes in our postmodern view one might ask, do traditional Jewish announced that we would like to divide of knowledge, and in the kinds of stu- texts themselves contain an implicit the audience into small groups of four

8 persons each, in which they would in- some technical imperatives, in much of enriching to try to listen to three or troduce themselves and discuss in each our teaching there is no absolutely nec- four 20-minute-plus papers often read group for ten minutes or so the follow- essary reason why students are learning hurriedly one after another. Speakers ing two questions: "What is the biggest any given specific material. Ultimately, could also help by not writing up their problem you are having in your teach- what the teacher is trying to do is to talks as if they were journal articles, i.e., ing? What's the most successful teach- imbue students with your vision. ... We in the complex language adapted to the ing technique you have discovered?" are artists. The job of art is to make printed text, but rather than in the sim- Then we would solicit comments from you see the world in a way you never pler more recursive language needed by the small groups and open it to a whole saw it before. ... [In our case, it is] to the listening ear. Yet many speakers are group discussion. get them to see not just the surface of loath to do this. Why? What drives the At this point, not surprisingly, a this text we are teaching, but to see that writing and delivery of some of these mini-walk-out occurred. About one- it is deeper. I think it is deeper this highly difficult-to-absorb papers, I quarter of the audience got up and made way, and four-fifths of them will see think, is as much performance anxiety haste for the doors. Some were proba- that it's deeper in a totally other way, as a desire to communicate, i.e., a fear of bly already tired by the long day, but which may be interesting to me or to- being exposed as ignorant, or a need to my hunch is that others left out of resis- tally boring. But they see it as deeper, prove mastery of the field so as to fore- tance to the idea of having to talk in a and they are excited and I did my job." stall attack. small group. Perhaps we teachers are so In sum, the principles for good IV used to the controlled rhetoric of soli- communication are the same for both a Was the session successful? Yes and tary performance in front of a passive conference session and classroom. For no. The problems of a professor at a class or audience that the idea of turning what, in the end, is the purpose of an large state university with a mix of Jew- to the person sitting in the next seat and academic conference, and of scholarship ish and non-Jewish undergraduates are talking more personally about one's in general? Parker Palmer, an educa- different from those of a scholar in an own teaching made some people uneasy. tional theorist, has written eloquently in advanced graduate program at a rabbini- We were, however, pleasantly sur- his book To Know as We Are Known cal seminary or Ph.D. program. Teach- (Harper San Francisco, 1983) about prised by the intensity of the reactions ing Talmud is different from teaching some of the negative effects of the of those who stayed. One especially Italian Jewish history or Saul Bellow. "hidden curriculum," of cruel competi- noteworthy theme was the Angst several And yet, at least a discussion was begun, tion within the university, of how "the audience members expressed about the and