Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history, Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Oriental studies, religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages, political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies. Jewish studies as a distinct field is mainly present at colleges and universities in North America.
Related fields include Holocaust research and Israel studies, and in Israel, Jewish thought.
Bar-Ilan University has the world's largest school of Jewish studies; while
Harvard was the first American university, and perhaps the first in the world, to appoint a full-time scholar of Judaica to its faculty.History
The Jewish tradition generally places a high value on learning and study, especially of religious texts. Torah study is considered a religious obligation.
Since the Renaissance and the growth of higher education, many people, including people not of the Jewish faith, have chosen to study Jews and Judaism as a means of understanding the Jewish religion, heritage, and Jewish history.
The term Wissenschaft des Judentums first made its appearance among young Jewish intellectuals in Berlin during the 1810s and 1820s. The first organized attempt at developing and disseminating Wissenschaft des Judentums was the Verein für Kultur und Wissenschaft der Juden, founded around 1819 by Eduard Gans,, and his associates, among them Leopold Zunz,, and later Heinrich Heine. Its principal objective, as it was then defined in the Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, was the study of Judaism by subjecting it to criticism and modern methods of research.
With the development of the "Science of Judaism" throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and its ramification into many spheres and subjects, "Science of Judaism" came to signify the totality of studies concerning the Jewish people and Judaism. In English speaking countries these studies came to be referred to by such terms as Judaistica, Judaica, and Jewish studies or Judaic studies.
Religious instruction specifically for Jews, especially for those who wish to join the rabbinate, is taught at Jewish seminaries, and in Orthodox Judaism, yeshivas. Among the most prominent outside of Orthodox Judaism are the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary and the Reform Hebrew Union College. See List of rabbinical schools.
For the majority of Jewish students attending regular academic colleges and universities there is a growing choice of Jewish studies courses and even degrees available at many institutions.
The subject of antisemitism and the Holocaust, as well as the establishment of the modern State of Israel and the revival of the Hebrew language have all stimulated unusual interest in greater in-depth academic study, research, reading and lecturing about these core areas of knowledge related to current events. In the United States, the unique position that Jewish Americans have held within the nation's complex social structure has created substantial scholarship, especially with regards to topics such as interfaith marriage, political activism, and influence on popular culture.
In a 1966 article published in the American Jewish Year Book, the Hebrew literature scholar Arnold J. Band was among the first to call attention to the "spread of Jewish studies as an accepted academic discipline in the American liberal arts colleges and universities since the Second World War". In his article Band offered a definition of Jewish studies as "the discipline which deals with the historical experiences, in the intellectual, religious, and social spheres, of the Jewish people in all centuries and countries".
The political situation in the Middle East, especially the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, has raised the profile of Jews, Judaism, and Zionism on campuses, spurring many on to study this subject for non-degree as well as for credits in obtaining a Bachelor of Arts or Master of Arts degree. A growing number of mature students are even obtaining Ph.D.s in Jewish studies judging by the quantity of courses and programs available. Many hope to obtain employment in the field of Jewish education or in Jewish communal service agencies.
Some Christians search for an understanding of the Jewish background for Jesus Christ and Christianity and for the source of monotheism that sprang from Judaism. There are those who are seeking an understanding of the complex and volatile relationship between Islam and Judaism. Others are searching for spirituality and philosophy and therefore seek classes in Kabbalah and Jewish philosophy. There are also those who have a genuine concern and attachment to modern Israel as Christian Zionists and therefore seek to learn more about the subjects related to their beliefs.Schools that offer Jewish studies
Jewish studies have been offered at universities around the world.Israel
The Institute of Jewish Studies of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was established in 1924, a few months before the official opening of the university. Widely considered to be the world's premier center of Jewish studies, the institute includes eight teaching departments and 18 research institutes, oversees the publication of a wide variety of journals and periodicals and has a student body of over 1200 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in Jewish studies. In addition, the university has several institutes dedicated to specific subjects of Jewish studies, such as the Institute of Contemporary Jewry, the Institute for Research in Jewish Law, the Institute of Archaeology, the Center for Jewish Art, the Jewish Music Research Center, the Center for Jewish Education, and the Department of Jewish Thought. The Jewish National and University Library, which serves as the library of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, houses the world's largest collection of Hebraica and Judaica. The university also benefits from Jerusalem's unparalleled concentration of resources, which include: some 50 museums, most of which are dedicated to, or contain significant exhibits pertinent to, Jewish studies; dozens of independent research institutes and libraries dedicated to Jewish studies; over 100 rabbinical colleges representing all streams of Judaism; and the city of Jerusalem itself, the ancient and modern center of Jewish life, thought and study.Bar-Ilan University
in Ramat-Gan, Israel, has the world's largest school of Jewish studies, which includes 14 teaching departments, 21 research institutes, some 300 faculty members and over 2,000 students. The school publishes 11 journals and the only internet journal in Jewish Studies — Jewish Studies. Flagship projects of the Faculty of Jewish Studies include: the Responsa Project which is the largest database of classical Jewish sources throughout the ages; The "Mikraot Gdolot Haketer" which is the most accurate edition of the Mikraot Gdolot; The Ingeborg Rennert Center of Jerusalem Studies; and the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, the excavations of the site of biblical Gath of the Philistines under the auspices of Prof. Aren Maier.Tel Aviv University
's Department of Hebrew Culture Studies is the single largest integrative Jewish studies department in the world today. It covers a wide range of periods, methodologies, and scholarly interests. The Jewish Studies International MA provides tools and skills for further graduate studies in Jewish studies and other fields involving text work. It attracts Humanities graduates from all over the world. Its graduates are equipped for work in many branches of education, in Jewish and other communities, Jewish cultural institutions, synagogues and churches and charities.North America
The American Jewish University, formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish, non-denominational and highly eclectic institution. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in which 12,000 students are enrolled annually in non-credit granting courses. A prominent program of the Center is the university's annual speaker series. AJU's academic division includes the College of Arts and Sciences, leading to a B.A. degree in majors such as Bioethics, Business, Communication Arts & Advocacy, Jewish Studies, Political Science, and Psychology. In addition, AJU offers graduate degrees through the Fingerhut School of Education, The David L. Lieber Graduate School, and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, a Conservative Jewish rabbinical seminary. AJU is host to two "think tanks," the Center for Israel Studies and the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust. Through the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, the University has oversight over Camps Ramah, Alonim, and Gan Alonim.The American University, located in Washington, D.C., is a private university that offers degrees in Jewish studies. American University's Jewish Studies Program emphasizes the rich tradition of Jewish heritage in Western Civilization. The interdisciplinary Jewish Studies Program encompasses more than a dozen award-winning faculty from a variety of departments across the University. AU's Jewish studies professors and scholars include prize-winning authors; internationally renowned experts in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts; and several recipients of the Scholar/Teacher of the Year Award, AU's highest faculty honor. In addition to spending time in the classroom, these faculty make frequent media appearances and work with a wide range of scholarly and cultural institutions in our nation's capital and beyond dedicated to advancing knowledge of Jewish civilization to a wider public. Internships and other opportunities enable AU students to join with the faculty as they reach out to the wider community. A degree in Jewish studies enables students to analyze the civilizations of the Jewish people and their various cultural and religious expressions from the antiquity to the present. The Jewish Studies Program offers a major in Jewish studies, and minors in Jewish studies and in Israel studies.