Please note that the program had originally been scheduled to take place in-person, and has now been moved to Zoom from 6:30-8:30 PM.

Expanding the Canon: Transforming Judaism in the 21st Century

Jewish learning has long focused on texts by an elite group of ancient rabbis. What would it mean to radically expand our canon, incorporating the voices of women, Jews of Color, people with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups? JTS scholars will introduce new voices and also offer new lenses through which to read ancient texts. Together we will explore how diversifying our canonical texts can help us create a more inclusive Jewish community. 

keynote presentation

• Chancellor Shuly Rubin Schwartz will deliver the keynote; she will focus on how we can balance teaching canonical texts at JTS while also introducing new voices and new ways to read our traditional texts, as well as highlight how JTS is instrumental in training students who are now doing some terrific work in this area.  To that end, in addition to confirming an outstanding JTS faculty member, we have also confirmed two JTS alumni, and a Rabbinical school student for the program.

Study Sessions Led by JTS Scholars and Alumnae

• Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, will discuss the work that he has done in developing new liturgical texts.
• Heather Miller, Founder, The Multitudes and USCJ Board Member
• Dr. Ora Horn Prouser, CEO and Academic Dean, AJR, will teach new ways of reading biblical text through the lens of disability studies.
• Dr. Michal Raucher, Undergraduate Director and Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, Rutgers University, will focus on new voices in the Jewish community around abortion, highlighting the importance of using ethnography in reading classical texts.

Topics will include

• The God of Whom? Including the Matriarchs in the Amidah
• From Justification to Justice: Jewish Sources on Abortion
• A New Understanding of B’tzelem Elohim: Biblical Text through the Lens of Disability Studies
• Racial Equity is Skin Deep: Exploring Bias in our Texts

Program Schedule

• 6:00–6:30 PM, Welcome and Keynote

• 6:40–7:40 PM, Study Session I (choose from a topic above)

• 7:50–8:30 PM, Closing Panel: Expanding the Canon: What’s at Stake for the Jewish Community for Each of Us?

Click here to register. Learn more at www.jtsa.edu/evening-of-learning-2022.

Program Partners 
Adas Israel Congregation
Agudas Achim Congregation
B’nai Israel Congregation
B'nai Shalom of Olney
Congregation B’nai Tzedek 
Congregation Beth El 
Congregation Har Shalom
Congregation Olam Tikvah 
Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies
Kehilat Shalom
Kol Shalom 
Ohr Kodesh Congregation
Shaare Tefila Congregation
Shaare Torah
Tifereth Israel Congregation
Tikvat Israel Congregation