Scholar Symposium to Publish Findings

Beginning on April 13, American Jewish University (AJU) will host an inaugural Scholars Symposium, a weekly series dedicated to analyzing the changing nature of Jewish life before, during, and after the global pandemic. Each week, the public is invited to join renowned thought leaders, scholars, and rabbis —AJU faculty and their guests—for online sessions exploring timely issues. Attendees will join this intimate, intellectual exploration of Jewish themes as active participants and will be able to observe, discuss, review, and share feedback on the materials presented by AJU scholars and their guests. Prof. Michael Berenbaum will moderate each session, which will feature various scholars who will present papers on a diverse set of topics—such as growing antisemitism, medical ethics, changes in education, the future of synagogues, and more. All sessions will be hosted online. Viewers can register for the entire series for $250 or for individual sessions for $40.

The seven-part series will feature the following talks:

• April 13 - School After Covid: What Did We Miss; What Do We Keep; What Do we Rebuild? with. Dr. Bruce Powell and Dr. Erica Rothblum

• April 20 - The Vaccine and Its Distribution From a Jewish Perspective with Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Professor Laurie Zoloth

• April 27 - The Synagogue and Rabbis During COVID and Its Aftermath with Dr. Ron Wolfson and Rabbi Ed Feinstein

• May 4 - Understanding Ever Growing Antisemitism and Conspiracy Theories with Professor Michael Berenbaum and Professor Susan Kapitanoff

• May 11 - The Pandemic and Orthodoxies with Professor Pinchas Giller and Professor Gilbert Kahn

• May 25 - Jewish Creativity During and Post COVID with Dr. Rotem Rozental and Gustavo Herrera

• June 1 - Pandemic Higher Education: Applying Lessons Learned at AJU with Danielle Sassman and Dr. Robbie Totten