CURRICULUM VITA
Jody Elizabeth Myers Department of Religious Studies California State University Northridge, CA 91330-8316 phone: (818) 677-3007 E-mail address: [email protected]
September 7, 2018
Education
1985 Ph.D., History, University of California, Los Angeles 1977 M.A., History, University of California, Los Angeles 1975 B.A., cum laude, History, Brandeis University
Teaching and Administration
1986- Department of Religious Studies, California State University, Northridge. Present rank: Professor.
1986- Coordinator, Jewish Studies Interdisciplinary Program, California State University, Northridge.
2002-2005 Adjunct Faculty, Academy for Jewish Religion, Los Angeles, California
Publications
From The Garden of Eden to the Industrialized Farm: Food in Jewish Traditions, co- edited with Aaron S. Gross and Jordan D. Rosenblum (New York University Press, forthcoming).
“Kabbalah in the Modern Era,” in Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol. VIII: The Modern World, 1815 – c. 2000, eds. Mitchell B. Hart and Tony Michels (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
“Kabbalah Centre: Marketing and Meaning,” for Controversial New Religions, Second Edition, eds. James R. Lewis and Jesper Aagaard Petersen (Oxford University Press, 2014).
“Educational Travel and Student Learning,” in AJS News: The Travel Issue (July 2014).
“Purity, Charity, Community: The Power of Kashrut in an Orthodox Jewish Neighborhood,” in Reconstructing Jewish Identity in Pre- and Post-Holocaust Literature and Culture, Lucyna Aleksandrowicz-Pędich and Małgorzata Pakier, eds. (Peter Lang, 2012).
“Jewish Service-Learning Partnerships between Hillel and the Public University: A Case Study,” co-authored with Renée Cohen Goodwin, Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Vol. 87, (Winter/Spring 2012).
“Kabbalah at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century,” in Jewish Mysticism: New Insights and Scholarship, Frederick E. Greenspahn, ed. (New York University Press, 2011)
“Kabbalah for the Gentiles: Diverse Souls and Universalism in Contemporary Kabbalah,” in Kabbalah and Spiritual Revival: Historical, Sociological and Cultural Perspectives, Boaz Huss, ed. (Ben-Gurion University Press, 2011).
Book Review: Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel, Arie Morgenstern; in Studies in Contemporary Jewry: An Annual (Oxford University Press, 2011).
“Teaching Contemporary Israel through the Internet and Student Blogs” in Coping with Diversity: Language and Culture Education, eds. Hanna Komorowska and Lucyna Aleksandrowicz-Pędich (Academica, Warsaw, 2011).
“Marriage and Sexual Behavior in the Teachings of the Kabbalah Centre,” in Kabbalah and Modernity: Interpretations, Transformations, Adaptations, Boaz Huss, Marco Pasi, and Kocku von Stuckrad, eds. (Brill, 2010).
“The Kabbalah Centre and Contemporary Spirituality,” Religion Compass (Vol. 3, May 2008), online journal.
Kabbalah and the Spiritual Quest: The Kabbalah Centre in America (Praeger Publishers, 2007).
“Phasing In: American Jewish Women’s Ritual Celebrations for the New Moon (Rosh Hodesh)” in Women Remaking American Judaism, Riv-Ellen Prell, ed. (Wayne State University Press, 2007).
“The Kabbalah Centre,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (2006).
“Feminist Haggadot,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (2006).
“Contemporary Female Rosh Hodesh Groups,” Encyclopaedia Judaica (2006).
Book Review of Ava F. Kahn and Marc Dollinger, eds., California Jews. In Southern California Quarterly 86, no. 3, 2004.
Book Review of Yosef Salmon, Religion and Zionism: First Encounters. In AJS Review (The Journal of the Association for Jewish Studies) 28, no. 2 (November 2004).
“Of Goats and Scapegoats,” Kerem: Creative Explorations in Judaism 9 (5764 - 2004). Available at http://kerem.org/previous-issues/volume-9-5764-2004/.
Seeking Zion: Modernity and Messianic Activism in the Writings of Zevi Hirsch Kalischer (Oxford and Portland, Oregon: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2003).
Service-Learning in the Jewish Community: Connecting the Community and Jewish Studies (Jewish Studies Interdisciplinary Program, California State University, Northridge, 2002). Co-authored with Terry Hatkoff.
"On the Current Renaissance in Jewish Spirituality," Sh'ma, 31 (November 2000).
