Join Jewish Theological Seminary for a new weekly learning series with JTS scholars. Mondays from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CDT, October 4 to December 13.

Many of us spend more time at work than anywhere else over the course of our lives—but are we defined by what we do? In this text-based series, JTS scholars will explore ideas about the meaning of work and rest in Jewish tradition, Jewish labor movements, as well as the roles that gender, geography, and shifting economic and social circumstances have played in Jews’ professional paths and our understandings of the meaning and value of work.

Register at the JTS Website for the series. 

Series is offered at no charge, but a donation is suggested.  Sessions will be recorded for later viewing.

SESSIONS AND FACULTY

OCTOBER 4:  
Six Days Shall You Labor: Shabbat and the Meaning of Work 
Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics 

OCTOBER 11:  
Even God Makes Time for Leisure: Rabbinic Narratives about God's Work, Play, and Rest Schedule 
Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz, JTS fellow and assistant professor of Classical Judaism, Fordham University 

OCTOBER 18: 
The Work of Producing the Bible: Training and Writing of the Scribes of Ancient Israel 
Dr. David Carr, Professor of Old Testament, Union Theological Seminary and Dr. Benjamin Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages 

OCTOBER 25: 
The Jewish Middle Class in an Age of Social Justice 
Dr. Nancy Sinkoff, JTS alumna and Professor of Jewish Studies and History,
Rutgers University 

NOVEMBER 1: 
A Nice, Jewish Teacher: How American Elementary Education Became “Women’s Work” 
Dr. Shira Epstein, Dean, William Davidson School and Assistant Professor of Jewish Education 

NOVEMBER 8: 
Jewish Work and Jewish Identity in the Middle Ages 
Dr. Jonathan Ray, JTS alumnus and Samuel Eig Professor of Jewish Studies,
Georgetown University 

NOVEMBER 15: 
If There Is No Bread, There Is No Torah: The Other Careers of the Talmudic Rabbis 
Dr. Rachel Rosenthal, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics 

NOVEMBER 22: 
Work and Social Responsibility: Balancing Financial Well-Being with Care for the Other 
Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics 

NOVEMBER 29: 
Maimonides at Work: A Rabbi's Workday in Medieval Egypt 
Dr. Tamar Marvin, JTS alumna

DECEMBER 6: 
When Matzoh Bakers and Tallis Weavers Went Out on Strike: The Jewish Workers' Movement in Russia 
Dr. David Fishman, Professor of Jewish History 

DECEMBER 13: 
“It is not up to you to finish the work” (Pirkei Avot 2:21): On Striving for the Unattainable 
Dr. Alan Cooper, Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies