|
|
|
|
Dear Friends,
Tikvah Education and Tikvah Ideas remain as energetic as ever. Below, I share a roundup of upcoming events and programs as well as some of our most interesting new essays, videos, and podcasts from the past few weeks—especially those in honor of Israel’s 75th anniversary.
I. New & Upcoming
Save the Date: Jewish Leadership Conference 2023 – Sunday, October 29
Tikvah just announced the date and venue for the 2023 Jewish Leadership Conference: Sunday, October 29, at the Mandarin Hotel in New York City. We will cover a wide range of questions facing America, Israel, and the Jewish people—with special attention to the cultural challenges we face in our schools and universities and how to face them with moral and intellectual confidence. Our Herzl Prize will be awarded to the great Jewish scholar and teacher Dr. Leon Kass. Stay tuned for more details soon.
Truman Scholars Graduation
In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the graduation of a new cohort of Truman Scholars—a remarkable group of 8th graders from 40 different Jewish schools who engaged in two years of learning about the heroic leaders of modern Zionism and the Jewish influence on America.
Apply Now – Tikvah’s M.A. in Jewish Classical Education
The early response to our new project on Jewish Classical Education—which you can read more about here or hear about here—has been overwhelmingly exciting. One crucial part of this project is our new M.A. in Jewish Classical Education—designed for current and aspiring teachers and for anyone interested in getting involved in bringing the foundational texts and ideas of Jewish and Western civilization into Jewish classrooms. The program is primarily online and designed flexibly for working professionals and full-time students. We have already admitted our first round of students, and we will continue to consider applications for the next few weeks. Click here to learn more and apply.
II. Israel at 75: The Zionist Spirit Endures
As Jews and Zionists around the world celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary, our Tikvah Ideas division is bringing the Zionist story and its significance to life:
- In “Debating Zionism,” a special lecture series taught by Dr. Micah Goodman, we explore the foundational ideas and disagreements among the most important Zionist thinkers. In doing so, Dr. Goodman shows how old debates about Zionism among secular Jews, religious Zionists, and haredim still shape Israeli society today.
- In “Building the Impossible Dream: The History of Zionism,” a brand-new limited-series podcast, Dr. Daniel Polisar provides a fascinating tour of the big ideas and the heroic figures that defined the rise of Jewish nationalism, from Napoleon’s flirtation with Zionism to Herzl’s tireless Zionist advocacy to Israel in the 21st century.
- On the Tikvah Podcast, Jonathan Silver has spoken with a variety of fascinating guests, including: writer Rick Richman on the role Jewish history can play in forming Jewish identity; scholar Yuval Levin on what America’s Constitution can teach Israelis as they enter what may be their own constitutional moment; Israeli security expert Yaakov Amidror on why he believes Israel must begin to prepare for war with Iran; and Neil Rogachevsky and Dov Zeigler on their new book about the political philosophy of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
- This month’s feature essay in Mosaic examines the legacy of the Zionist writer and activist Leon Pinsker. In his book Autoemancipation!—published over a decade before Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State—Pinsker argues that Jews must pick up and move to the Holy Land. His call inspired many Jews and set the stage for the Jewish institutions that would ultimately serve as the foundation of the Jewish state.
- Just before Passover, we released a new online course on the Book of Exodus with Dr. Leon Kass. Now, as the Jewish people approach Shavuot, Kass’s interpretations of Exodus—and its ideas about covenant, holiness, law, revelation, and more—are as timely as ever
III. Summer 2023 at Tikvah: A Banquet of Serious Learning
Tikvah is gearing up for another intense and exciting summer of learning for American students—including:
- Our Beren Summer Fellows—leading college students from across North America—who will be studying and working at Tikvah in NYC for eight full weeks.
- Our Tikvah Scholars—150 exceptional 11th and 12th graders—who will participate in two weeks of seminars on Jewish thought, Zionist history, and the great questions facing Western civilization. This program takes place at Mt. Holyoke College.
- Our Begin Scholars—60 elite rising 9th graders—who will begin their two-year fellowship with us this summer with an opening conference at Princeton University.
- Tikvah Online Academy will soon launch a new full set of summer courses—focused on the great speeches, great leaders, and great books that shaped Jewish, Western, and American history. We will offer courses for 6th through 12th graders.
|
|
|
|
|
IV. From the Mind of Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
- Next month, Rabbi Soloveichik will release his new book: Providence and Power: Ten Portraits in Jewish Statesmanship, based on lectures he originally delivered for Tikvah. It is a tour-de-force exploration of the greatest political leaders and thinkers in Jewish history—from King David to Esther, Ben Zakkai to Abarbanel, Disraeli to Menachem Begin. You can learn more about the book and pre-order it here. You will be hearing from us soon about book events and special signed copies for friends of Tikvah.
- Rabbi Soloveichik has now released over 200 episodes of his Jerusalem 365 podcast. Since September, nearly every day he’s put together a 10-15 minute episode on the history of Jerusalem from ancient to modern times—and what it reveals about the remarkable, improbable, miraculous story of the Jewish people. If you haven’t started listening yet, we invite you to subscribe.
V. The Tikvah Mission to Israel: Jerusalem 365 Comes Alive
Earlier this month, we were blessed to take 30 Tikvah Society members on a special mission to Israel, led by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, Amiad Cohen, and members of Tikvah’s senior leadership team. It was a life-changing experience—moving from the heroic battles of ancient Israel to the brave martyrs of modern Zionism, from the holiest places of the Jewish past to the great issues facing the Israeli people as they build a flourishing future. From the Mount of Olives to the Sea of Galilee, from Judea and Samaria to the Knesset, from Caesarea to the heart of new Israel, we considered one big theme: why the greatest empires of history failed—and why the Jewish people endure. See some pictures below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tikvah · 165 East 56th St · Floor 4 · New York, NY 10022
|
|
|
|
