Author: Pamela Weathers

Available for Viewing: “Yiddish Culture in Wartime: 1939-1945” | June 30, 2020

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On June 30, Professor Sam Kassow presented "Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945" for our new Yiddish Culture Series. The evening was co-sponsored by Voices of Hope.

The series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

Sam Kassow is the Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College.

The program is now available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnBZNW87W8M

 

The Talmud, the Rabbis, and History | Fall 2020 Online Graduate Course Open to Advanced Undergraduates

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The Talmud, the Rabbis, and History

University of Connecticut

JUDS 5397.001/CLCS 5301.001

 

Professor Stuart S. Miller                                            Fall 2020

Stuart.Miller@UConn.edu                                           W 3:30 – 6:15 (Meets Online)

Open to advanced undergraduates with permission of the instructor.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is a unique introduction to Talmudic narrative and related writings of the ancient rabbis of Roman Palestine and Sassanian Babylonia.

The aim is to gain both an appreciation for the ways Talmudic writings inform history and why they continue to fascinate not only scholars of Judaism and rabbinic law, but also philosophers, theologians, legal and literary theorists.

Some discussion will be devoted to the unique discourse of the ancient rabbis and especially to “midrashic thinking.” Of late Talmudic literature has been of great interest to scholars of American juridical thinking, for example, the Yale legal scholar, Robert Cover, the author of the influential Narrative, Violence, and the Law. We will examine how his work has had an impact on legal thinking. We will also take a detour into the work of Emmanuel Levinas to understand better why Talmudic writings have generated much interest among philosophers and theologians.

Usually thought of as works of religious law, the two Talmuds, that of Babylonia and the lesser known “Talmud of the Land of Israel,” are a treasure trove of information about the rabbis’ times, their neighbors, and, of course, their outlook on life. Seminar meetings will be devoted to discussion of diverse Talmudic and “midrashic” passages. Students will gain knowledge of the overall rabbinic corpus, the modes of rabbinic discourse, and the challenges they pose for scholarly inquiry.

Although the rabbis were primarily interested in articulating their program for sanctifying daily life, they reveal much about their lives and times (first through fifth centuries C.E.) and especially about their perspectives towards other Jews and non-Jews among whom they lived. Special attention, therefore, will be devoted to the rabbis’ perception of history, and especially their relations, interactions, and attitudes towards others, including women, apostates, heretics, Samaritans, Romans/pagans, Zoroastrians, and Christians.

For more information, contact Stuart Miller at stuart.miller@uconn.edu.

Professor Miller Addresses Issues of Racism in the Times of Israel | June 2020

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The Voices We Are Finally Hearing and
The Voices that Need to Be Heard

Stuart MillerOn Sunday, June 14, The Times of Israel published a must-read article by Professor Miller, "The Voices We Are Finally Hearing," which reflects on today's turmoil. You can access it here: 
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-voices-we-are-finally-hearing/

Part two of Professor Miller's thought-provoking piece, "The Other Voices that Need to be Heard – Ours," was published on June 26 and can be read here: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-other-voices-that-need-to-be-heard-ours/

Available for Viewing: “Bad Rabbi: Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press” | June 16, 2020

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On June 16, Eddy Portnoy presented "Bad Rabbi: Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press" for our new Yiddish culture series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture. The series is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

Eddy Portnoy is Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. He received his Ph.D. from the Jewish Theological Seminary. A specialist in Jewish popular culture, he has published in numerous academic journals and also in The Forward and in Tablet Magazine. 

The program is now available for viewing at https://youtu.be/639lspFmels

Eddy Portnoy to Speak on Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press | June 16, 2020

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Bad Rabbi by Eddy Portnoy

Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press with Eddy Portnoy
 
Please join us online on June 16, at 4pm (EST), when Eddy Portnoy launches our new Yiddish Culture Series with a discussion on strange but true stories from the Yiddish Press.

The series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

An underground history of downwardly mobile Jews, Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press exposes the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw, the two major centers of Yiddish culture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With true stories plucked from the pages of the Yiddish papers, Eddy Portnoy introduces us to the drunks, thieves, murderers, wrestlers, poets, and beauty queens whose misadventures were immortalized in print.

Eddy Portnoy is Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. He received his Ph.D. from the Jewish Theological Seminary. A specialist in Jewish popular culture, he has published in numerous academic journals and also in The Forward and in Tablet Magazine. 

Please register to attend. Registration will close on 6/15/2020.

Questions? Please contact Avinoam Patt at avinoam.patt@uconn.edu. 

Save the date for the following upcoming programs in this series!

Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture
Jewish Hartford European Roots 

June 30 at 7pm (EST) | Sam Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College | “Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945.” Cosponsored by Voices of Hope [Register]

 

July 13 at 7pm  (EST) | Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History and Berger-Neilsen Chair of Judaic Studies, The College of Idaho | "The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital" [Register]

 

July 27 at 7pm (EST) I Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus, Wesleyan University | “The Yiddish Song Today.” Cosponsored by the University of Hartford Greenberg Center [Register]

 

September (Date and Time TBD) | Anna Shternshis and Psoy Korolenko, Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II 

Sam Kassow to Speak on Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945 | June 30, 2020

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Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945

 

Sam KassowPlease join us online on June 30, at 7 pm (EST), when Sam Kassow presents "Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945." The talk is part of our new Yiddish Culture Series and cosponsored by Voices of Hope.

