Arizona State University Jewish Studies Program Annual Newsletter | Volume 4 | 2003ñ2004 Edition

made possible by the generous contributions of Friends of Jewish Studies

A Note from the Director this community, and a testament to ourintention integrate community concerns over the need to to disseminate Jewish learning to that community support Israel with the diverse and sometimes and beyond. complex politics of Jewish faculty and students. I ebruary. After a year of research leave in the The impact of these programs upon the was quite pleased to report to the group about cold northeast, itís hard not to be delighted larger community this workshop and to be back home. I missed Arizona. And not comes about through the fact that it Fonly the weather, but the pleasure of watch- ongoing ties with vari- received very gen- ing a young program grow. ous institutions. These erous support from This past year we sponsored The Memoirs of include: Congregation members of our Glikl of Hameln with both on and off campus ven- Beth El, Temple Chai, community, partic- ues including one, at the request of the perform- Har Sinai, the New ularly the Marshall ers, in a local bar, with the intention of Shul, the Tri-City JCC, Fund of Arizona. capturing the feel of a cabaret. A performance Temple Emanuel, the Clearly, there is a that is intricately grounded in an historical Jew- Phoenix Jewish Film wide range of polit- ish text and in a Jewish language speaks directly Festival and the Jess ical opinion within to the principal mission of the Program: to Schwartz Community the Jewish commu- bring to both the university and the surround- High School. Indeed, all nity both here and ing community intellectually and culturally speakers for the elsewhere and itís sophisticated Jewish cultural expression unavail- Midrash series will the responsibility able without our sponsorship. address the students of a Jewish Studies With that in mind, we continue to bring cut- and faculty at the Jess program to address Jack Kugelmass, Director at Boyce Thompson Arboretum ting edge scholarship to the Valley. This past year Schwartz Community that diversity, to the Prorgram sponsored two superb scholars in High School. In solidi- educate and to chal- residenceóDavid Kertzer of Brown University for fying the connection we are fulfilling the mis- lenge prevailing beliefs particularly when old the Eckstein Lectures and Christopher Browning sion of both institutions. ways of looking at things lead to impasses with of the University of North Carolina for Yom tragic results. Hashoah. This latter was a premier of what we Iíve long felt the Judaica collection to be plan to make an annual event. I am delighted to the jewel in the crown of this Program. While et me say something about the productiv- report that James Kugel agreed to give the 2004 in Israel this past summer, taking intensive Yid- ity of our faculty over the past year. Don Eckstein lectures, dish instruction at the Benjamin in the Department of Religious kicking off a four- Hebrew University, our LStudies at ASU published Old Testament person series on Judaica librarian Rachel Story: An Introduction (Fortress Press) with an Midrash at ASU Leket-Mor perused accompanying CD-Rom; Regentsí Professor David sponsored through Jerusalemís book stores to fill Foster in the Department of Languages and Liter- the Jess Schwartz in gaps in our Hebraica hold- atures published Queer Issues in Contemporary Latin Student Colloqui- ings. And our long-standing American Cinema (University of Texas); Hava um. The endowment relations with librarians at Tirosh Samuelson in the History Department is intended to other institutions and with published Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, enrich undergradu- Judaica vendors enabled us to Knowledge and Well-Being (Hebrew Union College), ate education by add thousands of valuable Yid- an edited volume Judaism and Ecology: Created providing funds to dish items related to East World and Revealed Word (Cambridge) and her edit- invite to campus European, American and Latin ed volume Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy prominent scholars American Jewish history and will be published by Indiana University Press to meet with our culture. Some of these were this year; Grossman Professor Norbert Samuel- students. Besides New Acquisition. Soviet science textbook in purchased with Friends of Jew- son in the Department of Religious Studies pub- James Kugel, this Yiddish, 1933. ish Studies funds, others lished Jewish Philosophy: An Historical Introduction yearís seminar through special acquisition (Continuum), Esther Romeynís book, My Other, includes Michael funds by ASU Libraries and Myself is slated for publication next year with the Fishbane of the University of Chicago, Judith one valuable collection from a one-time gift from University of Minnesota Press. Baskin of the University of Oregon and Jody an anonymous donor who is a long-time friend of Finally, a note about our endowments. Money Myers of California State University, Northridge. the Program. I am particularly pleased that given contributed to the ASU Foundation, on behalf of The Programís initiatives on Latin American the expansion of the collection, ASU Libraries Jewish Studies, helps us maintain a high profile Jewry continues. With funds from Jewish Stud- hired first a summer intern to handle the Yid- research faculty with resources that can compete ies scholarships, Regentsí Professor David Foster dish material and now a permanent half-time favorably with much older and better endowed took a group of students to Buenos Aires. The Hebraica cataloger. institutions. But most of these endowments trip was intended to familiarize graduate stu- impact studentsó certainly through the acquisi- dents with the impact of Jews on Latin Ameri- tion of new books, the expansion of scholarship can culture in the hope that they would ne of the most exciting programs we and fellowship awards and the continuation of integrate Jewish subjects into their research. We sponsored last year was a one day programs such as the Plotkin professorship. This continue to bring in speakers with expertise on workshop ìAfter Oslo: New Strategies year we used the funds from this endowment to Latin AmericaóJoseph Schraibman from Wash- Ofor Middle East Peace.î The four speak- award a post-doc to a promising young scholar, ington University in St. Louis whose talk was on ersó two Palestinian and two Israelióhad come to Arieh Saposnik, an historian of Zionism. Arieh is Jews in Cuba, and Alejandra Naftal an expert on some agreement on where the peace negotia- filling in as advanced Hebrew instructor while the disappeared of Argentina. And we are cur- tions would ultimately lead and they gave those Shai Ginsburg in on leave and by all accounts has rently organizing a new Friends of Jewish Stud- attending a foretaste of what the future of the made a very positive impression on all of his stu- ies study mission to Latin Americaó this one to Middle East might look like. For those who lis- dents. Given the size of the Plotkin endowment, examine Jewish Mexico, October 10ñ18 2004. tened, the speakers offered a very sobering view we can make this kind of award only once every The past year was the fourth international of the difficulties that lie ahead in resolving this few years. But imagine a program in which the conference on modern Jewish history and culture, conflict. But they offered something all too endowment was large enough to do so every year ìWhatís New About the New Anti-Semitism.î At rareó non-partisan views of those close enough and students had an opportunity to experience the end of February the Grossman Chair in Jewish to the front lines to know what has to give for a the diversity of Jewish Studies by a rotating Studies is sponsoring a conference ìJewish Tradition real end to this conflict to emerge. Let me say appointment in which newly minted Ph.D.ís and the Challenge of Evolution.î Rutgers University with a good deal of pride that attending a meet- would bring their training to our campus and Press published the proceedings from the first of ing of directors of Jewish Studies Programs at community? Thatís exactly where we need to go. our international conferences on modern Jewish the Association of Jewish Studies meetings in history and culture, titled Key Texts in American Jew- Boston this past December, one hotly debated Jack Kugelmass ish Culture. Like these conferences, the book is a topic was how to address the Middle East con- tribute to the support our Program receives from flict on campus and the struggles over how to Irving & Miriam Lowe Professor 2 F EATURE E SSAYS

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY: "WALK & MONUMENT TO THE RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS"

Claudio Vekstein

Vekstein was born in Buenos Aires and received resulted from an ideas competition for the uni- versity campus organized for the master plan- a Master of Architecture from the St‰delschule RIO DE LA PLATA ning and development of the area. It is Academy of Arts Frankfurt, Germany. He is an integrated with the Memory Park containing Assistant Professor in the College of the Monument to the Victims of State Terror- ndulating ceramic flooring in the Architecture and Environmental Design ism and the Monument for Peace and Toler- final segment, forms vaults that ance. But it also retains an independent house the precinct room. The struc- character. The Walk and Monument are juxta- Uture faces Jerusalem, but it fronts on RIGHTEOUS AMONG NATIONS posed to the immensity of the RÌo de la Plata the river promoting contemplation of the horizon, providing a contemplative and spiri- boundless horizon of water. Arising from it is a Monumental Assemblyóthree pieces of con- rgentine tual dimension in accordance with the ideals crete (an access ramp, a great inclined plat- House in of the institution: Through dialogue and form, and a descending ramp), in tension with Jerusalem, a understanding, peace among persons of differ- each other but in mutual support. Then the non-govern- ent creeds may be enhanced. At the same time A passage continues, descending on one side pre- mental organization in the monument pays homage to the people cisely underneath and delineated triangularly Argentina, has worked from various nations who saved thousands of by this Assembly, to the Space of Encounter, a on behalf of interfaith Jews from certain death during the Shoah. flat platform with seating in oblique rows ori- dialogue since 1966. It The Walk and Monument to the Righteous ented to the horizon and toward Jerusalem. It was founded by Ernesto Among Nations comprises various well defined is a place of confluence of the three world reli- Segura, a pioneering though integrated elements: a lateral pathway gions, designed like a small open air ecumeni- figure in inter-religious surrounds the monument, separated in its ini- cal chapelóalthough protected under the dialogue in Argentina Claudio Vekstein tial section by a channel of water and a low and first President of the institution, along with Numo Werthein, Baruch Tenem- baum, Jorge Luis Borges and Ra˙l Soldi. At present Baruch Tenembaum leads the asso- ciation along with Oscar Vicente, Natalio Wengrower, Alejandro Romay and Sergio Ren∙n. Bringing together Christians, Jews, Muslims and Protestants, believers and agnostics, the organizationís aim is to pro- mote mutual respect and understanding among various people through education and cultural activities. Under the aegis of Argentine House in Jerusalem, the Raoul Wallenberg Interna- tional Foundation proposed the Walk and Monument to the Righteous Among the Nations, an archi- tectural work reflecting the insti- tutionís message of peace while pro- moting intergroup contact through an accessible public 3D Compuer Renderings of the Walk and Monument Project space. Righteous Among the Nations is the title that Yad VaShem and the monumentówith the capacity Supreme Court of to hold more than 200 people. Israel offer to any- On the opposite side of the one who, at risk of ramp is access to the Precinct life and liberty, res- of the Just, a more restricted cued Jews during and semi-buried room, almost the Shoah. As a in penumbra and emptyóa Swedish Diplomat space for private meditation Raoul Wallenberg and reflection. A sharply saved the lives of 100,000 Hungarians Jews descending ramp leads toward from July of 1944 onwards. Less well the north Commemorative known are the 15,670 Righteous Gentiles Mural (supporting the elevated recognized by Israel. Citizens of 34 coun- Monumental Assembly) where tries, each will be honored through this light penetrates through the monument, each name listed according to fracture between the vaulted country of origin. ceiling and the ramp, joining the rain water of the terraces of the Just rising from the lat- RCHITECTURE OF EMORY ascending concrete wall placed as a dividing A M line of attitudes, which when crossed accesses eral channel passing beneath the wall. Here, the Path of the Just, developed through engraved in the concrete, are the names of the alk and Monument to the Right- smooth land movements in the form of earth- 15,670 Righteous Gentiles. Returning to the eous Among the Nations will be work or terraces, wide paths that are sunk in exterior, and continuing along the initial built along the Rio de la Plata. the quiet elevations of the land, elevating slow- pathway, is the small Stone Shore, dissipating WThe location is on the campus of ly through parallel paths to the edge of the the finite presence of the Just, and extending the University of Buenos Aires, on the north river, hidden in moments by successive hori- it. The path continues with its low walls side of the estuary that forms the Arroyo zon, discovering, in the extensive fluctuant immersed beneath the river water. This place Vega stream. and dense mass of thousands of specially fired of stillness, as the water with which it makes The site is an isolated triangular fragment bricks that compose the reddish brown paving contact, remains protected by the high wall of of land, surrounded on two sides by the river, and containing the individual names of the stone that forms the Coastal Walk terrace of the third faces the Coastal Walk. The project 15,670 Righteous Among the Nations. the Memory Park. F EATURE E SSAYS 3