"The Midrashic Enterprise of Contemporary Jewish Women," Studies in Contemporary Jewry, volume XIV (2000).
"Religion Despite Fashion: A Proposal for Rabbinic Education in the Nineteenth Century," in Judaism and Education: Essays in Honor of Walter I. Ackerman,ed. Haim Marantz , ed. (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 1998).
"The Myth of Matriarchy in Contemporary Jewish Women's Spiritual Writings," Jewish Social Studies, vol.4, no. 1 (Fall, 1997).
"The Altared Table: Women and Food in Judaism," in Life Cycles: Jewish Women on Biblical Themes in Contemporary Life, eds. Debra Orenstein and Jane Rachel Litman (Festival Lights Press, Woodstock, Vermont, 1997).
"The Secret of Jewish Femininity: Hiddenness, Power, and Physicality in the Theology of Orthodox Women in the Contemporary World," in Gender and Judaism: The Transformation of Tradition, ed. T.M. Rudavsky, (New York University Press, 1995). Co-authored with Jane Rachel Litman.
"Messianism and Zionist Ideologies," in Studies in Contemporary Jewry, volume VII (Oxford University Press, for the Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1991).
"Zevi Hirsch Kalischer and the Origins of Religious Zionism," From East to West: Jews in a Changing Europe 1750-1870, edited by David Sorkin and Frances Malino (Basil Blackwell, 1990). Reissued as Profiles in Diversity: Jews in a Changing Europe, 1750-1870, edited by David Sorkin and Frances Malino (Wayne State University Press, 1998).
"Zevi Hirsch Kalischer," The Blackwell Companion to Jewish Culture, ed. Glenda Abramson (Basil Blackwell, 1989).
"Zevi Hirsch Kalischer," The Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mircea Eliade et al. (Macmillan Publishing Co., 1987).
"Attitudes Toward a Resumption of Sacrificial Worship in the Nineteenth Century," Modern Judaism, vol. 7, no. 1 (Feb. 1987).
Presentations at Academic and Other Conferences (a selection)
Food History and Jewish Studies. Presented at the Western Jewish Studies Association Conference, Vancouver, Canada, May, 2015.
Orthodox Rabbinic Discourse on Kosher Meat Slaughtering, AJS, December 2014
Modern Kosher Meat Slaughtering Controversies and Orthodox Jewish Identity. Presented at conference in Warsaw, Poland, November 13, 2013, Jewishness in National Cultures—European, North American, Israeli—Perceptions, Interactions, and Memories.
Eating in Holiness: Teaching Kashrut and Jewish Foodways. Melton Coalition for Creative Interaction Conference: The Transmission of Jewish Culture Outside the Classroom, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, February 10-11, 2013.
Eating in Holiness: The Tension between Ethics and Command in Orthodox Kosher Practice. Society of Jewish Ethics Annual Conference, January 6, 2013.
Kabbalah in Israel Today. Presented at Israel in 3D, a program exploring multiple dimensions of Israel sponsored by the UCLA Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, January 29, 2012.
Purity, Charity, Community: The Dimensions of Kashrut in an Orthodox Jewish Neighborhood. Jewishness in Contemporary Culture: American and European Perspectives conference in Warsaw, Poland, May 17-18, 2011.
Purity and Community: Dimensions of Kashrut in an Orthodox Jewish Neighborhood. Presented at the Western Jewish Studies Association Conference, April 10, 2011.
Israel Online: Teaching Contemporary Israel through the Internet and Student Blogs. Presented at Western Jewish Studies Association annual conference, Arizona State University, March 2010.
Spirituality, Kabbalah, and Popular Culture. Scholar-in-Residence for Minneapolis, Minnesota Synaplex, March 27-29, 2009.
Religious Terrorism in Judaism. One of three presenters at a program at California State University, Northridge, Religious Terrorism in Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism Today, March 17, 2009.
Contemporary Forms of Popular Kabbalah. Presented at conference held at Florida Atlantic University, Jewish Mysticism: New Insights and Scholarship, February 15-16, 2009.
Crossing Boundaries: Kabbalah for Non-Jews. Paper presented at the conference New Judaisms: Conversations with Scholars, Skidmore College, February 8-11, 2009. A similar version of this presentation was made at the American Association for Religion annual conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 3, 2008.
Understanding God in the 21st Century. Guest teacher for Kol Tikvah Temple, Woodland Hills, California, October 7, 2008.