The series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

Sam Kassow is the Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College.

Please email Pamela Weathers at pamela.weathers@uconn.edu to receive login details. 

Save the date for additional programs in this series!

Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture
Jewish Hartford European Roots 

June 16 at 4 pm (EST) | Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research | Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press [Register]

 

July 13 at 7pm  (EST) | Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History and Berger-Neilsen Chair of Judaic Studies, The College of Idaho | "The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital" [Register]

 

July 27 at 7pm (EST) I Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus, Wesleyan University | “The Yiddish Song Today.” Cosponsored by the University of Hartford Greenberg Center [Register]

 

September (Date and Time TBD) | Anna Shternshis and Psoy Korolenko, Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II 

Nick Underwood to Speak on the World of Yiddish Theater | July 13, 2020

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Nick Underwood; Yiddish Theater Posters

The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital

Please join us online on July 13, at 7 pm (EST), when Nick Underwood presents "The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital." The talk is part of our new Yiddish Culture Series.

The series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

The world of Yiddish theatre traverses the globe. Over roughly the past century and a half, Yiddish theatre, which has its roots in Purim, has engaged millions of people and has embraced several artistic and theatrical forms. Its story is not only in the past, however, it is still going strong, and has even found a home on the internet. Through an exploration of Yiddish theatre from its origins to today, participants will discover the world of Yiddish theatre and learn about the ways that the medium has come into contact with the digital age. 

Nick Underwood is Assistant Professor of History and Berger-Neilsen Chair of Judaic Studies at The College of Idaho.

Please register to attend. Registration will close on 7/12/2020.

Questions? Please contact Avinoam Patt at avinoam.patt@uconn.edu. 

Save the date for additional programs in this series!

Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture
Jewish Hartford European Roots 

June 16 at 4 pm (EST) | Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research | Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press [Register]

 

June 30 at 7 pm (EST) | Sam Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College | “Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945.” Cosponsored by Voices of Hope [Register]

 

July 27 at 7pm (EST) I Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus, Wesleyan University | “The Yiddish Song Today.” Cosponsored by the University of Hartford Greenberg Center [Register]

 

September (Date and Time TBD) | Anna Shternshis and Psoy Korolenko, Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II 

Mark Slobin to Speak on the Yiddish Song Today | July 27, 2020

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The Yiddish Song Today

Mark SlobinPlease join us online on July 27, at 7 pm (EST), when Mark Slobin presents "The Yiddish Song Today." The talk is part of our new Yiddish Culture Series and is co-sponsored by the University of Hartford Greenberg Center.

The Yiddish song has long been a deep expression of personal and communal feelings for the Ashkenazic Jews of eastern Europe. It flourished among immigrants to America in the early twentieth century, was nearly wiped out by assimilation, the Holocaust, and a turn towards Zionism, but has recently come back among younger musicians looking for identity and personal creativity in both the US and Europe. The talk will quickly reference the history and then present current activists’ thoughts and songs.

Mark Slobin is Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus at Wesleyan University.
The series Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture is a project of the UConn Center for Judaic Studies in partnership with the Jewish Hartford European Roots Project.

Please register to attend. Registration will close on 7/26/2020.

Questions? Please contact Avinoam Patt at avinoam.patt@uconn.edu. 

Save the date for additional programs in this series!

Di Yidishe Velt: A Virtual Festival of Yiddish Culture
Jewish Hartford European Roots 

June 16 at 4 pm (EST) | Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research | Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press [Register]

 

June 30 at 7 pm (EST) | Sam Kassow, Charles H. Northam Professor of History at Trinity College | “Yiddish Culture in Wartime 1939-1945.” Cosponsored by Voices of Hope [Register]

 

July 13 at 7pm  (EST) | Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History and Berger-Neilsen Chair of Judaic Studies, The College of Idaho | "The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital" [Register]

 

September (Date and Time TBD) | Anna Shternshis and Psoy Korolenko, Yiddish Glory: The Lost Songs of World War II 

Registration for Sam Kassow | June 30, 2020, 7:00 PM

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For last-minute login details, please email pamela.weathers@uconn.edu. 

Register for additional programs in this series!

June 16 at 4 pm (EST) | Eddy Portnoy, Academic Advisor and Director of Exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research | Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press [Register]

July 13 at 7 pm  (EST) | Nick Underwood, Assistant Professor of History and Berger-Neilsen Chair of Judaic Studies, The College of Idaho | "The World of Yiddish Theatre in History and Digital" [Register]

July 27 at 7 pm (EST) I Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music Emeritus, Wesleyan University | “The Yiddish Song Today.” Cosponsored by the University of Hartford Greenberg Center [Register]

Questions? Please contact Avinoam Patt at avinoam.patt@uconn.edu.