MARCELO BRODSKY'S BUENA MEMORIA David William Foster

arcello Brodskyís 1997 proj- title gives an added meaning to the mas- ect, Buena memoria; un ensayo ter photograph of this exposition, a pho- fotogr ∙ fico brings together tograph which, in fact, is not even his. Mimages of the Buena Memo- And in the process of providing added ria project on the disappeared in meaning to that photography, his proj- Argentina, his own commentary on it, ect underscores the sociocultural experi- and a series of texts by prominent ence of the class photograph, building Argentine writers who lived through for it a historical meaning quite supple- the 1976-83 dictatorship. Brodskyís por- mentary to its original intent. In this tion of the project centers on the class sense, this is a photography of found photograph of students in the 1er AÒo, objects, but where the object is, rather 6ta DivisiÛn, 1967 of the prestigious than a material constituent of the world Colegio Nacional of Buenos Aires. The the photographer records, another pho- group was in its first year of studies, tograph that the photographer can and the photograph is of those who make his own by virtue of the way in belonged to the sixth class division which he inscribes political process, that that would complete classes together as Class of 1972 of memory as a response to the destruc- a single coterie during all six years of tive forces of a historical holocaust. the program of study. At the time, Argentina has much to do with the senselessness and Brodsky includes in a series of photo- was in the second year of a military dictator- brutality of the repression. Beyond the deliber- graphs that supplement the Buena Memoria ship that would go on for another sixteen ately vague designation of ìsubversive,î which project one of him and his disappeared broth- years (minus a temporary respite from covered many forms of social conduct, there er Fernando, taken aboard a ship traversing 1973ñ1976). was no coherence in why an individual might the waters of the RÌo de la Plata estuary at The students pictured in Buena memoria be disappeared. Moreover, Jewish activists were whose mouth Buenos Aires lies. This photo- would have graduated in 1972, and many of particularly targeted. Like many of his fellow graph falls into the category of the cutely them became involved in various political and students at the Colegio Nacional, Fernando staged, as they are standing next to a sign that social activities that led to the disappearances Brodsky was a Jew. Indeed, the Colegio was one clearly says ìProhibido permanecer en este lugar.î recorded by the project. One of those who dis- of the countryís major avenues for social There are many meanings available here, appeared was Brodskyís brother Fernando. mobility, and in a society with a marked beyond that of the innocent joke of specifical- Given the politics of the perpetrators and the record of anti-Semitism, Jews depended heavily ly taking a picture standing next to a sign way they carried out the repression, the upon it. that reads that one could not be in that spot. Argentine Dirty Waróthe name given to the ì Este lugarî could also refer to the frustrated disappearances that were so widespread in promise of Argentina: for those who suffered 1978 and 1979óhas sometimes been com- RAMATIC RONY anti-Semitic violence, the point was that they pared to the Holocaust. The reason for this D I were somewhere where someone, institution- ally or otherwise, was forbidding them to be, uena memoria is clearly not about good and the subsequent exile of many immigrant memories: the cover of Brodskyís book children meant a return to the Europe from includes a fragment from the Colegio which their ancestors had departed with so The Project seeks to become part of the BNacional class picture, with the photog- much hope almost a century before. But it can RÌo de la Plata, nourished by its inexorable rapherís superimposed annotations on the also mean the way in which the tortured bod- force, its immanent soulful character, and its details of the disappearance and murder of ies of political prisoners, many still alive, were seeming solid stillness, of slow but sure, defin- class members. dumped into the river, only to itive movement. It adopts a sense of being at Buena memoria is an be ìforbidden to remainî there, the edge, of risk, of oneself for the other. exercise in the like dead tree trunks that float- recovery of memo- ed up against vessels out on ry, not necessarily the river or along the shore. a suppressed mem- This is the sense of the phrase ory, but a memory ìtumba inexistenteî: many PROJECT that has slipped individuals died by being ìWalk and Monument to the away much like thrown from planes into the Righteous Among Nationsî how one asks river, and some may have about the where- (1998ñ1999) found a final resting place in abouts of past the depths of the river. But friends with whom many washed ashore, and SPONSORS one has lost touch. there hangs over this entire International Raoul Wallemberg Brodskyís title account the question, was Fer- Foundation / Argentine House in is grounded in a nando among them? Jerusalem, Government of Buenos dramatic irony: Aires City One might expect the return to the class picture made LOCATION sacred to be benefi- ìMemory Parkî, Buenos Aires cent, but it cannot University Campus, Buenos Aires under the circum- City, Argentina stances of the Marcello & Fernando (top left) book. No amount Fernando (bottom right) DESIGN of wishful think- ing, no among of the nostalgia-driven revision Claudio Vekstein and Nora Vitorgan of the past can overcome the brutal facts of Maltz, Architects the fate of some of these classmates. There is, therefore, less of a dynamic of an optional, ASSISTANTS occasional return to the emotional oasis of the Ariel Jacubovich, Frank Arnold, past class pictures typically provide; rather, Pablo Peirano, Santiago Bozzola, what is operant here is the imperative to Malca Mizrahi, Atilio Pentimalli, return to that past and connect it to a histori- Architects cal trajectory that is part of an historical nightmare in which these individuals are frozen, with all of the sense of congealed ANTICIPATED CONSTRUCTION human experience we have come to associate 2004 with the semiotics of photography. Brodskyís 4 F EATURE E SSAYS

NEW TRENDS AMONG HISTORIANS STUDYING JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS

Allison Coudert

Heiko Oberman: Even if we reject the Holocaust with or marry Jews; Jews were prohibited from Coudert is Professor of Religious Studies at as inevitable, we are nevertheless so haunted by owning slaves and acting as tax collectors or ASU. She received a Ph.D. from the Warburg it that we condemn or excuse the actions and judges. The reason why Innocent III wanted Jews Institue, London University, and beliefs of historical figures in its glaring light. distinguished by special clothing was so that specializes in Jewish-Christian relations in While the suffering of Jews is certainly a Christians would not knowingly or unknowingly early modern Europe. legitimate associate with topic, what them, which increasingly implied they were n recent years there has been a profound interests schol- doing just that. rethinking of Jewish-Christian relations in ars is the Jews and Chris- medieval and early modern Europe and a resilience of tians celebrated growing interest in integrating Jewish history individual Jew- their religious I ish communi- culture in public within the context of European history as a whole. Instead of envisioning Jewish and Christ- ties in the face ceremonies ian cultures as discrete entities largely develop- of selective viewed by the ing in isolation from each otheróthe paradigm exploitation members of both favored by Heinrich Graetz and Gershom and expulsion. groups. ìCultural Scholem, especially in the case of Ashkenazic What, in fact, feedbackî was Jewsómodern scholars have focused on the com- accounts for thus a fact of life, plex interaction between Christians and Jews as their long- working in both both communities reacted to the manifold term survival? directions. In changes that marked the transition from the Under what such an atmos- medieval to the early modern and modern conditions phere, the alien- worlds. While earlier scholarship was preoccu- and in what ation produced by pied with investigating relations between Jews ways did they the awareness of and Christians primarily in terms of persecution manage to sur- alterity is always vive and in balanced by the and toleration, these categories have now given Allison Coudert way to more nuanced studies describing the var- some places familiarity of ied relationships in specific periods and places. prosper in the mutual recogni- Starting with Salo Baron, the ìlachrymoseî view myriad and diverse micro-cultures that made up tion. As Freud would observe several centuries of Jewish history, which reads history backwards medieval and early modern Europe? The very later, the unheimlich is so powerful a psychologi- from the Holocaust and sees it as a continuous idea that Europe can be described as ìChristianî cal and social force precisely because it contains series of persecutions, has been largely rejected. has been challenged by historians who empha- within it the heimlich. And although a number of historians have iden- size the wide diversity of beliefs and practices tified various ìturning pointsî in the middle among different groups and classes and the per- ewer approaches to Jewish-Christian ages, when they believe the relative security and sistence of pagan and magical elements that cut relations examine this feedback and toleration of Jews gave way to increasing hostili- across ethnic and religious lines. Indeed, along- relate it to the dynamics common to ty, the very search for such turning points has side the current rethinking of the Jewish pres- Nboth groups, faced as they were with come into question. So too have mono-causal ence in medieval and early modern European the growing centralization of political and reli- explanations for the alleged worsening of the sit- history scholars have also begun to incorporate gious power, the emergence of new forms of uation of European Jewryóbe they in terms of the discussion of Islam, not merely as the peren- spirituality, changing concepts of personal, reli- the Crusades, the Fourth Lateran Councilís nial Christian enemy, but as an ongoing pres- gious, and national identity, and the profound promulgation of the doctrine of transubstantia- ence within European culture, before, during, economic and cultural changes accompanying tion, the Christian attack on the Talmud, the and after the Crusades and Reconquista. The Europeís increasing involvement in the world at rise of the mendicant orders, usury, apocalypti- instability of Christian and Jewish identity in large. Jews and Christians were affectedóto dif- cism, scholastic rationalism, or the consolida- the medieval and early modern periods makes it ferent degrees, to be sureóby the same currents tion of political power. In 1985 John Van Engen that much more difficult to postulate broad gen- in politics, economics, scholarship, and science. suggested that it was futile for historians to look eralizations about Christian attitudes towards These new studies provide the rationale for a for any continuous process of evolution during Jews or Jewish attitudes towards Christians. more flexible approach to Jewish-Christian rela- the medieval period: ìHistorians must accept While it is an undoubted truth that an individ- tions in medieval as well as early modern that there were periods of sporadic change, ualís identity is shaped by his or her perception Europe that allows for the possibility of mutual when a pattern of advance or regression is not of others, the definition of Otherness constantly influences, direct or indirect, polemical or perceptible, periods of discernible change changed over time. The world of Hugh of St. Vic- assimilationist. In this regard, a number of histo- whether for good or ill, and periods of relative tor was not the world of Luther or Sabbatai Tsvi, rians have demonstrated the way Jews and Chris- stability, without the whole necessarily fitting and the identities of Jews and Christians inhabit- tians reconfigured their traditions in response into a continuing evolutionary process.î The cur- ing these different worlds were necessarily dif- to developments in the other community. This, rent suspicion of the teleological historiography ferent. Therefore, while the concept of the Other in turn, has occasioned historians to reevaluate of ìgrand narrativesî and the emphasis on local is useful when investigating the relations evidence dealing with several key questions. How history characteristic of European historians in between Jews and Christians, it needs to be for- successful were Christian efforts to convert Jews? general has clearly been incorporated into more mulated in broad terms that take into account Did the conversion and assimilation of Jews into recent Jewish historiography, as well. David the ways each community reacted to the specific Christian culture proceed smoothly, or did it Nirnberg emphasizes the futility of trying to dis- beliefs, practices, and institutions of the other produce a hostile reaction on the part of envious cover patterns of violence and persecution in and the way these reactions shaped and or suspicious Christians? Were there significant medieval Europe in relation to all groups, reshaped stereotypes. numbers of resistant Jewish converts, who including Jews. He stresses the need for micro- secretly retained their Jewish identity, or were histories investigating the specific geographical ews were ìrootedî in Europe. However these so-called Marranos the creation of para- and political settings in which violence occurs much they saw themselves as being in exile, noid Christians and Christian institutions such and argues that the persecution of Jews must be they had what Yosef Yerulshalmi describes as the Inquisition? Is it appropriate to describe seen in relation to the violence routinely Jas ìthe sentiment in exile of feeling at Christian hostility towards Jews in medieval and endured by peasants, religious dissidents, and home.î Jews and Christians interacted in vil- early modern Europe as anti-Judaism on the anyone who stood in the way of predatory lages, towns, marketplaces, courts, universities, grounds that this hostility was purely religious, rulers. The same reluctance to read Jewish-Chris- and later in those printing houses that pub- or is it appropriate to use the term anti-Semi- tian relations in terms of any one set of on-going lished Hebrew texts and the work of the Christ- tism, which although anachronistic correctly patterns also characterizes the work of early ian Hebraists, the subject of the volume of essays identifies the racial dimension of Christian hos- modern historians. This is not to deny that there I recently edited. While Jews were largely prohib- tility in these earlier periods? And finally, what were broad patterns of violence resulting in the ited from owning land and barred from most if any effect did the conversion and assimilation expulsion of Jews in medieval and early modern professions except money-lending, they prac- of Jews have on Christian culture in general? Europe, but to claim that violence was not an ticed many trades patronized by Christians, and inevitable and inevitably recurring aspect of Jew- they were particularly valued as physicians. The ish-Christians relations. But this still leaves his- extent of the interaction between Jews and torians with the dilemma astutely identified by Christians is reflected in the prohibitions issued by Church Councils: Christians were not to eat F EATURE E SSAYS 5