pedagogy was given a place and a whole culture of the academic commu- conflicts of teaching "sacred texts in name at the AJS. profane settings," of how to balance nity with its systems of rewards and We would urge that discussions and spiritual commitment with critical dis- punishments works to shape our views sessions on teaching become an integral passion. of self and world." It is that "hidden part of every AJS conference. There We then allowed a free non-directed curriculum" that students absorb as should be a regular division devoted to their lessons as much as if not more discussion with the microphone being it, just as there is to Kabbalah, or Chas- passed from one audience member to than the actual "content" of the material sidism, or Rabbinic Literature. Our (19). But "to teach," continues Palmer, the next, and little commentary from hope is also that, as a collective body, "is to create a space in which the com- us. In retrospect, this discussion, like the AJS begin to experiment with dif- munity of truth is practised." any good classroom discussion, could ferent formats for the conference itself. And truth he defines as a kind of have been moderated more, but an in- Other academic conferences have begun "troth"—a covenant with another, a teresting weave of voices and concerns to include many options including: pledge to engage in a mutually account- was heard. Moshe Greenberg (Hebrew roundtable seminars where the papers able and transforming relationship, a University), for example, put it simply are distributed in advance; workshops relationship forged of trust and faith in and eloquently by saying that "the that are designed for maximum inter- the face of unknowable risks. To know teacher is a model of inquiry. He dis- change among leaders and participants; something or someone in truth is to plays how he inquires into the text and sessions where "great teachers" illustrate enter troth with the known, to rejoin creates a paradigm and standard by how they teach "great texts"; idea- with new knowing what our minds which the student can judge what he exchange tables, where participants leave have put asunder (31). doing." The good teacher, then, does copies of teaching ideas and exercises not go into the classroom fully knowing that have worked well for them and "The true work of the mind," then, in advance what the text means, but pick up those of others, and so forth. "is to reconnect us with that which tries to find out together with the stu- would otherwise be out of reach, to Certainly, chairs of conventional dents. This reminded Marc Bregman of reweave the great community of our panels could help make sure that there is lives" (xvi). That, too, may be the the saying in the Talmud Bavli, "Teach ample time for audience questions, and your tongue to say, I do not know" deeper meaning of the line from Pirke even for one speaker on a panel to actu- Avot (1:6) that we chose for the title of (Ber. 4a; Derekh Eretz Zuta 3:30), for ally engage with another! Studies have that is what enables true "inquiry" (also our session: the relation between Aseh shown that the maximum average adult Lekhka Rav u-Qneh Lekha Haver— the meaning of the Hebrew root darash attention span in listening to oral dis- for the word midrash). "finding and making" oneself a teacher, course is no more than twenty minutes. and the acquiring of a friend. Joseph Lukinsky (Jewish Theologi- It is mind-numbing rather than mind- cal Seminary) noted that, "aside from

