Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Rochester

03/25/2026

March 30 @ 5PM - God Bless the Pill: Sexuality and Contraception in American Religion with Samira K. Mehta (University of Colorado Boulder).

Most people today understand contraception as central to women’s liberation, and when the birth control pill arrived in 1960, the media thought it would usher in a sexual revolution. But a surprising number of religious Americans in the mid-twentieth century also saw contraception as part of God’s plan—a tool to create happy, prosperous American families in the post–World War II era.

03/03/2026

Tomorrow: March 4th @ 5PM.

In the Midst of Pogrom Violence: Jewish Women as Victims, Chroniclers, and Survivors

This talk will focus on the genocidal violence against the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe unleashed during the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921. By exploring the different roles that Jewish women came to play in the midst of these pogroms, the talk will highlight some continuities between this wave of anti-Jewish violence and the events that occurred in the same regions of Eastern Europe some twenty years later, during the Holocaust.

Details: https://events.rochester.edu/event/in-the-midst-of-pogrom-violence

02/18/2026

Congratulations to former Humanities Center fellow Michela Andreatta, an associate professor of Hebrew Language and Literature in the Department of Religion and Classics, and co-director of the Center for Jewish Studies at URochester. Andreatta was awarded finalist in Jewish Literature and Linguistic category of the 2025 Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards by the Association for Jewish Studies at the AJS Conference in December. AJS, the main academic organization for Jewish Studies in the United States, annually awards one winner and one finalist in each category of the annual book prize.

Andreatta was named a finalist for her book Hell Arrayed (Tofteh ‘arukh): A Seventeenth-Century Hebrew Poem on the Punishment of the Wicked in the Afterlife (Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies at the University of Toronto,2023). Completion of the book was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities individual fellowship (NEH Fel-267562-20). The book was previously selected for Honorable Mention (Best Translation) for the Mediterranean Seminar Prize for the Best Source Edition, Book Translation, or Essay Collection 2025. Hell Arrayed is now available open access thanks to a dedicated grant by the Humanities Center and River Campus Libraries at URochester.

02/10/2026

Today!

Devin J. Stewart received a B.A. magna cm laude in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1984 and wrote an honors thesis on the scholars of Safavid Iran, 1576–1629. He received a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and his dissertation earn...

02/03/2026

02/02/2026

Edited: unfortunately, this event has been cancelled.

Wednesday!

A talk by Lee Yaron. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required (please use the "Register" link above). Lee Yaron is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience at Haaretz, one of Israel's most respected and influential newspapers. Her investigative reporting...

01/29/2026

Devin J. Stewart received a B.A. magna cm laude in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 1984 and wrote an honors thesis on the scholars of Safavid Iran, 1576–1629. He received a Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991, and his dissertation earn...

12/02/2025

The new documentary "Family Recipe: Jewish American Style" includes Elizabeth Denio Professor Nora Rubel, Chair of the Department of Religion & Classics and Co-director of the Center for Jewish Studies, among the featured experts. The PBS feature is a historical, genealogical and culinary journey through the Jewish diaspora in homes across America.

“Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the whole world,” says Rubel.

“Jewish food, as we think about it now, is a culture of foods connected with holidays and rituals. In the United States, these foods are an amalgamation of recipes carried here by Jewish immigrants from their countries of origin. Cookbooks and family recipes are vital historical documents that preserve culture and history by recording culinary traditions, revealing social life, and demonstrating how communities adapt over time.”

Family Recipe is available on PBS stations, and will air Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. on WXXI-HDTV. Check local listings for more information and additional viewings.

Watch the preview of Family Recipe: Jewish American Style here: https://www.burst-films.com/familyrecipe

11/10/2025

Former HC fellow from Religion & Classics Michela Andreatta's book "Hell Arrayed", supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 2020, has been named a finalist for the prestigious Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Jewish Literature and Linguistics by the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS). This recognition marks the second honor for the volume; last May, it received an honorable mention for Translation from the Mediterranean Seminar.

10/29/2025

Today!

As part of the Humanities Center’s Fall 2025 speaker series on New Histories of Fascism, N**i Germany, and the Holocaust, Doris Bergen, the Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies at the University of Toronto, will present on how Weimar Germany’s democratic system collapsed ...

10/13/2025

Blowin’ in the Wind: Songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Tickets are free but the seats are limited, and registration is required! You can reserve your complimentary ticket on the University of Rochester event website: https://events.rochester.edu/event/blowin-in-the-wind

The tribute concert will feature a repertoire of Dylan’s and Cohen’s iconic songs, including “The Times They Are A-Changin’, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Shelter from the Storm,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Hallelujah,” “Suzanne,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “If It Be Your Will,” and “I’m Your Man.” These musical selections will be performed by two accomplished musicians: Kimberley Dunn (singer-pianist) and Greg Weeks (cellist), along with a surprise artist.

Following the concert, we will transition into our second segment, a stage interview moderated by Mehmet Karabela with Cantor Gideon Zelermyer. Zelermyer collaborated with Leonard Cohen on the production of the Grammy Award-winning song “You Want it Darker,” Cohen’s final album prior to his passing. During this part of the event, Zelermyer will share personal anecdotes about his relationship with Cohen.

Blowin’ in the Wind: Songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Tickets are free but the seats are limited, and registration is required! You can reserve your complimentary ticket on the University of Rochester event website: https://events.rochester.edu/event/blowin-in-the-wind

The tribute concert will feature a repertoire of Dylan’s and Cohen’s iconic songs, including “The Times They Are A-Changin’, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Shelter from the Storm,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Hallelujah,” “Suzanne,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “If It Be Your Will,” and “I’m Your Man.” These musical selections will be performed by two accomplished musicians: Kimberley Dunn (singer-pianist) and Greg Weeks (cellist), along with a surprise artist.

Following the concert, we will transition into our second segment, a stage interview moderated by Mehmet Karabela with Cantor Gideon Zelermyer. Zelermyer collaborated with Leonard Cohen on the production of the Grammy Award-winning song “You Want it Darker,” Cohen’s final album prior to his passing. During this part of the event, Zelermyer will share personal anecdotes about his relationship with Cohen.