ON JEWS AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

causal relations between virtue and knowledge non-Jewish paradigms. Since Judaism centers on Tirosh-Samuelson is Associate Professor of but that in Judaism, the interplay between halakhah, so the argument goes, philosophic History at ASU. She received a Ph.D. from the virtue, knowledge, and well-being is understood inquiry was marginal, insignificant, or down- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in the context of the dynamic covenantal rela- right heretical. I challenge this perception by specializes in Kabbalah and early modern tionship between God and Israel. showing not only how the philosophers shaped Jewish thought and history. The book is written as an exercise in intellec- Jewish culture, especially in Mediterranean com- tual history. Tracing the evolution of the dis- munities, but also how that philosophic reason- course on happiness from antiquity to the ing expressed one of the deepest religious y recent book, Happiness in Premodern seventeenth century, the study is arranged commitments of Judaism: The commitment to Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge and Well- chronologically, showing the correlation the pursuit of truthóa commitment that was Being (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union Col- between a given notion of happiness and Jewish fully in place by the second century B.C.E. when lege Press, 2003) may strike most history and culture at a particular time. These Torah became inextricably associated with wis- M changing conceptions of happiness were pro- dom. That association implied that commitment people as an odd topic: Who ever heard of Jews who want to be happy? I argue that this question pelled by an internal dialectic between two to Godís revealed law was also the commitment arises because we misunderstand the meaning of dimensions. In Western culture, the code words to pursue the truth about the world created by happiness. Happiness does not mean possessing are ìmythosî and ìlogos,î Greek terms that cap- God, resulting in knowledge that brings one clos- material goods, having fun, feeling content, or ture the shift from sacred narrative to systemat- er to God. While the scope and content of ìwis- enjoying physical pleasures, although some of ic philosophy, as much as they capture two ways domî changed over time, the main point these elements may be part of the happy life. of being in the world, or two approaches to the remained the same throughout the pre-modern Happiness is not a subjective feeling manifested interpretation of reality. In Judaism, mythos is period: To be happy, Jews had to live in accor- in a given moment or for a short period of time. the sacred narrative about the eternal covenant dance with Torah and become wise. Thus for pre- Instead, happiness means flourishing, thriving, between God and the People of Israel and the modern Jewish thinkers, the pursuit of truth and experiencing well-being appropriate to obligations that follow from it, i.e., Torah. Logos about the world became a religious obligation human beings. It is an objective state of affairs is expressed in Judaism in the term hokhmah that encouraged them to devote their lives to the that pertains to human nature and to the quali- meaning ìwisdom.î Thus the discourse on happi- pursuit of knowledge about the world, about ty of a human life as a whole from the perspec- ness is a dramatic interplay between wisdom humanity, and about God. tive of its entire duration. In other words, and Torah, between philosophy and religion, Third, the book shows how this commitment happiness means a pattern of human flourishing between reason and faith. This dialectic is exhib- to the pursuit of truth made premodern Judaism that is intrinsically good because it accords with ited within Greek culture and within Judaism as particularly open to conversation with non-Jew- the nature of humans and their place in much as it governs the relationship between ish cultures and civilizations. The Judaism that the order of things. emerges from my reconstruction is by no The objectivist approach to happiness means parochial or self-absorbed; it is is not uniquely Jewish. It was shared by remarkably curious about other intellectu- other ancient intellectual and religious tra- al and religious traditions and open to ditions and was analyzed systematically by truths regardless of the ethnic and cultural Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics. Aristo- identities of the ones who utter them. tleís philosophy remained influential From its inception, Judaism evolved by throughout antiquity and dominated the adopting and adapting parts of prevailing history of Western philosophy throughout modes of thought into its own peculiar the Middle Ages and well into the seven- religious self-understanding. As a result, teenth century. My study shows that Aristo- Judaism has constantly changed, exhibit- tleís reflections on happiness were very ing a remarkable elasticity without losing much part of Jewish intellectual history its unique identity. and of Judaic reflections on happiness, Finally, I wanted to use the discourse on despite important differences between happiness as a useful prism from which to Judaism and Greek philosophy. The absorp- grasp the dynamic of intellectual life in tion of Aristotleís understanding of happi- premodern Judaism. Various themes, ness began not in the Middle Ages, as is ideas, texts, trends, debates, and literary commonly thought, but already in the late genres that seem unrelated cohere more Second Temple period. The Jewish philoso- meaningfully once they are recognized as phers in the Hellenistic period, most part of one discourse. More specifically, notably Philo of Alexandria (ca. 20 Hava Tirosh-Samuelson with her two recent books. reflections on happiness provide the best B.C.E.ñca. 50 C.E.), showed how the Jewish lens from which to view the history of Jew- Scriptures could be read in light of Greek ish philosophy from antiquity to the seven- conception of happiness and how virtue is relat- Judaism and other civilizations and cultures. In teenth century because it shows how ed to knowledge. The fusion of Greek and Judaic each chapter of the book I present how the metaphysics, cosmology, psychology and ethics perspectives reached its zenith during the Mid- drama between mythos and logos took place were intertwined, giving medieval Jewish philos- dle Ages, especially in the world of Moses Mai- within a given historical epoch and its unique ophy a unique coherence. monides (1138ñ1204) and his followers. cultural sensibilities. The book is written for a very broad audi- The relevant question, then, is not ìhow can ence, Jews and non-Jews, academics and lay read- Judaism be concerned with happiness?î but wanted to tell the story of the discourse on ers, Judaica specialists and scholars of religious rather ìCan the notion of happiness in Judaism happiness in pre-modern Judaism for several studies, history, philosophy and medieval studies. make sense independent of the belief in Torah reasons. First, I maintain that ancient and To reach such a diverse audience I provided data and the life that flows from it?î I answer this in Imedieval philosophersóJews and non-Jews that the specialist in a given area would find the negative. I argue that in premodern Judaism alikeó have raised all the important questions unnecessary, and, conversely, I deliberately the conception of the intrinsically good life, the about the human pursuit of happiness, even glossed over nuances of ongoing academic life that is lived well in accord with the nature though many of the metaphysical, cosmological debates in order not to lose sight of the issues of humans, is inseparable from Torah. Until and biological assumptions have been proved to under consideration. I hope that that the book Baruch Spinoza in the mid-seventeenth century, be mistaken or debatable. Despite these serious will inspire conversations about the meaning of all premodern Jewish thinkers held that Jews limitations, I maintain that there is still much to happiness, and the proper way to attain it. could flourish only if they lived the life of Torah learn from ancient and medieval thinkers about and devoted themselves to fathoming Godís Wis- how to approach the pursuit of happiness. dom. Nonetheless, their views were not all cast Second, the discourse on happiness allowed FACULTY RESEARCH & from one mold. Over time, Jewish thinkers gave me to present the story of pre-modern Judaism as NEW COURSE DEVELOPMENT FUND different answers to the following basic ques- a multivocal and multifaceted tradition that har- bors many perspectives and view points. The tions: ìWhat does Torah meanî? ìHow does the Your support can help enhance the quality of the Torah ensure human happiness?î ìHow does book focuses on the story of Jewish philosophy, Jewish Studies Program by funding new faculty Torah relate to Wisdom?î and ìWhat results broadly defined as ìthe Wisdom traditionî in research, and expanding Judaica course offerings. from following Torah and pursuing Wisdom?î order to challenge the common perception that Regardless of their diverse answers, all premod- the philosophic strand in Judaism was a product For more information please contact ern Jewish thinkers followed Aristotle to main- of a small group of elitist intellectuals who Jack Kugelmass at (480) 965ñ8094 tain that human well-being is predicated on the talked only among themselves and who engaged 6 P LOTKIN P ROFESSORSHIP

as the motivation for those involved in creating appealing aspects of this study is that it allows RECIPIENT OF PLOTKIN POST-DOC it. The personal archives of some central figures an opportunity to combine political, diplomatic, such as Menahem Ussishkin, Bezalel Yaffe, David and cultural history all in one, and to place it ARIEH BRUCE SAPOSNIK Yellin, and Yehoshua Eisenstadt-Barzilai (all within the context of a global historyóa period Zionist activists either in Palestine or abroad, of empire building which also marked the eve of actively involved in a range of undertakings in the decline of empires, a dual factor which Palestine) yielded some remarkable material. would have profound implications for Saposnik grew up in Haifa, Israel. He The archives of some of the newly created insti- Territorialist efforts. received a Ph.D. in History from NYU, and is tutions, such as the Bezalel Museum and art Territorialism was more than the relatively currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate school, which was established in 1906 with the short-lived ITO, though. Iím interested also in for the Jewish Studies Program, thanks to the goal of creating a modern, national Hebrew art, the very genesis of the idea that somehow, Jews Rabbi Albert Plotkin Endowment in Jewish or the Palestine Officeóthe World Zionist had grown unhealthily detached from concrete Studies. Organizationís official branch in Palestine, land, from the physical world. The idea that the established in 1908ówere invaluable sources. Jews, in order to be cured of all of the illnesses Finally, the local archives of what are today usu- which much of modern European thought completed my doctorate at NYU, a joint ally cities, but were then small agricultural attributed to them, would have to be reconnect- degree from both the Judaic Studies and the colonies, provided an additional perspective on ed in some way to land, has roots that go back History Departments. If forced to define the processes involved in transforming the small much further than ITO itself, at least as far as Imyself, I would say that I am a cultural histo- Jewish community of Palestine into a budding Mordechai Emmanuel Noahís 1825 proposal for rian, but my training at NYU allowed me both a national entity by the time WWI broke out. Iím the establishment of Arraratóa Jewish refuge in firm rooting in the discipline of history and a presently working on revisions of the disserta- the United States. Zionism itself was both the broad interdisciplinary perspective, and it is tion for publication. progenitor of Territorialism (in its ITO form), this combination that I try to bring to my work. and a child of the more general territorial idea. My dissertation examined the attempts to cre- y current research project emerged In fact, both Leo Pinsker and Theodor Herzl ate a national culture in the Yishuv (the pre-state as an offshoot of the dissertation. were to one degree or another motivated first of Jewish community) of Palestine in the decade pre- One of the points for which the Ben- all by the notion that the Jews needed some ter- ceding WWI which, as I argue in my work, was MYehuda papers are attacked by the ritory, and not necessarily Palestine. The territo- the formative period in which the foundations labor journals (and others) has to do with Ben- rial idea in Judaism also had a life that extended were laid for the national culture which would Yehudaís stance during what was known as the well after the dissolution of ITO in 1925. In the later come to characterize the growing Yishuv and ëUganda controversy,í which erupted in 1903, 1930s and 1940s, when Jewish existence in the state of Israel. when the British government offered the Zionist Europe seemed to face increasingly impossible I began my work by examining the periodi- movement a piece of land in East Africa for challenges, an organization known as the cal literature from Palestine in that period. The Jewish settlement. Zionist opinion was sharply Freeland League set out in much the same spirit first steps revolved around the more familiar divided on this, and for two years, bitter conflict as ITO had earlier to locate a land upon which periodicalsóprimarily those associated with the raged. Ben-Yehuda adopted a Ugandist, or the Jews of Europe might settle. By the mid labor-Zionist circles that immi- 1950s, the Freeland League had grated to the country in those all but disbanded, but they actu- years. These include Ha-Poíel Ha- ally maintained an office in New Tzaíir, which was the journal of York into the 1970s, when they the party by the same name, and focused primarily on publishing. Ha-Ahdut, which was the organ of The way I envision what I hope the more self-consciously social- will become a book on democratic Poíalei Zion. Even Territorialism will explore both much of this literature, as it the specific movements that the turned out (although it is consid- idea spawned and their concrete ered to be relatively familiar efforts to secure some land, and ground), led me in some very the idea itself, its sources, and its unexpected directions, and I dis- development in response to his- covered that there was a great torical circumstances. deal of material there that really Further off in the future, Iíve had not been looked at very also begun to think about a study closely at all. Under the impres- of the Jews in the period of the sion given by these periodicals, Italian Risorgimento. This was and with the background I had one of the most integrated and been given in the Israeli educa- acculturated Jewish communities tional system (which was con- of Europe, living in the center of structed to a large extent by a one of Europeís early national later version of the labor-Zionist movements and consequently in ideology), I was fairly convinced the very eye of the often stormy that my next step would produce debates over the very nature of very little. The newspaper under- modernity, the modern nation taking of the Ben-Yehuda family, Arieh Bruce Saposnik and state, and the role of reli- called variously Hashkafa, Ha-Or, gion. Although there is a great and Ha-Tzevi was, to be sure, not deal of scholarship on early mod- only the most prominent, but virtually the only Territorialist stance, arguing that the Jews were ern Italian Jewry as well as on the Jews of Europe Hebrew-Zionist newspaper in Palestine before in dire need of a land both as a physical refuge under fascism, this intervening period has hardly the appearance of the two I mentioned before. and as a site upon which to construct a national been looked at. It seems to me that it will offer a But it has traditionally been seen as a sort of language and culture. Having grown up in wealth of insights into the nature of European low, yellow journalism, espousing a rather con- Israeli schools, and having later read the very nationalism generally and into Jewish modernity servativeóif not reactionaryópoint of view. anti-Ugandist labor journals, I had been under and the encounter between European Jewry and When I began reading the material, though, I the impression that the Territorialists held what the modern nation. quickly discovered that it is in fact ideologically amounted to a ridiculous and empty position. fascinating, at times substantially more progres- Once I actually began to read their materials, sive in its outlook than the journals of the labor however, it was striking to see how compelling parties, and that it had hardly been looked at some of their arguments were, and how elabo- RABBI ALBERT PLOTKIN before at all, in spite of the fact that it is readily rated an ideology they often presented. So while ENDOWMENT IN JEWISH STUDIES available material. Hemda Ben-Yehuda, for exam- still working on the dissertation, I resolved that ple (the wife of Eliezer), instituted a fashion col- I would later write a history of Territorialism umn which was especially scorned by the labor and the territorial idea in Judaism. The primary To expand this endowment, and make parties, but which in fact served as a platform focus, as I envision it at this point, will be on for womenís issues and for her struggle for the two decadesófrom 1905 to 1925ówhen a possible more frequent awards of womenís rights (an integral part of her concep- Jewish Territorialist Organization (known as post-doctorate fellowships to promising tion of the new nation and its culture). ITO, according to its Yiddishólanguage acronym) From there I moved on to archival materials existed and devoted itself to diplomatic negotia- young scholars, please contact which were able to shed a great deal more light tions, geographical missions, and mass recruit- Sandra McKenzie in the CLAS on the processes by which the national culture ment in the effort to locate a land other than of the Yishuv was created and disseminated, and Palestine upon which they would be able to con- Development Office at (480) 965–1441 on the conceptions of that culture which served struct a modern Jewish nation. One of the H EBREW P ROGRAM 7