9 Jewish Music in the Curriculum

Does Jewish Music ture says, 'Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not Have a Place in Jewish Studies? good, etc.'" (Talmud Bavli Megillah 32a). Through my current area of research, the connection between melody and syntax in Joshua R. Jacobson the Masoretic cantillation, I have developed new pedagogical Northeastern University methods to facilitate learning, deepen understanding, and [email protected] sharpen performance skills. Taking a cue from Avrohom Goldfaden, I view the concert WHAT IS YOUR FIRST association when you hear the term hall as a classroom as well. Through aesthetic experience, the Jewish Music? That volunteer choir at your synagogue? Your Zamir Chorale, a community chorus of which I am the music cantor who should have retired a decade ago? Or the one who director, seeks to transport its audiences to distant civiliza- offers you a new improved guitar-based liturgy? Your grand- tions: music becomes a window to the culture out of which it mother singing "My Yiddishe Mama"? Perry Como singing arose. I make a point of introducing each piece in a concert. "Kol Nidre"? The ear-splitting band at your nephew's wed- Thus, listening to a seventeenth-century synagogue motet by ding? The way you butchered your bar- or bat-mitzvah hafta- Salamone Rossi, one can come to sense the Jewish participa- rah? The muzak you were fed on El Al? tion in the Italian Renaissance. A Psalm setting by Salomon Jewish music is all that and a whole lot more. After Sulzer is meant to evoke the enlightenment in nineteenth- twenty-five years of conducting concerts of Jewish music and century Vienna. Through a work by Pavel Haas one may teaching college-level Jewish music courses, I find that the gen- sense both the anguish and the courage of the inmates of the eral public is still surprised to discover that there can be first- Terezin concentration camp. rate performances of music arising from the Jewish traditions, The serious academic study of Jewish Music from many and that Jewish music in the classroom can be taught as a sub- angles belongs in the curriculum. Unfortunately, the few aca- ject worthy of scholarship. demicians who specialize in Jewish Music are spread quite thin. More and more frequently one encounters courses in Jew- Outside of several universities in Israel and three institutions in ish music in the catalogues of colleges, universities, and con- New York for the training of clergy, there is no focal point for servatories. Ethnomusicologists examine the unique musical scholarship in this area. The Association for Jewish Studies cultures of various Jewish civilizations. Great concert artists can play an important role by providing a venue for the teach the performance practice of Klezmer and other ethnic presentation and centralization of research and curriculum in styles. And yet, in the typical college course in the history of Jewish Music. Western music or music appreciation, students are taught, "In the beginning there was Gregorian Chant." Rare indeed is the The Zamir Chorale of Boston general music teacher who demonstrates the origins of Chris- tian chant in the singing of the Bet ha-Mikdash! PROGRAM The introductory course on Jewish music presents a unique Sunday, December 18, 1994 dilemma. How does one organize the material? What ap- Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference proach does one take? One can try to present the material in a strictly chronological sequence, one can deal with one geo- The Worlds of Jewish Music graphical area at a time, or one could organize the course around music associated with the various holiday-cycle and HaZamir Leo Low life-cycle events. One could take the approach of the ethno- musicologist and consider all music in the context of the cul- ture that produced it, or one could take the approach of the Adon Olam Salamone Rossi strict structuralist, analyzing the music as a pure art form Psalm 92 (Tov LeHodos) Louis Lewandowski without external references, or the approach of the historical Avodat HaKodesh (second movement) Ernst Bloch musicologist, teaching only the great masterworks, ignoring the music of the common people and the lesser masters. Like Tsen Brider Martin Rosenberg (arr: J. Jacobson) many of my colleagues, I take a kaleidoscopic approach, trying Ani Maamin Vishnets (arr: M. Lazar) to make my students aware of all these approaches over the Zol Shoyn Kumen Di GeUuleh course of a semester. S. Kaczerginski/A. I. Cook (arr: J. Jacobson) In an effort to' halt the decline in Jewish music literacy, Erev Shel Shoshanim Joseph Hadar (arr: J. Klebanow) many institutions of higher Jewish learning are now offering Dodi Li performance practicum courses in nusah ha-tefillah, the prayer Nira Chen (arr: J. Jacobson) Tikvateinu modes, and ta'ame ha-mikra, the cantillation. There is evidence David Burger Break Forth into Joy that in ancient times, Jewish prayer and learning were un- Robert Starer thinkable without music. "If one reads the Scripture without a melody or teaches the Mishnah without a tune, of him Scrip- Amen Shem Nora traditional North African

10 The AJS at ACLS

The Executive Secretary of AJS represents the organization in the Conference of Administrative Officers (CAO) at the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). The CAO of the ACLS holds semi-annual meetings on issues of current interest in the humanities and the humanistic study of the social sciences. The mission of the ACLS is to support humanistic research by grants, to identify and meet the pres- ent and future needs of humanistic scholarship, and to put forth a unified national voice and presence on matters of interest to scholars. AJS also sends a delegate to the annual meeting of the ACLS. Robert M. Seltzer, President of AJS, is the delegate of the AJS, and is also currently Chair of the Executive Committee of the Delegates.

The following were written by Aaron L. Katchen, the AJS Executive Secretary, for recent meetings of the CA O.

