Hasidism Reconsidered

Thursday, November 13th 2014, 2:00pm

November 13th 2014 | 2:00-8:00PM | GTU Library Board Room | 2400 RIDGE RD | Berkeley CA 94709

From its inception, the phenomenon of Hasidism has provoked a series of still unsettled questions. What accounts for the astounding popularity of the 

movement? What role did women play in the newly formed Hasidic social formations? How does Hasidism relate to earlier Jewish mystical trends? Was Hasidism a radical or conservative movement? How did Hasidism leave its mark on the Hebrew and Yiddish literature of the modern period? Join us as we consider these and other themes at a conference hosted by the Richard S. Dinner Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union. Additional support for Marcin Wodzinski’s visit provided by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture.    
 

Greetings: 2:00pm 
Deena Aranoff and David Biale
 
Session I: 2:15-3:15pm
David Biale: “Toward a New History of Hasidism.”
(UC Davis)
 
Respondent: Steven Zipperstein  (Stanford) 
 
Session II: 3:15-4:15pm
Nathaniel Deutsch: "Pioneer or Pariah? The Maiden of Ludmir and the Status of Women in Hasidism" 
(UC Santa Cruz)
 
Respondent: Deena Aranoff 
(Graduate Theological Union)
 
Break: 4:15-4:30pm
 
Session III: 4:30-5:30pm
 
Naomi Seidman: “A Womb of One’s Own: Hasidism, Enlightenment, and the Birth of Modern Jewish Culture”
(Graduate Theological Union)
 
Respondent: Chana Kronfeld (UC Berkeley) 
 
Closing Lecture: 5:30-6:30pm
Marcin Wodziński, “Were There Female Hasidism?” (Wrocław, University, Poland)