some of the best-known establishments have Brenner, David Ben Gurion, (continued on page 8) A LETTER FROM closed or moved to Tel Aviv, new places open (Ginsburg, continued) Amos Oz and Dan MironóI every week. am looking for those moments that articulate JERUSALEM To the east, Beth Ha-kerem, where Iím rent- crucial aspects of modern Jewish national iden- ing an apartment, borders with the Hebrew Uni- tity. These debates expose a surprising and com- versityís Givat Ram campus. Five minutes walk, plex picture of Hebrew culture, especially if we Shai Gisburg across the pedestrian bridge that spans the think of it as homogeneous in its support for newly completed Menachem Begin Avenue that the Jewish national movement. Even its most cuts through the city, one arrives at the campus committed proponents often expressed ambiva- Ginsburg is the Jess Schwartz Professor of Modern gates. As I pass through security, which includes lence, not only as to its future prospects, but Hebrew Literature and is spending the year in an ID check, a search through my bag and pas- also concerning its fundamental assumptions. Jerusalem, on a Golda Meir Fellowship at the sage through a metal detector, I feel like Iím at Think, for instance, of Aíhad Ha-Am, one of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. an airport rather than a university. This does the most influential national theoreticians who, not end the searches, and upon entry to in the late nineteenth century and early twenti- libraries, restaurants, cafeterias eth century, struggled to define a new Jewish and the bookstore, my bag is identity. Yet, in his debates with Theodore Herzl ate September: searched once again. and M. Y. Berdyczewsky he developed a position Jerusalem is an odd Located in Givat Ram, that we would probably characterize today as place these days. the Jewish National and Univer- non-national. He thus vehemently criticizes LWalking from the sity Library is a remarkable Herzlís proposal to concentrate most of the Jews Prime Ministerís Office to the place for research. It boasts the in Palestine; instead of a territorial identity, he Knesset, one notices the tents worldís most extensive collection proposes an identity that is shaped and main- of the single mothers, joined of Judaica and particularly of tained through a shared intellectual pursuit. from time to time by others Hebraica. Alongside millions of Given the treasures housed within the Jew- protesting the governmentís books, its collection also offers ish National and University Library, I cannot economic and social policies. thousands of periodicals and ignore the peeling plaster, the cracks in the Loudspeakers carry these publications of all types and ori- walls, the beaten furniture, testifying of the con- angry voices to nearby resi- gin as well as the personal tinuing budget crisis of the library, that also dential neighborhoods. I archives of Jewish writers and adversely affects its activities. Like many other often listen to them while intellectuals such as Ahad Ha- Israeli libraries, the Jewish National Library had trying to work. Throughout Am, Martin Buber and A.B. to scale down its book purchasing. Many foreign Yehoshua. It is a treasure trove the city, security personnel Shai Ginsburg in Jerusalem, Israel books that are readily found in every American stand or sit at the entryways of primary sources. I spend my academic library are entirely unavailable here. to businesses and at bus sta- days leafing through old newspa- Still, nothing can compete with the sense tions, soldiers and police officers stand at vari- pers and journals, tracing dated heated debates here of a lively academic communityówith the ous intersections and patrol the streets. Still, and forgotten scandals in the growing Jewish ability to discuss or even just gossip about shopping malls, movie theaters, stores, cafes, community of pre-Israel Palestine. Hebrew literature over coffee in the cafeteria bars and restaurants are more crowded now My research focuses on Hebrew national cul- next to the photocopy room in the basement of than they have been in years. ture in pre-1948 Palestine and post-independ- the National Library or in one of the cafeterias at December 31; the city seems calmer lately. ence Israel. I am trying to understand how and the Hebrew University Campus on Mount Scopus. Many of the demonstrators have disappeared, why Jewish national identity shaped in the way Living in Jerusalem at the moment is an and the relative quiet of the past few weeks it was; much of that national identity was odd experience: between horrific newscasts and makes life almost normal. Local newspapers formed through the exchange between writers, the calmness of the National Library, between report the opening of new bars, coffee shops cultural critics, political activists and the gener- the police and military filling the streets and and restaurants. Alongside the familiar Migrash al public in daily and weekly newspapers and ongoing, hardly disturbed, civil life. Of course, Ha-Rusim and Naíhlat Shivía, other areas of the other periodicals. As I trace debates whose par- the tension between these is really only disturb- city center begin to attract night life. Though ticipants are some of the best known figures in ing once you stop to think about it. But mostly some business owners are still pessimistic, and modern Hebrew culture-Aíhad Ha-íAm, Y. ëH. you donít.

ISRAELI CINEMA: MOVING IMAGES OF A SOCIETY IN FLUX

Arieh Bruce Saposnik

erusalem, 1911: In the courtyard of the its ever-changing identity. dy Kazablan. In addition to a close reading of the recently established Bezalel museum and Cinematic depictions of the creation of the films themselves, we examined the choice of art school, young men and women are Israeli state, were followed by those of the genre in the portrayal of what were for many Jdemonstrating gymnastics exercises. Just young societyís encounter with the Shoah and Israelis painful and divisive issues as in itself outside the city, Jewish and Arab workers labor its survivors. The Summer of Aviya is a film rendi- revealing of Israeli societyís image of itself, its side by side digging irrigation ditches on a hot tion of a semi-fictionalized autobiography by mechanisms for coping with divisions, and its summer day. These are among the images which one of Israelís prominent actresses, Gila images of its future. American cinematographer Murray Rosenberg Almagor (who plays the part of her deeply trau- The dilemmas and difficulties faced by chose to highlight in his 1911 documentary, matized Shoah survivor mother in the film). Israelisóand portrayed in Israeli filmóstem not known today simply as ìthe first film of Pales- During the 1980s, when the film was made, the only from internal divisions within Israelís Jew- tine.î This film, which so vividly reflects the Shoah was undergoing a process of transition ish society, but from the formative experience Zionist ethos of the new Jew to be constructed from the periphery of Israeli consciousness and of the Israeli-Arab conflict which has so palpa- in Palestine, served as the point of departure for identity to a place at center stage. This process bly shaped Israelís history and identity. My ìIsraeli Cinema: Moving Images of a Society in was further highlighted by the documentary Michael (1973), based on the novel by Amos Oz, Fluxî in the fall semester of 2003. The course Because of That War, which follows musicians provides an early glimpse into the image of the was structured around a historical-thematic Yehuda Poliker and Yaíacov Gilíad, and exam- Arabs in an Israel which, as the film depicts it, examination of Israeli society through the lens ines the ways in which their childhood experi- has undergone a traumatic separation with the of the motion picture camera. Rosenbergís film, ences as children of Shoah survivors has division of the land in 1948, and a renewedó a pre-history of sorts which set the stage for colored their music and its reception by a gen- and no less traumaticó-reunion in the wake of Israeli films, was followed by Hill 24 Doesnít eration of young Israelis. the 1967 war. Jewish and Arab prisoners con- Answer (1955), which continues the heroic repre- During the very same years in which large fined together highlight the tragedy of Jewish- sentation of the image of the ìNew Jewî in a numbers of Shoah survivors were making their Arab enmity in Beyond The Walls, produced over a fictionalized portrayal of the struggle for way from the displaced persons camps in decade later. With the harsh conditions and cor- Israelís independence. Europe to the newly established state of Israel, rupt authorities of the prison serving as the This initial encounter with the founding a massive wave of immigration from Arab lands filmís metaphorical axis, the Arab and Jewish images and myths of Israel and the dominant was also making its way to the new state. The protagonists find that their very survival images which came to constitute Israelís funda- tensions, conflicts, difficulties, and hopes of depends on their ability to find their shared mental understandings of itself was followed by the very different groups which now found humanity and learning to work together. a series of films designed to open windows into themselves having to constitute a society One of the most salient effects of the con- distinct characteristics of Israeli society-its together are reflected in Ephraim Kishonís flict has been the many wars fought between ideals, its internal divisions and conflicts, and comedic satire Sallah and in the musical come- Israel and its Arab neighbors. (continued on p. 8) 8 H EBREW P ROGRAM

(Saposnik) The course went (on to examine the impact of war on Israeli society through films such as Amos Gitaiís Kippur, which depicts the 2003 HEBREW STUDENTS IN ACTION film makerís experiences during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and Eran Riklisís Cup Final which fol- lows an Israeli reservist taken prisoner by PLO fighters during the war in Lebanon in 1982, and the sometimes surprising relationship that devel- ops between the prisoner and his captors. The religious-secular divide in Israel has also made it to the large screen, and films such as Kadosh and Time of Favor served as our window into this rift within Israelís Jewish society, and the political implications which it has often entailed. The Troupe and Late Summer Blues provided a window into the lives of young adults in Israeló an opportunity to see it not only as a place of deep divisions and conflict, but one in which Hebrew 202 Students (left to right) Solomon Rothstein (Schwartz Fellow) demonstrating people live, grow up, love, and hate. The semes- front row - David Finkelstein, Avi Beliak, Jeremy Marks making hummus, in Hebrew for his class ter came to a close with Saint Clara, a pointed second row - Solomon Rothstein, Liza Fisher third row - Nathan Hoffer, Vincent Gonzales, Heath Hawk and somewhat surreal glimpse into contempo- rary Israel and to the challenges posed today to the very foundations of Israeli identity and the ethos of the Sabra (the later version of the ìNew Jewî) which once constituted so central a feature of the Israeli ethos.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO? How about studying Hebrew? Modern or Biblical, ASU is the place!

Classes exist at all levels. Yom Haíatzmaut 2003 graduates of Hebrew 202. End of the year For additional information and party at Sabuddyís. (left to right) Liza Fisher, placement, call Ruthy Stiftel at Farrah Kaye, Ruthy Stiftel, David Finkelstein, photographs by Hebrew student Farrah Kaye Jeremy Marks, Ari Louis and Daniel Montoya. the Hebrew Program (480) 965ñ4873

STUDYING HEBREW: THE VIEW OF TWO STUDENTS

Ruthy Stiftel

Justin Goering and Steven Cottam are students in their ing as they traveled through easier to read. I like the second semester of Modern and Biblical Hebrew. time from ancient to the sentence structure more present day. The word davar and I might be a little Justin Goering: I am 28 years old. I came to means ìwordî in the TaNaCh more comfortable with ASU with the intention of enrolling in the MBA but in Modern Hebrew it past tense that is used program, but since I am in the Marine Corps I means ìthing.î more often in Biblical was activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom. For me taking Hebrew Hebrew. If I had to pick a While in Iraq I visited Ur and decided that has helped a lot in other reli- favorite I would say it is maybe an MBA was not for me. I came back and gion classes as far as under- Biblical Hebrew because enrolled in anthropology with a focus on Middle standing the mindset of the there is a limited vocabu- Eastern archeology. I am taking Hebrew classes people who wrote the text. lary that I can master with to assist me in preparation for a Ph.D. The visit It gave me a little more time. In Modern Hebrew to Ur was a big part of my decision to switch to insight into the TaNaCh. new words are invented archeology. Because there was a war going on daily so I always have to in Iraq at the time no one told us we could not Steven Cottam: I am 19 Justin Goering, Ruthy Stiftel, and Steven learn new words and the cross the ropes and we could walk around the years old and a freshman at Cottam vocabulary keeps evolving place freely. ASU. I came to ASU straight and changing. I do not I came to class on the first day and it seemed out of high school on a scholarship. I knew that think I will ever be able to know all the words in to me like most of the students had a fairly sub- I wanted to focus on religious studies and I use in the Modern language. stantial background in Hebrew. It was a little wanted a course of study that had various Now when I talk to my friends, I sometimes bewildering at first. I took French as an under- aspects to it. I signed up for Hebrew at the last slip into Hebrew. For example, they ask what graduate and at least they used the same letters minute and had lots of fun, so I enrolled again the time is and I respond in Hebrew. I am very as English...I had some serious doubts and by the this semester. glad that I am at the point where I can do that end of the first week I was extremely frustrated. I did not have any prior Hebrew background without even thinking about it. But my friends I would hear people talking about their time in but I was very excited because I knew two words donít understand. I am trying to teach my broth- Israel or experiences in other conversational ìmelechî and ìadon.î King and lord. I learned er Hebrew so we can talk in code and that is a lot Hebrew classes. But by the end of the semester them in a friendís bar mitzvah. Those were the of fun. My mom would say something and I concepts in Biblical and Modern Hebrew fed off only two words I picked up with consistency and would say to my brother ìIma lo tovaî (mom is each other and made things easier. I still do not I thought we would get to study these words and not good!) and he would respond ìkenî (yes!). like the fact that Modern Hebrew does not use I will know them and that will be great. I was a My advice for learning Hebrew is to do a lit- any vowels. That is my nemesis right now but little startled when I realized that the rest of the tle each day, take out the words and practice hopefully it will work out. students knew a lot more. But I was still excited them. Take an envelope and write the Hebrew Reading out of the TaNaCH is very hard. It is and as soon as I learned how to shape the letters word for envelope on it, just so you relate the a lot easier to read and recognize cognates in I started writing out words and truly enjoyed word to the object. It is better to practice Modern Hebrew. There are words like sympatia or that. There were times when I was discouraged, Hebrew with someone, even the dog. I think televisia that are similar in sound and meaning especially when I got the textbook and realized even my dog understands some Hebrew now. It to the English words. But in the beginning I there is no English in it. is a fun language. I took Hebrew to enjoy it and had a very hard time with Modern Hebrew I enjoy Biblical Hebrew more than Modern I really do. names. Also some of the words changed mean- because all the letters have vowels and are much S TUDENTS 9