The Internationalization One might suggest that the field of ized. Though American scholars were of Scholarship Jewish scholarship as practiced in North instrumental in getting it off the and Scholarly Societies American academic institutions and in ground, its contacts with the AJS as a Europe has very different concerns and body have remained informal. November 1994 organizational structures than Jewish Aside from participating in interna- scholarship overseas. In North Amer- THE MEMBERS OF the Association for tional conferences held overseas, our ica, the typical model, with two notable Jewish Studies are full participants in American members contribute regularly exceptions, Brandeis University, where the many and diverse fields of Jewish to (as well as serve on the boards of or AJS is now housed, and New York Studies scholarship practiced around the edit) prestigious foreign journals, often University, shows individual scholars in world. We have members in more than in languages other than English. academic departments across the spec- fifteen foreign countries. As a corporate Americans and other non-Israelis write trum of arts and sciences disciplines. In entity, however, the Association for in Hebrew for Israeli journals, for ex- a few institutions, so-called Centers for Jewish Studies maintains no interna- ample, while foreign scholars regularly Jewish Studies do provide gathering tional affiliations. We conduct no ac- contribute in English to American jour- places for those with an interest in Ju- tivities jointly with our organizational nals besides our own, which also con- daica. In Israel, however, Jewish Studies counterparts elsewhere. Indeed, our tains a Hebrew section. Monographs by activities in the United States serve as a is itself routinely organized along de- American members of our association prime venue for foreign scholars, who partmental lines, with large departments are frequently published at foreign participate annually in our December of Jewish Philosophy, Jewish History, presses. Some of our members publish meeting and contribute frequently to Hebrew Literature, etc., the more wide- in languages other than English or He- our AJS Review. spread phenomenon. There is, as a re- brew. Translations of foreign language sult, perhaps, less concern for the mate- Judaica into English have become more More than twenty years ago, the rial and intellectual welfare of scholars widespread, and not merely from He- Association gave consideration to estab- in the field and less need for continuity brew to English, of which there is a lishing formal links with the World Un- outside the immediate department or veritable flood. The phenomenon is ion of Jewish Studies, headquartered in institution. equally true in reverse, with much Jew- Jerusalem. Given the very different ish Studies scholarship by Americans This having been said, the World agendas of the two organizations, such finding a ready audience outside the Congress organizers have frequently an arrangement did not materialize. United States. There are no national solicited participation from abroad and The World Union has only two func- boundaries any more for either periodi- regularly invite overseas scholars to de- tions: to convene the quadrennial World cals or monographs. That this is an liver papers; the Congress also accom- Congress of Jewish Studies and to pub- especially acute problem for libraries is modates those who volunteer. Mem- lish its proceedings. The Union has the subject of yet another conference. never sought to become a membership- bers of our association have always par- ticipated fully in the Congress and pub- based organization, as is the AJS. The This reflects a larger phenomenon, lished their papers in its Proceedings. Union does not see itself, other than and one that, issues of institution or Inasmuch as the World Union has met indirectly, as promoting the cause of affiliation aside, is a prime concern of its goals without outside subvention or Jewish Studies or the welfare of its prac- this symposium. Jewish Studies schol- support, control has always remained in titioners, as does AJS. The Union, in arship is international almost by defini- the hands of Israeli scholars. sum, has a very limited scope and main- tion. Scholarship in Judaica draws on a tains and fosters no continuity, connec- The European Union of Jewish world-wide, linguistically diverse body tion, or solidarity between participants Studies has grown up only over the last of learning. In all fields of Judaic Stud- during the four-year intervals between decade or so. Its membership is more ies, scholars disregard what has been Congresses. scattered, and it is more loosely organ- published or produced outside the

