New publication

Jewish Studies. CJS fellow BL Lancaster, 'The Faces of God: A kabbalistic “myth” and its implications for consciousness' in P. Dennison (Ed.), Perspectives on Consciousness (Nova Science, 2021), 277-317. Further information.

Public lectures, online

Jewish and Muslim Studies. CJS Hon. Research Fellow Michael Hilton announces a new course 'Judaism and Islam: A shared history' that he is leading with Dr Harith Ramli of Edge Hill University. The next session is 'Is every Torah scroll/Quran mushaf the same? ', 25 Jan 2022. Email for further information.

Presentations, Limmud

Jewish Studies. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz (Seeing God in the Bible, Going native: An anthropologist at Limmud, A scream in the night: Isaiah and social justice) and Katja Stuerzenhofecker ('The synagogues were closing, what could we do as women?' British ritual adaptation under COVID-19) will be presenting at Limmud Festival 2021, the UK's largest annual Jewish cultural event taking place on Dec 24-28. Further information.

Screen and Talk

Jewish Studies. The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Department of Drama at Manchester University are pleased to announce that the next Screen & Talk event will be the streaming of ‘Jacob the liar’ (1974) by Frank Beyer. Jacob the Liar was unique in Eastern Bloc film and the original to Peter Kassovitz’s Hollywood remake of 1999 with Robin Williams. In addition to receiving national and international accolades, it was the only East German film to be nominated for an Academy Award. Live online discussion panel with Becker’s biographer Sander L. Gilman (Emory University); Sabine Hake (The University of Texas); the actor, director and author Blanche Kommerell, who shot to fame in her role as Rosa Frankfurter in Frank Beyer’s Jacob the Liar; and Cathy Gelbin (University of Manchester). 2 Feb 2022, 6.30pm GMT, online, register here. In collaboration with Manchester Reform Synagogue. Further information.

Blog entry, Rylands Library

Jewish Studies. Stefania Silvestri has written a blog post 'From Calcutta to Tarcento: Jewish marriage contracts from the collections' for the John Rylands Institute and Library. Further information. 

Blog entry, 50 Jewish Objects

50 Jewish Objects Artwork. As part of the activities of the 50 Jewish Objects project, creative pieces are commissioned for contemporary artists in response to selected artefacts from the John Rylands Library and the research produced by Dr Stefania Silvestri. In the first blogpost by artist Daniel Gouly he discusses the creative processes behind his new commission. Further information.

50 Jewish Objects Exhibition

Jewish studies. Four objects from the 50 Jewish Objects are currently on display in the John Rylands Research Institute and Library gallery. See Stefania Silvestri's blog on the exhibition. Further information.

Gaster seminar

Jewish Studies. This academic year (2021-22) the John Rylands Research Institute will complete the online cataloguing of the codices in Hebrew script in the Rylands Library Manchester. To mark the occasion the John Rylands Research Institute and the Manchester University Centre for Jewish Studies are hosting a series of seminars in autumn 2021 and spring 2022 which will explore aspects of the Rylands Gaster collection, and related collections. The next seminar in the series is by Dr Stefania Silvestri, “Not Only Books: Understanding Artefacts in the Rylands Gaster Collection”. 7 Dec 2021, 2 - 3.30pm, online. Further information.

Post doctorate opportunity, University of Manchester

Call for proposals for post-doctoral fellowship. The Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe offers a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Jewish Studies for two years. The Foundation only allows one application per institution, and so there will be an internal selection process for The University of Manchester. Internal deadline: 1 Dec 2021. Further information.

Bernard Jackson Prize 2021

Postgraduate prize. This prize of £100 is awarded annually to the student with 'the highest grade for a master's dissertation in Jewish Studies' at the University of Manchester. It honours the Centre's second co-director Bernard Jackson. For 2021 it was awarded to Emily Warner for a thesis on 'Levinas and the Feminine Other: What is the significance of the feminine within the face-to-face encounter?’ (Supervisor: Professor Alexander Samely). Further information.

BBC Radio 4, Beyond Belief

Jewish Studies. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz appeared as part of a panel discussion on 'Orthodox Jewish women'. 4.30pm, 29 Nov 2021. Listen again.

Blog, The Conversation

Jewish-Christian relations. CJS fellow Tony Kushner, ‘The Church of England is apologizing for medieval antisemitism – why now?’, The Conversation, 16 July 2021. Further information.

Research paper, Romania

Holocaust Studies. CJS fellow Ion Popa gave a presentation (in person) entitled 'Jewish Dissidence in Romania and the Persecution of Zionists in the First Decade of Communism (1945-1955)' at the Federation of Jewish Community of Romania/Centre for the Study of Romanian Jewish History. 25 November 2021. Further information.

Conference paper, Austria

Holocaust Studies. CJS fellow Ion Popa gave a presentation (online) entitled "Forgotten Archives, Forgotten Stories – The Persecution of Zionists in Communist Romania in the Context of Jewish Dissidence (1945-1955)" at the conference "Precarious Archives, Precarious Voices: Expanding Jewish Narratives from the Margins" organised at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies. 19 November 2021.  Further information.

New publication

Dead Sea Scolls. George Brooke, 'Dead Sea Scrolls' in Walfish BD, Furey C, Römer T, editors, Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (Berlin: de Gruyter, Walter GmbH & Co. 2021). Further information.

Blog entry, Jewish Book Council

Jewish Studies. Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, "‘You Mean Superstitions?’: Exploring the Customs of Orthodox Jewish Women". "'Oh — you mean superstitions?'. This was how most of my interviewees reacted when I asked them about Orthodox Jewish women’s customs and practices..." Further information.

Hebrew manuscripts added to Manchester Digital Collections

Jewish Studies. Over a hundred Hebrew manuscripts have been added to the Manchester Digital Collections at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library. The internationally-renowned Hebrew collections are astonishingly diverse, covering all aspects of Jewish life as lived in Europe, North Africa and further afield. These manuscripts have been digitised and catalogued as part of an ongoing project led by Philip Alexander and Alex Samely. For the first time, expert catalogue descriptions by Research Associate Zsófia Buda, developed from previous work by Alex Samely and Stefania Silvestri, are available alongside ultra-high-quality images of the items themselves. Further information.

Sherman Community Lecture 2021

Jewish Studies. Prof George Brooke (University of Manchester) will give the next Sherman Community Lecture entitled "Questioning Qumran: Judaism and the Dead Sea Scrolls". Thurs 9 Dec 2021 8pm (online). Further information.

Church Times, interview

Jewish Studies. "When I started the ordination course three years ago, I knew there’d be problems... Sure enough, a week or so before my graduation, I was banned by the Chief Rabbi from teaching..." 'Interview: Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, rabbi,' Church Times, 12 Nov 2021. Further information.

Scriptural Encounters

Reading challenging sacred texts. Scriptural Encounters bring together different faiths to debate and discuss controversial topics. This is a new series on Gender Diversity. This session will be led by Prof. Susannah Cornwall of Exeter University as the presenter of Christian texts. 1200-13:30 on zoom. Thu 18 Nov 2021. Further information.