UNDERGRADUATE MIDRASH SEMINAR

Joel Gereboff

ture. Our students will examine how these chap- have students each week write a two page point- Gereboff is the Chair of the Department of ters, and the diverse interpretations rendered on ed discussion of the primary and secondary Religious Studies. He received a Ph.D. from them, have given expression to Jewish and Christ- sources they have examined. For their final proj- Brown Univeristy, and specializes in ian thinking on such matters as the origins and ects they will write a long research paper. Active Rabbinic Judaism, ethics and religion, collec- final destiny of human and cosmic existence, the classroom conversation has already come to char- tive memory, religion and emotions, relationship between humans and their environ- acterize the course, and we foresee more of the bioethics, and feminist studies. ment and gender roles. While we have already same over the course of the semester. been proven correct in our assumption that stu- The generous funding from the Schwartz dents would find these topics of great interest, Endowed Jewish Studies Student Program Fund he interpretation of they also have quickly come to grasp the complex has allowed us to bring to campus a number of texts has stood at the character and textual difficulties of these open- leading scholars of Midrash. Our students will heart of Jewish life ing chapters of the Bible. We are most pleased have opportunities to hear and interact with Tfrom its very begin- with this development, for in addition to our them, as several of them will address them nings. Known by the valuing studentsí interest in the topics at hand, directly. In addition to James Kugel of Harvard Hebrew term Midrash, the our primary goal is to have them better under- and Bar Ilan University, the Schwartz fund has study and exegesis of stand the range of factors that have shaped the provided funding to have Michael Fishbane, to sources have given rise to above described dialectic of authoritative texts speak on campus on ìCanonical Text, Covenantal new traditions that in turn and exegetical imagination. Communities and the Patterns of Exegetical Cul- energized Jews to analyze During the course of the semester we exam- tures.î Professor Judith Baskin, the President of Joel Gereboff them as well or to discern ine sources from biblical times to the contempo- the Association for Jewish Studies, and a scholar their multiple meanings rary era. Among the interpretations we explore of Midrash and Women in Judaism, will discuss and messages. As the eminent scholar of are early rabbinic and early Christian works, with our students her essays on Rabbinic Midrash, Professor Michael Fishbane of the Uni- medieval Jewish philosophical and Kabbalistic Midrashic treatments of Eve. Professor Jody versity of Chicago states, ìThe complex dialectic commentaries, the writings of early modern Myers of California State University, Northridge, between authoritative texts and exegetical imagi- Christians such as John Milton and the relation- who has published a number of essays on con- nation characterizes (biblical) and rabbinic ship of such views to the emergence of modern temporary Jewish womenís exegetical activities Judaism in all its periods and forms.î science. We then trace the impact of modern bib- will converse with the students about how This spring my colleague in Religious Studies, lical criticism on both Jewish and Christian Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstruction- Professor Allison Coudert and I, are exploring understandings of these biblical passages, includ- ist, Renewal and secular Jewish women have with a group of 20 undergraduate (and 3 gradu- ing the reaction to such notions. Our in class understood the first chapters in Genesis. Oppor- ate) students how Jews, and for purposes of com- studies conclude with a discussion of contempo- tunities to hear from scholars outside of ASU parison, Christians, over the centuries have rary Jewish biblical commentaries found in works makes this seminar a unique experience, and interpreted one biblical text, Genesis 1ñ3. We commonly used in synagogues and also in the allows students to participate in the endless dis- chose this text because it deals with a range of writings of women Jewish scholars and rabbis. cussion of these formative texts. foundational matters throughout western cul- Using the British approach of tutorials, we

STUDENT TRIP TO BUENOS AIRES: MARCH 7-18, 2003

David William Foster

dish, and Hebrew, were aimed at a mostly older Foster received a Ph.D. from the University of my work on urban photography. In addition to meeting with various non-Jewish photographers, audience, and part of the delight of the perform- Washington, and is currently Regentsí we spent time with individuals who are closely ance was seeing the interaction between actors Professor of Spanish, Humanities, and tied to the Jewish community: Gabriela Liffschitz, and audience. Womenís Studies. His research interests Gabriel Valansi, Silvio Fabrykant, and Marcelo A side trip to Montevideo allowed partici- focus on Latin American Jewish culture and Brodsky. We were able to accompany Brodsky on a pants to enjoy a leisurely luncheon conversation urban culture in Latin America. visit to the partially completed site of the Parque with Teresa Porzecanski, who, in addition to de la Memoria, Argentinaís monument, on the being an important writer on Latin American banks of the RÌo de la Plata, commemorating the Sephardic themes, is a Fulbright and Guggen- traveled to Buenos Aires with four doctoral 30,000 who were disappeared by the military dur- heim awardee for her anthropological work on students in Spanish who had received sup- ing the neofascist tyranny of 1976ñ83, Jewish culture in Uruguay. port for the trip from the Jewish Studies Pro- including several thousand Jews. The During our final day in Argenti- Igram, with additional support provided river site is an important choice, since na, we met with Diego Melamed, an through a contribution made by Sandra and many of the disappeared lost their investigative reporter who has pub- Rachel Sheinbein. lives being thrown, drugged, into the lished a detailed study on the rela- The purpose of the trip was to familiarize stu- waters of the river estuary, from mili- tionship between the recent Menem dents with the nature of the Jewish presence in tary aircraft. government and the Jews: the ten- Buenos Aires and of Latin America more general- In terms of the specifically literary year Menem period affected the Jew- ly. In addition to contact with a wide range of interests of the four doctoral students, ish community profoundly, resulting, Jewish social and cultural institutions, each stu- we visited the seat of the city of in greater participation in public life, dent focused on Jewish activities in her/his area Buenos Airesís municipal library sys- but also in a loss of internal unity. of doctoral research. This involved meeting with tem, headed by Manuela Finguerit, a Melamed also discussed his most major figures, visiting institutions, and seeing dynamic Jewish activist and writer. As recent book on the Argentine exodus appropriate examples of cultural production. Par- part of the collection at the systemís and the reasons why so many Argen- ticipants returned with a sense of the role Jews offices, she has assembled the first Dr. Foster and students tines, including thousands of Jews, have played in the intellectual and social life of a public and circulating Judaica library in Buenos Aires continue to abandon the country. major Latin American country and now under- collection in Argentina. We also visit- Other intellectuals we met with were stand the need to take such ethnic and immi- ed the installations of the Biblioteca Pablo Dreizik, a philosopher who grant experiences into account in their research de la Sho∙, which when completed will house heads the Bibliotec de la Sho∙, and Alejandro on Latin American societies. 50,000 volumes. Currently, it houses an extensive Horowitz, a social historian. None of the participants is Jewish, and display on the Holocaust and its specific Argen- Finally, we were able to meet with a number although they come from countries with impor- tine contexts. of creative writers, especially women: Perla Suez, tant Jewish communitiesótwo from Colombia, One of the most enjoyable and entertaining Ana MarÌa Shua, Alicia Steimberg, Manuela two from Mexicoónone had previously any sus- experiences during the stay in Buenos Aires Fignuerit, Elsa Drucaroff, and Gabriela Liffschitz tained professional contact with Jewish culture. involved attending a Jewish vaudeville show in (who also writes fiction, in addition to working as During the ten days in Buenos Aires, we met a the Idishes Folks Theater, one of the communi- a photographer). We were able to accompany wide range of artists and intellectuals. Since one tyís major cultural institutions, established in Shua one afternoon to the taping of an interview of the best ways for students to gain a sense of 1932 as part of the growing enormous presence about her forthcoming book in the studios of the research activities is to accompany a senior schol- of Jews in the Argentine theater. Sketches and Argentine national television network. ar as he makes ìthe rounds,î I chose to emphasize songs in the show, which were in Spanish, Yid- 10 L IBRARY

liography. Being a native Hebrew speaker helped, offers almost any kind of used book to anyone JERUSALEM, JULY 2003 too. As many other Jewish languages, Yiddish is patient enough to rummage through the piles. written in Hebrew charactersówhich I obviously This was the perfect place for me to look for out- Rachel Leket-Mor didnít need to be taughtóand it has some of-print works. There, browsing through the Hebrew and Aramaic vocabulary, which was easy heavily stacked basement bookshelves, I found for me to identify but required some practice real gems of popular Israeli culture that enable Leket-Mor received a masters in Translation with pronunciation. us to study it through all its permutations, Studies from Tel Aviv University. She joined We moved pretty fast, sprinting through including the ìlowbrowî ones. Such titles as the Hayden Library Collection Development Uriel Weinreichís College Yiddish, and almost fin- 1,000 Songs (Elef zemer víoíd zemer), that includes Division as the Jewish Studies Bibliographer ishing it over the span of three weeks. I enjoyed lyrics for traditional patriotic songs, reveal a lot in the fall of 2002. every minute of it. It was much more than about the history of Zionism and its culture recovering my personal missing roots, it was from its very beginnings; and the satiric A Zoo reclaiming my Ashkenazi cultural heritage that State (Erets zoo) tells a great deal about the make- was cut off the branch ever since my grandpar- up of Israeli society and politics, as much as the STUDYING YIDDISH entsí generation immigrated to Israel, where Kisho books I purchased there; or slang diction- Yiddish was considered little more than ìjar- aries by Dan Ben-Amots and Nítivah Ben-Yehu- gon,î that is until its recent revival in populari- dah, that clarify not only the various forms of he Mount Scopus campus on the edge of ty. Unfortunately, Yiddish clubs in Jerusalem spoken Hebrew, but also the origins of their the Judean Desert at the northeast corner were all closed for the summer, so I was not able uses. For many years, childrenís literature was of the city, where the Hebrew University to practice my new skills in vivo, but no doubtó considered secondary to mainstream literature. kisses the outskirts of the Arab village of T listening to spoken Yiddish, reading text seg- Less so today, and I made sure to purchase not Issawiyya, was empty this summer. The upper ments or watching movies have become less only classical juvenile novels in Hebrew, but side of the campus however, where the Rothberg intimidating. Moreover, selecting Yiddish books also important studies in the field such as International School building is located, was for the library is a much easier task now, Uriel Ofekís works. crowded and the classrooms were not available whether it comes in the form of a collection Other treasures I was also excited about most of the time. Young students from all over offered for sale or a pile of donated books. were essential Hebrew grammars that went out the world were running back and forth between of print long ago, especially about cafeteria, classrooms and the syntax and morphology, or holo- library, struggling with Hebrew caust studies titles such as The Holo- throughout the summer ulpan. caust and its Aftermath in Hebrew Down the hallways, one contin- Poetry and Bibliography of Holocaust ually heard instructors lectur- Articles in Yiddish Periodicals; or books ing about Semitic features of about synagogue history, Hebrew the language, about Jewish his- poetry during the Middle Ages, or tory and about Zionism. Famil- literary criticism of recent trends iar Hebrew melodies were in Hebrew prose. being sung in peculiar pronun- Academon is the Hebrew Univer- ciations, while Yiddish sounds sity bookstore. I was disappointed could be heard only in one to learn that its Mount Scopus classroom, where only a single branch was closed for remodeling, student sat with an admiring just as I started my Yiddish class. look on her face, endless ques- So I headed for the other store at tions on her mind and many the Givíat Ram campus, where I memory flash-backs from past purchased Hebrew reference titles gatherings with older family and other new publications and members. And that student arranged preferred credit status for was me. our future purchases. The other person in the I also visited the Jerusalem classroom was the instructor, Books distributor. This vendor is Carrie Friedman-Cohen. If we located in Moshav Aminadav west were lucky enough, we could of Jerusalem, on the way to the get hold of an air-conditioned Hadassah hospital in Ein Kerem. classroom right there, in the The pastoral view of the Jerusalem Rothberg International School Rachel Leket-Mor outside of Jerusalem Books in the Jerusalem Hills Hills surrounding the modest struc- building, and from the class- ture is breathtaking. So is the dis- room window we could see the tributorís operation; books new Yitzhak Rabin World Center for Jewish originating in different publishing houses find Studies building. We would start our routine by their way here, where they are directed into dif- checking homework, doing practice exercises ferent bins and eventually sent to libraries with and learning grammatical and lexical elements. GOING TO WORK Judaica-Hebraica collections throughout the But that didnít last for long. The AC system was world. Research libraries usually have several designed to sense the presence of people in the fter class, Ms. Friedman-Cohen and I approval plans with various distributors who classroom, and since it didnít track any move- would leave the classroom and go insure the supply of discounted titles as long as mentóthere were only the two of us in the class- back to work; Ms. Friedman-Cohen is a they are picked up according to agreed guide- roomóit would turn itself off. When that research assistant and a Yiddish lines and paid for in advance. Libraries do this happened, Carrie would stretch her arms high A translator and editor, so she was always busy. in order to eliminate the work load involved in in the air, or stand up and walk around the Her most recent endeavor is Ka-tzetnik 135633: a selecting titles. I left Jerusalem Books with the room. Poor me, I still needed to sit on my chair Series of Dialogues with Yechiel De-Nur, published hope that our growing Judaica collections will and practice Yiddish case endings, as if I didnít by the Ghetto Fightersí House and Dov Sadan be well enough established to have a Hebrew do it late into the night at my relativesí house, Institute, based upon Professor Yechiel Szein- approval plan in the very near future. Weíve where my family stayed for the duration of the tuchís conversations with the celebrated holo- come a long way, so why not? summer visit. Sometimes we had to look for caust survivor. I would usually go back home to another space, and that meant walking outside prepare for the next dayís class. Or I would go the building and descending the stone pathway to work, looking for finds in various bookstores SPONSOR AN APPROVAL PLAN to the main Humanities complex. On our way, throughout Jerusalem. we would pass the commemorative plaque for During the month of June, Israel celebrates Assist the ASU Jewish Studies Program those killed in the terror attack on July 2002. the Week of the Book (Shívuía ha-sefer), an annu- by supporting purchases of new books The victimsí names are inscribed on a marble al book fair that used to take place in parks and for ASU Libraries from Israel. slab next to a slanted tree. This grim reminder city squares. Due to security concerns, the 2003 was accompanied by meticulous security checks Select your own subject of interest (history, fair was limited to protected areas in the large all over the campus, especially in the cafeterias. Zionism, Jewish thought, literature, cities. In Jerusalem, the Israel Museum hosted Studying Yiddish was something I always holocaust, rabbinics, Hebrew language). the event. Because of these restrictions, I didnít wanted to do, and particularly now since I start- enjoy the event as much as in the past. ed working at ASUófor the benefit of our grow- A $20,000 endowment creates one-area However, during the month of July I visited approval plan in perpetuity. ing Yiddish collection. Thanks to this remarkable several well-known bookstores often more than Yiddish instructor I obtained a good grounding once to buy items for our library. The Book For more details contact in the language and its culture, backed up with Gallery in downtown Jerusalem is an old hangar Rachel Leket-Mor at (480) 965ñ2618 or insights into past and current trends in Yiddish that used to be a jeans store. The emporium [email protected] Studies, comparative linguistics and valuable bib- L IBRARY 11