11 I

Internationalization of Scholarship for the American experience or are in the AJS Review was the late Frank [ (continued from page 11.) any way "alien" in their perspective. Talmage, an American living and teach- , United States or in a foreign language at That they are as perspicacious as we and ing in Toronto. We really have no in- their peril. While this was true in pre- often more so is undeniable fact, and ternational boundaries as far as member- vious generations as well, when, more only our own arrogance would presume ship and participation are concerned. otherwise. In Judaic Studies in particu- often than not, core works were created Finally, the program from our 26th lar, we have, I believe, overcome the and appeared elsewhere, the transfer of Annual Conference this December > view that we Americans do it best. This the centers of scholarship to America (1994) shows participants from Israel in is evidenced by a number of features in and Israel has enhanced cross- large numbers and at many of the ses- the history and current practice of our fertilization. sions likely to attract the greatest inter- j association. It appears, indeed, that, despite the est. Our Canadian contingent is sub- natural diversity in the topics and ques- A number of years ago, there was stantial, as usual. The U.K., France, | tions that form the core focus and inter- an attempt to establish regional gather- Russia, Germany, Greece, and South j est of scholars in any given country, ings of the AJS above and beyond the Africa are also represented. There will ! those interests now appear less difficult annual conference. One of these was be attendees from other countries as ! to erase or bridge than hitherto. While even held in Canada. While the initia- well. It will be hard to distinguish for- Americans studying American Jewry, tive did not last, it is noteworthy that eign perspectives from American ones at for example, pay a great deal of atten- the organizers of the initial meetings this conference, as it is at most. When tion to community issues, the interest in were Israeli scholars with a long connec- some of our members are European- such issues from overseas has grown, tion to the United States. One was the born South Americans who, after mi- particularly, with the large number of late Shlomo Dov Goitein, a European grating to Israel, now reside from time foreign scholars who spend large immigrant to Israel who spent many a to time as visiting scholars in the United amounts of time in this country. They year at the Institute for Advanced Study States, or some variation on this con- bring their concerns home with them, in Princeton, the other the now nona- struct, it is hard to speak of whether we but they also bring home a sense of genarian Jacob Katz, a Hungarian-born, have become more international or less, solidarity with their American counter- German-trained former Rector of the given the history of migrations. parts. The establishment and mainte- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who In sum, Jewish Studies scholarship nance of contact, facilitated by e-mail, has held numerous visiting professor- seems destined to maintain its interna- on-line interest groups, FAQs, etc., etc., ships in the United States and was here tional character. The Association for have exploded the envelope of opportu- earlier this fall (1994) for a lecture at the Jewish Studies will continue to provide nity for collaboration. Harvard Law School. Their activism has long been characteristic of the asso- a forum and a link between practitio- It is hard to justify the impression ciation's foreign members. Also to be ners world-wide. that foreign scholars have less of a "feel" noted is the fact that the first editor of

Missions of a Learned Society in lieve it will impact our mission and that change dramatically because of new an Electronic Age of other learned societies as well. banking regulations, policies, and avail- able services. We will still continue to November 1995 ADMINISTRATIVE APPROACHES need the support of dues, which (along The areas in which we have already im- with some grants) sustain the journal THE ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES plemented change are the obvious op- that members receive. We also expect was founded "to promote, maintain, and erational ones. We have maintained a that such activities and services as those improve teaching, research, and related membership database for about five described below will never be com- endeavors in Jewish Studies in ... institu- years; this year we upgraded to pletely self-funding. We will have to tions of higher learning." It has tried to MS-Access, a relational database. We continually reexamine our dues policies achieve this by furthering contacts be- have been composing our conference to take account of ever-changing cost tween scholars through conferences and program using Pagemaker for several structures and staffing requirements. publications. We take these to be the years. This year the database virtually These tools and administrative factors principal functions of learned societies. generated the conference program. We do not, however, speak to our mission, As the information revolution trans- have even availed ourselves of project even if they facilitate its execution. forms the character and the techniques management software to aid in confer- of research and teaching and facilitates ence planning. Along with every other AJS IN A CHANGING SCHOLARLY communication through a variety of learned society, we are on the Internet CLIMATE new technologies, it has begun to trans- for email. We are about to put up a The question that we have not addressed form the scope and management of our gopher site and a Web page. Looking fully enough is whether we can con- activities. We have good reason to be- ahead to the future, the means by which tinue to be a driving intellectual force in we collect and process dues may well the scholarly lives of our members.