Kabbalah for the Gentiles: Diverse Souls and Universalism in Contemporary Kabbalah. Paper presented at Kabbalah and the Contemporary Spiritual Revival, conference held at Ben Gurion University, Israel, May 20-22, 2008.
Marriage and Sexual Behavior in the Teachings of the Kabbalah Centre, conference held at University of Amsterdam, July 4-6, 2007.
Israel and Zionism in Regional Context. Seminar leader for program jointly sponsored by Jewish Federation and the Melton Judaic Studies Program, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
New Age and Old Judaism in Kabbalah Centre Teachings. Paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, November 2006.
Divining the Light: The Popularization of Kabbalah in America. University of Arizona, Shaol Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series. February 2006.
The Popularization of Kabbalah in America: The Contributions of Levi I. Krakovsky. Paper presented at the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference. December 2004.
Seeking the Light: The Popularization of Kabbalah in America. Lecture presented for Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies, Wayne State University. October 2004.
Phasing In: Rosh Hodesh Ceremonies in American Jewish Life. Paper presented at Wayne State University Conference, “The Changing Role of Women in American Jewish Life.” May 2003.
Healing Ceremonies in Modern Judaism. San Diego State University. April 2003.
Healing Ceremonies in Contemporary Jewish Life: Mysticism, Spirituality, and Community. Paper presented at Western Jewish Studies Association conference. March 2003.
Kabbalistic Wisdom as Healing: Ritualistic Strategies of the Kabbalah Centre. Paper presented at the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference. December 2002.
Searching for Peace in the Middle East: the Conflict Between Israelis and Palestinians. Presentation to the Social Concerns Council Seminar, Santa Monica First United Methodist Church. October 2002.
Service Learning in the Jewish Community. Presentation to Jewish Studies Directors and Faculty at Western Jewish Studies Association. April, 2002.
Concepts of Purity in Contemporary American Judaism: The Role of Kabbalah. Paper presented at the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference. December 1999.
Women’s Midrashim: Contemporary Women Find Connections to the Bible. Adult Education class taught at Sinai Temple. December, 1999.
American Jews, Zionism and Israel. Lecturer, West Valley Advanced Communal Leadership Seminar, Valley Alliance - Jewish Federation. November 1999.
The Zionist Controversy. Class taught at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Fall, 1999.
Religious Capital: Innovative and Traditional Religious Activities Among Orthodox Jewish Women. Respondent and discussion leader, Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project, New York City. November, 1999.
Contemporary Women’s Midrash. Paper presented at the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Conference, December, 1998.
Zionism: The First Fifty Years, 1897-1947. Skirball Cultural Center. May 1998.
The Myth of Matriarchy in Contemporary Jewish Women's Spiritual Writings. Stanford University Center for Judaic Studies. February 1997.
The Alternative Table: Women and Food in Judaism. Center for Jewish Studies and Center for the Study of Women at UCLA. January, 1995.
The Secret of Jewish Femininity: Contemporary Orthodox Women's Theology. Gender and Judaism Conference of the Melton Center for Jewish Studies, Ohio State University. April, 1993.
The Jewish Messianic Idea and Contemporary Zionism. San Diego State University. March, 1993.
Messianism and Zionism in the History and Historiography of German Jewish Orthodoxy. Invited speaker for the symposium on German Jewish Orthodoxy sponsored by the UCLA Jewish Studies Program and the Leo Baeck Institute. December, 1992.
The Origins of Religious Zionism. Invited speaker for "Orthodox Judaism: An International Symposium", sponsored by UCLA Jewish Studies Program and the Jewish Federation Council on Jewish Life, May, 1988.
Religious Reform's Influence on the Forerunners of Zionism. Paper presented at the Association for Jewish Studies annual conference, Boston, December, 1987.
Professional Organizations
Association for Jewish Studies Western Jewish Studies Association (Executive Board Member)
Fellowships and Awards
Schusterman Israel Institute Seminar, Fellowship, Summer 2008. Faculty Fellows Grant, reassigned time for research, 2006. Research and Sponsored Projects grant, CSUN, reassigned time for research, 2005. Koret Jewish Studies Publications Program, 1999, publications stipend. Dean's Faculty Research Fund, reassigned time for research, 1995-99. National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Stipend, 1991. Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, academic year 1990-91, research fellowship. Northridge Foundation Grant, spring, 1986 and 1989, reassigned time for research.