Special Learning Opportunities for Tikvah Summer Scholars
Jewish Military Strategy
Harry Halem
Sundays, 11:00 AM–12:30 PM ET
May 1 | May 8 | May 15 | May 22 | May 29
The Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, is primarily a theological text, the basis of revealed Jewish faith. However, as an inherently political document, the Tanakh can also be read as a strategic text, recounting the successes and failures of a small political unit surrounded by empires in a dangerous corner of the world. This seminar will identify five major themes: the moral status of violence, the role of deception in warfare, the nature and justification for preemption, the necessity of intelligence, and the reality of great-power politics. In each case, a biblical narrative will be compared to an incident in Israeli military history, allowing students to grapple with political, ethical, and strategic themes from historical, religious, and philosophical viewpoints.
Harry Halem holds an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MA (Hons) in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of St Andrews. He is a researcher at the Hudson Institute’s Center for American Seapower and the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum. He is primarily interested in maritime strategy, international security, and the history of political thought.
Philosophy, Politics, and the Hebrew Bible
Dovid Schwartz
Mondays, 7:00–8:30 PM ET
May 2 | May 9 | May 16 | May 23 | May 30
Is there a Jewish theory of politics? By reading three Biblical books—Lamentations, Esther, and Ruth—we will attempt to answer this question. We will consider how the Book of Books approaches issues like national tragedy, individual glory, and future redemption. In doing so, we will better understand our present position. How can Jews succeed in America? What political challenges does the Jew face in Exile? What is the spiritual cost of political gain?
Dovid Schwartz teaches a Great Books course at Heichal Hatorah Yeshiva High School in New Jersey. He graduated from Yeshiva University having majored in Philosophy and minored in Jewish Studies. Before college, Dovid learned at Yeshivat Kerem b’Yavneh and Yeshivat Har Etzion. He has been the recipient of several fellowships from organizations including the Henry Salvatori Center, Hertog Foundation, and Tikvah Fund. Dovid currently lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter and he plans on pursuing a career in law.
The American Presidency
Dr. Tevi Troy
Wednesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM ET
May 4 | May 11 | May 18 | May 25 | Jun. 1
The presidency is an important American institution that deserves serious consideration. For this course, we will be studying presidents from five perspectives: how presidents use intellectuals; how they interact with popular culture; how they handle disaster; how they manage internal strife among their staffs; and how they interact with the State of Israel. By examining modern presidents from these five distinct angles of vision, students will gain a fuller perspective on the American presidency and the men (so far) who have inhabited it. This course will focus on recent presidents, from Ronald Reagan to the present.
Tevi Troy is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a best-selling presidential historian and former White House aide and deputy secretary of health. He is the author of five books including, most recently, Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump, which the Wall Street Journal listed as one of the five best political books of 2020. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Troy was the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service—the second in command and chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government. After receiving his PhD in American Civilization from the University of Texas, Dr. Troy dedicated a dozen years to public service, working at senior levels in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, executive agencies, and the White House. Before coming to HHS, Dr. Troy served as deputy assistant to the President for domestic policy. After leaving government service, Dr. Troy became a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute, where he remains an Adjunct Fellow. He is also the author of over 300 published articles that have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, Mosaic, Commentary, The Atlantic and many other publications.
The Soul of Jewish Creativity:
Five Jewish Artists and What They Teach Us About the World
Prof. Jacob Wisse
Thursdays, 7:00–8:30 PM ET
May 5 | May 12 | May 19 | May 26 | Jun. 2
From its first description of Bezalel, creator of the tabernacle, as endowed with “a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge,” the Hebrew Bible associates the highest form of artistic creativity with divine inspiration. Are there echoes of this level of artistic skill in the modern era? If so, how and with whom can we identify it? What can learn from such artists? This seminar explores the work of five Jewish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries—Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, Marc Chagall, El Lissitzky, Charlotte Salomon, and Boris Schatz—as inheritors and purveyors of this tradition. Looking closely at select examples of their art in tandem with their writings and other contemporary works and texts, we will come to understand what they knew about the world, Judaism, and the Jews.
Jacob Wisse is Associate Professor of Art History at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University. He is the former director of Yeshiva University Museum, where he guided its exhibitions and collections and its educational and public programs. He received his B.A. in Art History from McGill University; an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University; and a Curatorial Studies Degree, jointly from NYU and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He specializes in Jewish art and visual culture, as well as in northern European art of the Renaissance and early modern era. His book on City Painters in the Burgundian Netherlands is to be published by Brepols Press. He lives in Yonkers, NY, with his wife and two daughters.
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