12 Will they continue to regard attending tials and with a doctrinaire or promo- verse, a learned society that fosters col- our annual conference in December in tional intent. Some of these have been laboration in such ventures by the lead- Boston as a worthwhile enterprise, disseminated as a necessary counter to ers in the several disciplines it comprises which more than a third of our mem- deliberate distortion or to anti-Jewish has a new opportunity to raise the stan- bership currently does. Will chat rooms propaganda, though much of what ap- dards in the profession. Scholars repre- replace face-to-face contact? Will it soon pears is without academic integrity or sented in this galaxy by their member- be our role to moderate such a virtual accuracy. So much for purveyors. ship in the learned society will have discussion group? Will we be reduced greater visibility. It is also possible that As for consumers, with a browsing tool to the modern version of a cafe society? the learned society will be better on the Web, even the beginner can soon equipped by its access to almost all We are not yet operating in this mode. pretend to expertise and even skill. It is those who work in the field to handle Furthermore, it is unlikely that the in- already beginning to be difficult to dis- more mundane, yet equally critical tellectual focus of the practitioners of tinguish a gourmand from a gourmet at tasks. These include the traditional ones our discipline will undergo a paradigm the banquet of learning. An all-too of job placement and advocacy on be- shift as rapidly as that of many other prevalent character on the current scene, half of its members, which become all users of the technology AJS members one who surely has his counterpart the more valuable in a world of declin- are increasingly adopting. The subject elsewhere, is the "CD-ROM talmid hak- ing university resources and greater job matter, both retrospective and contem- ham," whose inadequately seasoned insecurity. porary, both abstract and applied, will learning can easily escape notice. The continue to be the prime attraction for Hebrew appellation has distinguished There can even be an opportunity for those working in our field, as it must be the most learned of scholars for two the learned society to reengineer or re- in any field. Among the new scenarios, millennia. The CD-ROM, on the other tool, by recreating, in a new form, the however, will be the enhancements that hand, the on-line database, and access to academy by correspondence, as the fa- new technologies enable. The collegial the Internet appear to create a level miliar university structure continues to atmosphere that our meetings are playing field. (This is independent of erode. Although some universities have known for and the personal contacts the question of the two-tier society of taken to creating virtual campuses, with they foster will benefit from more sus- the computer literate and the non- courses available remotely, the learned tained correspondence and collabora- literate that needs to be addressed sepa- society can draw on resources far more tion. Meetings can be more productive rately.) extensive than a single department at a and intensive, with sessions better pre- single university. The learned society Rather than pouncing on this new dilet- pared beforehand. Ease of access to col- has the power to deliver programs of tantism as pernicious, it may be wise to leagues overseas appears to have joined learning on every level, either autono- view it as an opportunity to disseminate all our members more closely to one mously or as the linchpin of a broad- knowledge in new and creative ways to another and even to have increased based consortium of universities. The an eager public. The mission of a scholarly productivity. AJS provides a careful maintenance of standards that a learned society in a democratic society forum for initiating contacts and rein- for-profit venture may have to forego has to be inclusive of the larger public. vigorating them annually. It is proba- will be the hallmark of such a new We now have a lever with which to bly fair to say that periodic video tele- "institution." This is only one of the raise the standards of scholarship among conferences will not replace such meet- many ways in which the learned society the broadest possible network of stu- ings; rather, they can and should pro- can help maintain the integrity and en- dents and teachers. We view this as a vide a useful supplement to our Decem- hance the teaching of its subject. ber venue. direct benefit to all scholars and stu- dents. A learned society's carefully TIME-HONORED VALUES, NEW RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR monitored, moderated, and regulated MARKETS AND TECHNIQUES GROWTH Web site or listserv can serve as an The value-added in such tools and pro- The new tools and technologies afford "expert system" for guiding both suc- grams, then, is that in the proper hands increased access to information and en- cessful and aspiring practitioners in their they can reinforce in a new way the hanced contact between scholars. At investigations. time-honored rules, values, and activi- the same time, by their modus operandi, ties, and the integrity that characterize THE NEW REVENUE STREAM they pose a threat to the scholarly pro- the scholarly profession. Scholarship The learned society can expect to find fession. While they enable almost every must be a collaboration among great new sources of revenue in refereed elec- practitioner to achieve a broader scope minds. It requires constant rapid feed- tronic journals and evergreen bibliogra- of vision, they mislead the untrained back and monitoring that continue over phies (it is all-too-easy to recall printed searcher into assuming that understand- a long period of time to deepen the stu- bibliographic resources that were out-of- ing and experience are bundled with the dent's understanding of the subject mat- date when they appeared). The society download data. The data itself may also ter and of the process of education itself. can serve as the repository of "libraries" be unreliable. Postings of Judaica to the It relies on the chance to float "trial bal- of images with an "imprimatur" of Internet have proliferated, their source loons" and put forth meritorious, yet authenticity and hypertext ties to guide often-times being individuals and or- inchoate theories before a select, easily learning. In the new publishing uni- ganizations with no scholarly creden- accessible group of experts. Scholarship