“NEW”HEBREW BOOKS AT HAYDEN LIBRARY

Shai Ginsburg

ver the past few years, Hayden Library of the periodical were very high, as were its pro- throughout the nineteenth century. Smolenskin has not only purchased hundreds of duction value, and the graphic designs of Ha-Tek- targeted Ha-shahar mainly for Russian Jews, but new Hebrew books, but has also ufah are extraordinary. Following the Russian restrictions against the Hebrew press Oenjoyed gifts of many important out suppression of Hebrew literature by the Soviet forced him to publish it in Vienna. Moreover, of print items. Among these is a complete set of authorities in the Fall of 1918, the periodical the periodical was a one-person effort: Smolen- the periodical Ha-Tekufah (The Season). Following had to move, first to Warsaw, then to Berlin, Tel skin not only published, edited and managed the Russian revolution in 1917, Moscow became Aviv, and finally to New York. Following the periodical but also was its main contributor, for a brief time a fervent center of Hebrew cul- Frischmannís death other well-known literary its proofreader and distributor. Ha-shahar was ture. The Jewish philanthropist A. J. Stybel figures served as its editors, including F. noted for its belligerent rhetoric, as Smolenskin decided to launch there a Hebrew literary proj- Lachower, Shaul Tchernichovsky, Yaakov Kahan fought for the ideals of the Haskalah (Jewish ect on an unprecedented scale and invited David and Aaron Zeitlin. Ha-Tekufahís last issue enlightenment) and against what he saw as Frischmann (1859ñ1922), one of the leading appeared in 1950. Orthodox obscurantism (and against Hasidim in Hebrew writers and poets of the time, to head Another influential Hebrew periodical that particular), on the one hand, and Jewish assimi- the project. In Moscow, Frischmann established has recently reached the library is Ha-shahar lation, on the other. In the 1880s, Smolenskin the quarterly Ha-Tekufah and served as its first (Dawn), which was published in Vienna from became an avid supporter of the proto-Zionist editor. Devoted to literary, scientific and social 1868 to 1884 and was edited by Peretz Smolen- Jewish movements in Eastern Europe and, in Ha- subjects, the periodical was not limited to origi- skin (1842ñ1885). Y. H. Brenner, arguably the shahar, promoted Jewish colonization of nal Hebrew pieces, but presented translations of most prominent Hebrew writer of the beginning Ottoman Palestine. The periodical included poet- some of the worldís best-known authors. Works of the twentieth century describes Smolenskin ry and fiction as well as scholarly articles and by the best Hebrew writers, poets and scholars as follows: ìour great national preacher, the essays on current affairs and enjoyed a consider- of the timeóShaul Tchernichovsky, Haim Hazaz, hero of the initial period of our national litera- able audience of readers for a Hebrew periodical Gershon Shofman and Frischmann himselfó ture . . . the first expression of our rebellion of its timeóthe number of its subscribers fluctu- appeared alongside essays by Henri Bergson and against the ghetto, ghettoís life and ghettoís ated between 800 and 1300! It exerted great Ralph Waldo Emerson and poems by Heinrich thoughts.î The history of the periodical can influence among youths and Jewish intellectu- Heine, Dante, Friedrich Schiller and Paul Ver- serve as an example of the difficulties lying als in Eastern Europe. laine, to name but a few. The literary standards before those who established the Hebrew press

FRIENDS OF JEWISH STUDIES FUNDS ENABLES ASU TO ACQUIRE PSST...!

compiled by Dan Wyman

Psst...! Forain, (Jean-Louis) and Caran DíAche. A public interest in the Dreyfus conflagration was The Dreyfus Affair bore as a key part of its nearly complete run of 84 of a total of 85 issues. a 19th-century equivalent to the O.J. Trial. legacy a new chapter in the development of the Published from February 5, 1898 through September modern mass-media. To be sure, the images in 9, 1899. Profusely illustrated with photomechanical Everyone had an opinion. Psst...! attest to the vitality of prints. Paris: Rue Garanciere. In French. the illustrated press, in the Psst...! represented the days preceding electronic stiletto sharp but badly broadcasting. More important misleading reiteration still, the ìrecyclingî feature of sst...! was the most consistent weekly anti- of Dreyfusí guilt. This the images usedóin the Drey- Dreyfus publication. It was created specifi- magazineís unswerving fus Affair the media became cally as a rallying point against the Alfred aim was clearly based very much a part of the story it PDreyfus Affair. Psst...! Contains no text, only on preserving the attempted to tell. Each side illustrations and captions from the pens of respect and power of the would ìliftî images from the Forain and Caran DíAche, principal French cari- French army and not in opposition as a way of co-opt- caturists of their day. establishing who really ing its rivalís strategies for Caran díAche (Emmanuel Poire) was a lead- passed military secrets asserting the truth. ing French cartoonist of the late 19th and early to the German attachÈ. 20th century. He was a popular political and Widely read during its social satirist and is also credited as one of the brief life Psst...! even pro- creators of the comic cartoon panel that voked the creation of became a mainstay of the Sunday supplements another weekly maga- of many American newspapers at the end of the zine Le Sifflet which 19th century. sought to maintain Dreyfus was a Jewish French army officer, Dreyfusí innocence. who in 1894 was accused of revealing state This is propaganda secrets to the German military attachÈ in Paris. distilled to its purest The Last Pin, February 5, 1898 After a court martial he was deported for life to form, directed at the Devilís Island, becoming a cause celbre and the emotions, without words focus of conflict between royalist, nationalist, to complicate the readerís and militarist elements on the one hand and mental clarity. It was this type of literature and socialist, republican, and anticlerical factions its compelling anti-Semitic position which on the other. Following a retrial in 1899, Drey- prompted Theodor Herzlís call for a Jewish fus was pardoned but not completely cleared homeland, as well as Emile Zolaís famous burst until 1906, when he was appointed to the of intellectual outrage. Legion of Honour. Psst...! called on caricatureís most fundamen- The Dreyfus Affair was an explosive, pivotal tal device of physical exaggeration to remind its moment in the history of Franceís Third Repub- readers that Dreyfus was a Jew. By extension, lic. For all of her libertÈ, egalitÈ, fraternitÈ, the drawings proclaimed, anyone supportive of France was revealed to be rife with the same the traitor was either the dupe of a Jewish unfounded bigotry towards Jews as other less cabal, oróworse stillóin the pay or employ of enlightened nations. the Jews, and acting against the interests of Opposing camps of Dreyfusards and anti- France. Most chilling of these images: ìIntellec- Dreyfusards settled in as the long political tual baptismî in the lower left on page one, in ordeal raged through, not only, French court- which average French people of all stripes are Wagons of the Foreigner, July 30, 1898 rooms, kitchens and marketplaces but the draw- ìconvertedî to the cause of Dreyfus when a star ing rooms of the outside world as well. This of David is affixed to their foreheads. 12 L IBRARY