13 Missions of a Learned Society ACLS Travel Grants (continued from page 13) must be free of bias and readily dissemi- ACLS Travel Grant Program, 1995 AJS Mailing List nated. The ease of use offered by the Competition Recipients Recommended new media almost guarantees that these by the Association for Jewish Studies: values and approaches will be more eas- To rent the AJS mailing list, ily maintained and even furthered. The Conference of the International Organi- please contact: learned society can serve as a conduit zation for Qumran Studies, Cambridge, and facilitator for this enterprise and United Kingdom / July 16-17, 1995 A. B. Data Information derive appropriate fees for helping con- Management & Marketing sumers navigate the scholarly highways Joseph M. Baumgarten Services Ltd. and by-ways of the larger information Professor Emeritus 8050 North Port Washington Rd. highway. of Rabbinic Literature Milwaukee, WI 53217 OUR STRENGTH AND POTENTIAL Baltimore Hebrew Univesity This approach should not be regarded as "Description of an Unpublished Tel.: 414-352-4404 an attempt to control. It is rather the 4Q Text" 800-558-6908 kind of benefit to the profession that FAX: 414-352-3994 only the professional organization, with Robert A. Kugler its unique access and vantage point, is Assistant Professor able to provide. Such considerations of Religious Studies, AJS Newsletter also address directly the question of elit- Gonzaga University ism that raises itself constantly. As elec- "Isaac's Halakhic Instructions Bernard D. Cooperman tronic technology becomes more and to Levi in 'Aramaic Levi': a dis- University of Maryland cussion of a newly available Vice-President for Publications more of a commodity, the cost of mar- . » ket entry for even the least advantaged text Editor among us becomes lower and lower. Aaron L. Katchen Everyone can become a "knowledge Association for Jewish Studies worker." The learned society must be a Dr. Marvin Fox Honored market leader and move ahead of the Managing Editor curve to capture the reins, so that its historic mission can be maintained: to The AJS is proud to congratulate its Correspondence / articles for the promote teaching and scholarship. past president, Dr. Marvin Fox, on the signal honor accorded him by the Bos- Newsletter should be sent to: The learned society can do this if it steps ton Jewish community. A new $1 mil- Bernard D. Cooperman, Editor forward to be more than a clearing lion gift to the Fund for Jewish Conti- AJS Newsletter house for issues in the field, more than a nuity from the Louis and Ida Selib Me- Meyerhoff Center facilitator of on-line conferences, and morial Fund has been presented to the for Jewish Studies more than a purveyor of on-line jour- Combined Jewish Philanthropies of nals. It has to use the bully pulpit at its 0113 Woods Hall Greater Boston to be used to create the disposal to disseminate its message. The University of Maryland Marvin Fox Fund for Jewish Learning. learned society adds value only to the College Park, MD 20742 This endowment is named in honor of extent that 1) it creates a more learned Dr. Fox, scholar and Professor Emeritus general society through the efforts of its of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Association for Jewish Studies members in that larger society, and 2) Robert M. Seltzer that it upholds the standards of scholar- Brandeis University, and Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Boston Hunter College ship to which its members aspire President through the fostering of true collabora- University, in recognition of his com- tion among scholars. Our harnessing of mitment and contribution to Jewish the new technologies now at our dis- scholarship and the Jewish community. Executive Secretary: posal and of those that are rapidly The funds are to be used to help sup- Aaron L. Katchen emerging can enable this vision to be- port the Boston Kollel and CJP's overall MB 0001 come more than a virtual reality, as we Jewish continuity efforts. Brandeis University transform ourselves from the traditional P. O. Box 9110 learned society to the "learning organi- Waltham, MA 02254-9110 zation."1 Voice-Mail: 617-736-2981 FAX: 617-736-2982 1 See Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: email: [email protected] the Art and Practice of the Learning Or- ganization (1990).

14 €> 1995 Association for Jewish Studies ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES

Report of the Nominating Committee

November 1995

The following is the report of the Nominating Committe, presented to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting on 17 December 1995:

1. Nominees for Officers for 1995-1996: • President Robert M. Seltzer (Hunter) • Vice President/Program Lawrence H. Schiffman (NYU) • Vice President/Publications Bernard D. Cooperman (Maryland) • Vice President/Membership Paula E. Hyman (Yale) • Secretary/Treasurer Benjamin Ravid (Brandeis)

2. Nominees for Members of the Board of Directors to serve a two-year term (December 1995-December 1997) until the Annual Meeting in 1997: Adele Berlin (Maryland) Tamar Rudavsky (Ohio State) Arnold M. Eisen (Stanford) Marc E. Saperstein (Washington U.) Michael Fishbane (Chicago) Michael A. Signer (Notre Dame) Deborah Lipstadt (Emory) Haym Soloveitchik (Yeshiva U.) Frances Malino (Wellesley) David Sorkin (Wisconsin) David Roskies QTSA) Yael Zerubavel (U. of Pennsylvania)

3. The following Directors continue to serve until the annual meeting in 1996, in terms to which they were elected at the Annual Meeting in 1994:

David Berger (Brooklyn C.) Jacob Lassner (Northwestern) Elisheva Carlebach (Queens) Jehuda Reinharz (Brandeis) Todd M. Endelman (U. of Michigan) Alvin H. Rosenfeld (Indiana) Talya Fishman (Rice) Jonathan Sarna (Brandeis) Ernest M. Frerichs (Brown) Naomi B. Sokoloff (U. of Washington) Rela Geffen (Gratz) Steven J. Zipperstein (Stanford) Jay M. Harris (Harvard)

4. Honorary Directors: Leon A. Jick (Brandeis) Jane S. Gerber (CUNY-Grad. Ctr.) Baruch A. Levine (NYU) Nahum M. Sarna (Florida Atlantic) Arnold J. Band (UCLA) Ruth R. Wisse (Harvard) Marvin Fox (Boston U.) Robert Chazan (NYU) Michael A. Meyer (HUC, Cine.) Herbert H. Paper (HUC, Cincinnati) 5. Ex officio: Norman A. Stillman (Oklahoma), Editor, AJSReview

Respectfully submitted, Arnold J. Band (UCLA) (Chair) Charles Berlin (Harvard) Deborah Lipstadt (Emory) Naomi Sokoloff (U. of Washington) Jeffrey Tigay (U. of Pennsylvania) Steven Zipperstein (Stanford)

15 ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES

Advance Notice: 28th Annual AJS Conference Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, Dec. 15-17,1996 Proposals are due on March 29,1996. Watch the mail in early February for proposal forms/instructions.

Tapes of all sessions of the 27th Annual Conference are available from: Audio Archives Intl., 3043 Foothill Blvd., Suite 2, La Crescenta, CA (800) 747-8069

AJS Review 20:1 has appeared. Paid-up members who have not received their copies are asked to notify the AJS office.

AJS' Information Bulletin: Positions in Jewish Studies appeared in November. Our list of 1995-96 visiting scholars at American institutions is also now available. (1996-97 visitors: please use the questionnaire found on the Gopher and e-mail us.)

Visit the AJS Gopher/Web site! Connect to: URL: gophery/gopher.brandeis.edu:70/ll/campusinfo/ajs

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