THE ZIPPERSTEIN COLLECTION

Rachel Leket-Mor

he Edward and Mae M. Zipperstein Collec- for Jewish Youth for tion of 10,000 volumes was the largest gift Pupils of Bar Mitzvah collection ever recorderd at Hayden Age, by Samuel Suss- TLibrary. On my very first day of work, back man and Abraham in October 2002, I was taken into a room where Segal. the mass of boxes was kept. The amount of books There are also that had to be processed was somewhat over- beautiful Jewish cus- whelming. There were no precedent undertak- tom and holiday ings at the library, and I had no experience books in the chil- handling the task. drenís Judaica collec- 15 months and 5,036 titles later, I can testify tion. For instance, that an efficient processing method was found the 1946 comprehen- with the help of Debbie Rose, the Gifts and sive Sabbath, the Day of Donations Coordinator. The boxes were num- Delight, by Abraham bered and a special database was set up by Ms. E. Millgram, includes Rose to follow up with each and every book. As not only practices, of December 2003, almost half the collection has but also thorough been processed and nearly 1,400 volumes have Shabbath accounts in been added to the collections. Although it is art, literature and hard to tell what the final figures will be, of the music, and a music (left) Der yidish-amerikaner redner (The Jewish books we have gone through thus far, 30% have supplement with American Orator) been added to the collection. The Zipperstein notes; for the very Collection database is available at young, there is the (right) Barmitsve redes, zamlung fun farshidene http://www.asu.edu/clas/jewishstudies/LibraryNe 1951 Good Shabbos, bar mitsve redes in Yidish un Hebreyish mit Englisher iberzetsung wsNov2003Zipperstein.xls (from the main page Everybody, written by of the Jewish Studies Program at ASU, under Hay- Robert Garvey and den Judaica Collection/ Library News). illustrated by Mau- illustrated The Zipperstein Collection is particularly rice Sendak. Other holiday anthologies, for dictionaries; strong in the following areas: Judaism, biblical Hanukkah or Purim, represent many of the tradi- one for the studies, Jewish history, Jewish sermons, history tional holiday stories and songs. ìeasy wordsî of Zionism and Hebrew. There are many non- There are also many Jewish histories adapted and one for Judaica items as well, especially in the areas of for children, biographies of prominent Jewish the ìdifficult words.î philosophy, religious studies and Christianity. figures and general reference books. Examples of Most of the books added from the Zipper- Another notable section within the Zipper- the latter are the 1965 Inside the Synagogue, a pic- stein Collection are already available for faculty stein Collection is the childrenís Judaica. There tographic album about synagogue history, by and students at ASU Mainís library; some books are classic readers used in Hebrew day schools Grace R. Freeman and Joan G. Sugarman; the were sent for restoration and others, known to such as Joseph 1960s The Junior be part of sets, were put aside until a complete Magilís Linear Jewish Encyclo- run is found. The childrenís Judaica titles are Bible book series pedia, edited by stored at the moment until the processing of the (1800s), which Naomi Ben-Asher Zipperstein Collection is completed. They will be teaches the and Hayim Leaf; deposited in a separate section of Hayden Library Hebrew bible in the 1972 Album of as a distinct collection. the original the Jews in America script with lin- by Yuri Suhl; or ear translation; the exquisite 3- Julius Katzen- volume set Chron- bergís Biblical icles, News of the Past, edited by Dr. Israel Eldad and Moshe Aumann (Jerusalem, 1970), which report the ancient biblical (above, far left) Good Shabbos, Everybody stories in a mod- Author: Robert Garvey, 1951 ern newspaper Illustrator: Maurice Sendak format. And last- ly, there are juve- History for School nile novels centered around a Jewish individual and Home (1915); or family, such as the 1940 Shimmele by Rufus Far Over the Sea, cover Hebrew instruc- Learsi, of which some chapters were published in Author: H. N. Bialik tion books such The Young Judean; or the 1938 ìDear Shoshanaî by Translator: Jessie Sampter, 1939 as Magnus Krins- Ben Aronin, about a letter exchange between the kiís Reshit daíat author and a disabled girl. Hebrew childrenís lit- sífat ëever (early erature is represented in not too many transla- 1900s) or Kalman Bachrachís Ha-sefer (1941). tions, but the existing ones are very nice. Far Over Another wonderful item in this category is an LP the Sea (1939) is Jessie Sampterís translation of a record set from Canada, Habet uíshmaí, Hebrew by Modern Hebrew classic, H.N. Bialikís Shirim u-fiz- the Audio-Visual Method (1966). These titles are monot líyladim (1933). Long a source of inspira- invaluable for any study of Hebrew education in tion, many of the poems were set to music and North America. became classic childrenís songs. Another inter- Bar/bat-mitzvah books form another group esting find is the 1945 Hebrew title Ashmedai in the childrenís Judaica collection. These melekh ha-shedim (Asmodeus King of the Demons), an include an old Yiddish-English-Hebrew sermon adaptation of the well-known Talmudic legend book, Goetzel Selikovitschís Barmitsve redes, zam- about Asmodeus and King Solomon (Git. 68a-b). lung fun farshidene bar mitsve redes in Yidish un It was published in Memphis, Tennessee as part Hebreyish mit Englisher iberzetsung (1910s); the 1931 of the Shainberg Library Foundation book series Attaining Jewish Manhood Bar-Mitzvah Addresses by for children, edited by Dr. Irvin Agus and Daniel Jacob Katz; the 1950s The Bar Mitzvah Treasury by Persky, a Hebrew enthusiast and editor closely Ashmedai melekh ha-shedim, p. 21 Azriel Eisenberg; The Bar Mitzvah Companion, by involved with childrenís Hebrew periodicals in (Asmodeus King of the Demons) Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel; or A Guide North America. The book includes Ríeuven Lifís Dr. Irvin Agus & Daniel Persky, 1945 L IBRARY 13

bringing me up to snuff in the copy cataloguing In addition, we faced challenges in items SUMMER INTERNSHIP arena. The first week, sitting beside Lin and where information necessary for cataloguing Mary in front of the computer terminal, Lin was absent or contradicted itself. Most items had Judy Wolfthal described my ability to read Yiddish as ìmagic,î clear information, however, and I catalogued and Mary agreed; I felt, however, that it was no many books published in Buenos Aires and Tel more magical than Linís ability to read Chinese. Aviv (especially by Farlag Y. L. Perets). There were Wolfthal has degrees from Oberlin College As I catalogued, we faced some difficulties. also many from New York, one from L.A., one and Oxford University, and studied Yiddish Although RLIN has ìoriginal scriptî or ìvernacu- from Chicago. There were a couple from Paris as an undergraduate, at Oxford, and as an larî capabilities for right-to-left languages like and ones from London, Geneva, Miami Beach, intern at the National Yiddish Book Center. Yiddish, Hebrew, and Arabic, it took us a while also Warsaw and Vilna. I was surprised to see many from the 1960s and 1970s published in She is currently completing a Master of to solve the problem of the directionality of numbers (like dates) more than one digit long, Moscow by Sovetski Pisatel, often complete with Library and Information Studies degree at and there are Russian colophon McGill University in Montreal. some punctua- or added title tion issues that page. In content, I we never did sat- often encoun- oining tech services on an ìemergency,î isfactorily resolve. tered fiction, temporary basis, I felt at first that my We also encoun- poetry (classified supervisors believed they had hired a necro- tered problems of as non-fiction), Jmancer, not a Yiddish copy cataloguer. My transliteration and autobiogra- first day, I was received and welcomed by Associ- and authority phies, as well as ate Librarian and Original Cataloguer Ronda issues. In cata- social science Ridenour, and she pressed upon me the impor- loguing, there is texts, music tance of the service I was rendering to the one standard ver- books, transla- library community. The skill that made me so sion of names for tions (notably Dos invaluable to the department was my knowledge entities such as Bild fun Doryan of Yiddish and concomitant ability to differenti- people and organ- Grey (Picure of Dori- ate between it and Hebrew. Heartily welcomed, I izations, with ref- an Gray) and Der stood in Rondaís office and felt like a specialist erences from alter un der yam come to treat a rare problem, that is, to cata- other forms to (The Old Man and logue the hundreds of Yiddish books I had been the ìauthorizedî the Sea)), and told were waiting and to put in order a collec- ones. While there some serials. tion of Hebrew and Yiddish books that had are databases While there amassed on shelves outside of Rondaís office, with authority Judy Wolfthal outside a Yiddish school in New York remains all of the which no one in technical services had been able files for Roman Hebrew books to ìmake head or tails of.î languages, we had and many Yiddish Though I had copy catalogued Roman-script none for Yiddish, so we had to decide how to still to catalogue, I worked my ìmagicî almost and Russian materials in previous summers, address the issue of authority names in the ver- 400 times, and now a new magician, Tally never before had I encountered the challenges nacular fields of an itemís record. Iskovitz can carry on the wondrous task. presented in starting up a Hebrew-script cata- loguing program, and I began to work my ìmir- acles,î beginning with turning right-side-up books that had been placed upside down. S I was assigned to the CJK (Chinese-Japanese- SUPPORT ASUí YIDDISH COLLECTION Korean) unit, because these cataloguers use the RLIN system, which allows for non-Roman script Help us establish an endowment dedicated to the purchase of capabilities. I was lucky in the people assigned to train me: Lin Yin, the Chinese cataloguer who additional Yiddish books. For more information contact was my RLIN resource person, and Mary Kottke, Jack Kugelmass at (480) 965ñ8094. Senior Library Supervisor in Monographic Receiving and Copy Cataloguing, responsible for

REMEMBERING MARK SWIATLO

Henry Abramson end numbered in the tens of thousands. Having assembled an impressive collection of Judaica at Florida Atlantic University, Mark Swiatlo Later, he shifted his focus to Israel, taking actively traded duplicates in order to fill in gaps in the institutionís holdings. Recognizing the advantage of his mastery of Hebrew (perfected rapid growth of ASUís Judaica Collection, Swiatlo took special interest in its develpoment, assem- in the course of university studies in bling whole sets of unusual and important historical material, especially in Yiddish, for our Jerusalem during the British Mandate) and library. Given the value of the material we received from him, we reprint this obituary as a trib- close family ties and friendships. He criss- ute to a friend. Another 800 volumes recently arrived at ASU from Florida Atlantic University, an crossed the country, canvassing publishing houses and institutions on behalf of the FAU indication that the partnership Swiatlo established lives on, even after his death. collection. As a result of his efforts, a steady stream of Hebrew books flowed ark Swiatlo, Curator of the Judaica instinct, he located books every- from Israel to the library for Collection at Florida Atlantic Uni- where: gathering dust in base- years. Mark Swiatloís last target versityís Library, died at 87 on Sat- ments, buried deep in the stacks was Poland, his native land. On Murday, May 17, 2003. of libraries, or piled to the ceiling his trips there he earned the Mr. Swiatlo began his association with in the homes of elderly couples. respect and support of local Jew- FAU in 1989, when he became intrigued by Many of these books, journals and ish scholars and institutions, the possibilities of the universityís incipient other material were in Yiddish and obtained a great number of Judaica collection. Although he was long past and headed for oblivion. Some Holocaust-related books that retirement age, with undimmed passion and were priceless, having issued from would have been out of the reach intellectual lucidity he embarked on a project the Jewish presses of Poland and of anyone unfamiliar with local of repeated travel to countries where he Russia before the rise of Nazism. language and custom. Having believed that significant material could be Backed by modest resources, he learned on a recent visit to War- found for the collection. managed to obtain the bulk of saw the existence of 7,000 first- Foremost among these countries was this material as a donation. He Mark Swiatlo hand testimonies taken from Argentina. Having lived there with his family arranged for its transportation, survivors in the 1940s, Mark for eighteen years after WWII, he was able to negotiated with shipping compa- Swiatlo was at the time of his draw on a wealth of contacts and friendships. nies, and often helped with the physical death, pursuing their translation and publica- With perseverance and a bloodhoundís removal and packing of the books, which in the tion in English. 14 L IBRARY

THE NEW HEBREW REFERENCE SHELF

Rachel Leket-Mor

ebrew dictionaries have been revolution- Two multiple sets of "new generation" diction- (Word for Word), published in 2000, is a good mod- ized over the last decade, not only due aries are now part of the new Hebrew reference ern thesaurus, while his Kora be-shem (Word Finder) to academic reevaluation of commu- shelf, each of them adopted some innovations is a new (2003) Hebrew thematic and visual dic- Hnicative roles of the spoken language offered by the groundbreaking Milon ha-hoveh. The tionary. These are supplemented with a variety of and their functions in relation to other linguistic second edition (2002) of Milon sapir by Eitan Avney- idiom dictionaries: Lashon rishon (Dictionary of Classi- registers, but also as a result of lexical develop- on (3-vols. set), the Encyclopedic Sapphire Dictionary, cal Idioms) by Eitan Avneyon (2002); Medabrim be- ments promoted by social change in Israel. The is more comprehensive than Milon ha-hoveh by klishaíot (The Hebrew Dictionary of ClichÈs) by Maya waves of new immigrants from the former Soviet incorporating all linguistic registers of Hebrew, Frukhtman (2002); Sefer ha-tsitatot ha-yehudi ha-gadol Union, the frequent political changes, the wither- not only the contemporary one. Among the (Great Book of Jewish Quotations) by Adir Cohen ing away of the kibbutz, the foreign workers who 220,000 entries are many scientific terms and (2003); Imrot ha-Tanakh ha-yafot (Beautiful Biblical Say- replaced the pre-Intifadah Palestinians, the unmis- encyclopedic facts. The non-encyclopedic lexical ings) by Gai Zohar and Eliyahu Zaíarur (1999); Elef takable influences of American culture, the com- entries are exemplified in sentences that clarify ve-ehad pitgamim Bagdadiyim (1001 Jewish-Arabic puterized ageóall these and other social and how they are used in context. This dictionary, Proverbs from Iraq) by Mosheh Hakham (1997). cultural changes are reflected in the language which was listed as a spoken today by Hebrew speakers in Israel. best-seller in Israel lang dictionaries form another section of the Consequently, the updated Hebrew reference for 43 weeks, uses new Hebrew reference shelfó they are essen- shelf at Hayden Library includes Hebrew- the present tense rep- tial for any collection supporting depart- Hebrew new dictionaries as well as idiom and resentation of the Sments of modern languages. The 2ñvols. slang dictionaries and other lexicons which Hebrew verbal sys- World Dictionary of Hebrew Slang by the pre-state cul- may assist with acquiring the language. tem while referring ture icons Dan Ben-Amotz and Netiva Ben-Yehu- Milon ha-hoveh (Dictionary of Contemporary users to the present dah (not a relative of Eliezer Ben-Yehudah, as she Hebrew), published in 1995 by the late tense if they look for likes to state) portrays mostly the Hebrew spoken Shoshanah Bahat together with Mordekhai a verb in its past during the 1940sñ1970s in Israel, mainly in those Mishor, was the harbinger of what I call "new tense formation. The involved in the pre-state Palmach social milieu. generation" Hebrew dictionaries. Unlike estab- minimal vocalization The two parts of this etimological dictionary lished dictionaries such as the standard Even- approach was fol- (Milon ëolami le-íivrit meduberet, 1976; Milon ahul- Shoshan one, which displayed Hebrew verbs lowed as well. manyuki le-íivrit meduberet, 1982) contain many according to their past tense conjugation, or The 1997 Rav- anachronisms and still-current slang entries along root (usually three, but milim (The Comprehen- with amusing illustrations. It is interesting to find occasionally two-, four- sive Dictionary of out how many slang lexical elements derive from and five-letter roots), the Modern Hebrew)by Yiddish or Arabic, while Hebrew innovations Bar-Ilan University innovativeóand initially World Dictionary of which were so vital in the process of Modern computer scientist controversialóMilon ha- Hebrew Slang Hebrew revival skipped many daily spheres. hoveh adopted another by Dan Ben-Amotz and Yaíakov Choueka Another slang lexicon compiled by Netivah Ben- approach, which seemed Netiva Ben-Yehudah, 1982 (6ñvols. set) is part of Yehudah and added to the Hebrew reference shelf to conflict with the very a multi-product proj- is the 1984 Berakhot u-kelalot: osef perati (Blessings and Semitic nature of ect including an online Hebrew-Hebrew-Eng- Curses: a Private Collection), which lists lots of curi- Hebrew, by sorting verbs lish dictionary for subscribers ous good wishes, swears and other funny phrases. according to their pres- (http://www.ravmilim.co.il/naerr.asp), an elec- The more recent slang dictionaries Leksikon ha- ent tense conjugation. tronic version on CD-Rom, a palm version, slang ha-íivri veha-tsvaíi (Military Hebrew Slang Lexicon), This approach was concise versions for school students, and a by ëOded Ahiíasaf et al., and Bet sefer zeh ahlah stuts aimed at solving prob- computer program for automated voweling of (School is Cool) by Semadar Shir, were published in lems that any traditional Hebrew text. This dictionary is more radical 1993. Each of them illustrates a prolific slang-pro- dictionary user faces: Blessings and Curses: than others in several ways. Its editor pro- ducer sector of Israeli society: army soldiers and since it is difficult at a Private Collection claims that the descriptive roll of a dictionary teens. Both include many current slang words and times to differentiate the by Netiva Ben-Yehudah, 1984 is the most important one, thus attempting to phrases, and together with the older dictionaries Hebrew present tense include in his as much of the Hebrew invento- they form an elementary collection of this signifi- verb, the participle and the adjective as they are ry, excluding archaisms, while paying attention to cant linguistic register of Modern Hebrew. Newly represented in one phoneme (i.e. shomer), users the context in which the entries are used. This purchased scholarly titles dealing with spoken must know which of the denotations they are enormous task is possible since the inventory of Hebrew, such as Abraham Matalonís The Hebrew looking for before they consult the dictionary. In Rav-milim is saved in electronic databases. This Pronunciation in its struggle (1979) or Shlomoh Hara- our example, shomer might mean (he) is guarding "new generation" dictionary is not concerned with matiís HebrSewóa spoken language (verb); a guard or a watchman (noun); and guard- definitions of the lexical entries, (2000), can boost future research in ing (adjective). Since in traditional dictionaries but with their explanation, and so that area. the verbal entries are sorted by the root while the the entries are followed with Lastly, two books treating the lin- nominal ones are sorted by the phoneme, it might many use-oriented examples and guistic make-up of the great Hebrew take a long time to hit upon the correct meaning. phrase-structure rules, and some modernist Avraham Shlonsky The "new generation" dictionary assumes that entries are illustrated. The rejec- (1900ñ1973) were purchased for the users are not Hebrew experts. Therefore, all three tion of the traditional vocalized collection: the 1989 Milon hidushe meanings of the same phoneme appear in one Hebrew spelling is complete; all Shlonsky (Dictionary of Shlonskyís Neolo- entry in Milon ha-hoveh, and users do not have to entries are spelled with letters gisms) by Yaíakov Kenaíani lists the worry about defective or weak verbs with irregu- denoting vowel sounds (the letter Hebrew innovations created by the lar conjugation in the past tenseóanother major vav for o or u sounds; the letter poet, collecting them from his origi- problem with which traditional dictionary users yod for i sound), and followed by nal and translated works in books, struggle with. the voweled version of the lexeme. periodicals and private letters. An additional feature of the contemporary For that reason, this dictionary is Shlonskyís influence over the liter- approach to Hebrew lexicography was the inclu- much more user-friendly than the Military Hebrew Slang Lexicon al and spoken Hebrew of his time siveness of the vocabulary. The "new generation" traditional dictionaries for readers by ëOded Ahiíasaf et al., 1993 was invaluable, and so is this dic- dictionary incorporated many lexical entries that of Modern Hebrew texts, which are tionary. The 1997 Me-íagvaniyah ëad were not tolerated in conventional dictionaries, rarely vocalized (except for poetry or childrenís lit- simfonyah: ha-shirah ha-kalah shel Avraham Shlonski u- while pointing out whether they are normative, erature texts); non-vowled words appear in this parodyot ëal shirato (Muse to Amuse), by Hagit slang or vulgarisms; many recent loanwords from dictionary as they would in any modern text. On Halperin and Galiyah Sagiv, is a scholarly account other languages (mostly American English) were the other hand, the Rav-milim classifies Hebrew of the poetís popular songs and radio advertise- also included. Another revolutionary characteris- verbs in the traditional way (by the past tense), ments, an important and creative medium for tic of the new dictionary is the Hebrew spelling. while referring users to to the correct entry if they many of the "high brow" Hebrew writers in pre- While traditional dictionaries applied the vowel look under the present tense of irregular verbsí state Israel. system and vocalized the full text, Milon ha-hoveh conjugations. The new Hebrew reference shelf is now better spelled its text with letters denoting vowel equipped to support the Hebrew Program at ASU. sounds, and in some cases, lexical entries were ther new Hebrew reference titles added I hope to bring it up to date and make it fully offered non-vowelized Hebrew spelling (short o this summer include two dictionaries comprehensive very soon. and u sounds were represented by the letter vav; by The Encyclopedic Sapphire Dictionary for example). Oeditor, Eitan Avneyon. His Milah be-milah P UBLIC P ROGRAMS 15

AFTER OSLO: NEW STRATEGIES FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, FEBRUARY 9, 2003

Shai Ginsburg

e frequently read about the Israeli- bia University; Dr. Menachem Klein, a Senior selves, but the municipal texture of the city as a Palestinian conflict in the Middle Lecturer in the Department of Political Science whole. Professor Rashid Khalidi analyzed the East and many of us have opin- at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and a Senior position of the American administration, point- Wions, often firm convictions as to Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for ing to the dangers entailed in its aggressive poli- who is to blame for the escalating violence and Israel Studies; and Daniel Seidemann, a lawyer cy in the Middle East and in its reluctance to whether and how the conflict can be resolved. who specializes in matters of public concern in take a more active role in peace negotiations. Not surprisingly, it is now quite uncommon to East Jerusalem. None of the panelists represents Referring to the question of Palestinian refugees, encounter Israelis and Palestinians who are still current Israeli or Palestinian official positions, he called for a creative solution that would com- committed to sustain an honest and open dia- but all four were actively involved in past offi- bine limited return of refugees, resettlement in logue and to think of creative ways to resolve cial and unofficial negotiations between the Arab countries and compensation. Dr. Men- the conflict. Israelis and the Palestinians and they are regu- achem Klein condemned Israeli civil policies Rather than reproducing familiar (and tire- lar participants in on-going meetings between and military operations in the Occupied Territo- some) accusatory finger-pointing and mutual the two sides. ries; Professor Manuel Hassassian criticized the blame, I was looking for alternative voices, voic- Despite the fact that the speakers represent functioning of the Palestinian Authority; while es who, while not necessarily representing the different parties, they have reached an accord. empathizing with the suffering of the Jewish official stances of the parties or even having All agreed that while everybody knows what victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks, he wide public support, might offer a ray of hope shape and form a future settlement between the requested the audience to the acknowledge the for ending the bloodshed. Israelis and the Palestinian will take and that fact that Palestinians, on their part, are victims With funds made available through a gener- the remaining unresolved issues are few, no one of Israeli violence. ous gift from the Marshall Fund of Arizona, I knows how to get from the situation here and By organizing the workshop, I was trying to was able to invite four speakers to participate in now to a point where the implementation of a put into bold relief different perspectives on the a one day workshop on campus: Professor settlement would be possible. Still, all four conflict and make clear to students, faculty and Manuel Hassassian, Excutive Vice President of insisted that the initial step should be a mutual members of the community that despite the vio- Bethlehem University and a political analyst; acknowledgment of the suffering and pain of lence and the seeming intransigence of both Professor Rashid Khalidi, who was at the time both Palestinians and Israelis; without such sides, there is ongoing dialogue between Israelis professor of History and Near Eastern Languages acknowledgment, no progress can be made. and Palestinians, and there continue to be indi- and Civilizations and the Director of the Center Focusing on East Jerusalem, Daniel Seidemann viduals able to envision a new way for both peo- for International Studies at the University of put into relief the continuous destruction of ples to live together in peace and harmony. Chicago and is currently the Edward Said Pro- Palestinian civil society in the city, a destruction fessor of Arab Studies and Literature at Colum- that threatens not merely Palestinians them-

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The Albert & Liese Eckstein Scholar-in-Residence Program The Benjamin Goldberg Scholarship Endowment Fund The Cabot Family Scholarship Endowment Fund ¡SALUDOS!¡SALUDOS!from Jewish Mexico Harold Alpert Memorial Scholarship The Harold and Jean Grossman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies Friends of Jewish Studies Mission Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor in Holocaust & October 10–18, 2004 Modern Jewish Studies The Jess Schwartz Endowed Scholarship/Fellowship Fund The Jess Schwartz Memorial Professorship of Jewish Studies Endowed Fund Join Arizona State University Jewish Studies Professors Jewish Studies Institute Endowment David William Foster, Rebeca Siegel-ValdÈs, & Jack Kugelmass The Jewish Studies Institute Endowed Judaica Library Fund as they lead the 2004 Study Mission to Jewish Studies Institute Great Students Rabbi Albert Plotkin Endowment in Jewish Studies Mexico City & Guadalajara Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer Memorial Endowment October 10–18, 2004 The Schwartz Endowed Jewish Studies Faculty Explore the sights & learn about the culture of Jewish Mexico. Research/Program Fund To request an application form or for more information, The Schwartz Endowed Jewish Studies Student Program Fund contact the Jewish Studies Program at (480) 727-6906 or Seymour H. Jacobs Memorial Prize in Jewish Studies visit http://www.asu.edu/clas/jewishstudies/travel.html

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2004 PAST &UPCOMING EVENTS Key Texts in American Jewish Culture

MIDRASH SERIES 20% discount for Friends of Jewish Studies This collection of essays from the first annual conference of the ASU JAMES KUGEL Jewish Studies Program, was released in March, 2003. It is available for 2004 Eckstein Scholar in Residence our Friends to purchase, through the Jewish Studies Program, for only $20.00 (includes shipping). THE BIBLE'S MOST ANCIENT INTERPRETERS February 12 | 7:00 PM Contributors: Joyce Antler, Emily Budick Miller, Deborah Dash Moore, Charles Temple Chai Dellheim, Hasia Diner, Joel Gereboff, Harvey Goldberg, Andrew Heinze, Gordon Hutner, Jack Kugelmass, Ezra Mendelsohn, Esther Romeyn, David Schiller, THE GOD OF OLD: REPRESENTATIONS OF THE Edward Shapiro, Donald Weber, Stephen Whitfield DIVINE IN BIBLICAL LITERATURE February 13 | 10:30 AM To order your copy, please remit your payment with the order ASU Main form below, or order by phone through the Jewish Studies Program at (480) 727-6906. PARSHAT YITRO SHEMOT (EXODUS) 18:1 - 20:23 February 13 | 7:00 PM ORDER FORM - Key Texts In American Jewish Culture The New Shul Please send me ______copy(s) of Key Texts in American Jewish Culture. Enclosed is my payment of $20 each, payable to: ASU Foundation/Friends of Jewish Studies MICHAEL FISHBANE This payment is not considered a charitable gift. CANONICAL TEXT, COVENANTAL Name(s) COMMUNITIES, & THE PATTERNS OF Address EXEGETICAL CULTURE February 18, 2004 | 4:00 PM City State Zip ASU Main Phone Fax Email MIDRASH AND THE NEW OLD WORDS OF SCRIPTURE Method of Payment: February 21, 2004 |12:30 PM Check No. ______(enclosed) payable to: ASU Foundation/Friends of Jewish Studies (30-A-MLRS0013) The New Shul PO Box 870302 Credit Card Tempe, AZ 85287-0302 Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express JUDITH BASKIN phone 480-727-6906 CC No. Exp. fax 480-965-9110 BETWEEN DIVINE INTENTION & HUMAN Signature web http://www.asu.edu/clas/jewishstudies RESULT: MIDRASHIC CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE FIRST WOMEN March 30 | 6:00 PM ASU Main Campus RESEARCH CONFERENCE JEWISH STUDIES PROGRAM AWARDS

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