Workshops

1. Student Workshops in Jewish Philosophical Theology

Since 2013, the Herzl Institute, with the support of the John Templeton Foundation, has been conducting summer student workshops for Jewish and non-Jewish students from leading universities, introducing them to these critical fields of study, and encouraging them to increase their professional and personal interests in these areas.
Workshops are led by Yoram Hazony and Joshua Weinstein, along with guest instructors. Past lecture topics include, “Biblical Political Philosophy and the Question of God’s Rule,” “Is the Biblical God Perfect Being?”, “Biblical Ethics and the Ancient Near East,” “Covenant and Compromise”. Past guest lectures include Eleonore Stump, Jaco Gericke, and Joshua Berman.

The 2017 Student Workshop will take place June 12-22, 2017. For more information click here. To apply click here.

2015 Student Workshop Announcement.
2015 Student Workshop Schedule
2015 Workshop Participants

2014 student workshop announcement
2014 Student Workshop Schedule
2014 Student Workshop Participants

2013 student workshop announcement
2013 Student Workshop Schedule and Participants.

2. Bible and Philosophy Institutes for Rabbis and Jewish Educators

The Herzl Institute, with the support of the John Templeton Foundation will presently launch an annual institute for rabbis and Jewish educators. A Summer Workshop in Theology and Philosophy of the Tanach will be held in Jerusalem, August 1-4, 2016 and a Workshop in Hebrew will be held August 7-9 in Jerusalem.
The workshops seek to deepen the understanding of rabbinic students and Jewish educators in the philosophical investigation of theological topics, including basic issues in academic philosophy, theology and science relevant to contemporary theology.
Program announcements for future workshops will be posted on our biblephilos listserv. To subscribe, click here.

“Teaching Tanach as a Source of Theology and Philosophy” (English Workshop) August 1-4, 2016
Workshop Announcement
Workshop Schedule
Workshop Participants

“Philosophy and Theology of the Bible” (Hebrew Workshop) August 7-9, 2016
Workshop Announcement
Workshop Schedule
Workshop Participants

All Herzl Institute student programs introduce students to fields of study not readily available in any other academic or theological study environment. Few academic institutions, whether in Israel or internationally, presently offer even a single undergraduate or graduate course in subjects such as:

• Ideas of the Hebrew Bible.
• Ideas of the Talmud.
• Jewish Political Philosophy.
• Jewish Ethics.
• History of Jewish Ideas in the West.
• History of Zionist Ideas.
• Constructive Jewish Theology.
• Judaism and Philosophy.
• Judaism and Science.

Herzl Institute scholars pioneered university-level instruction in these areas, conducting programs in philosophy and Jewish texts for college students from 1990 to 1994 within the framework of the Israel Academy of Liberal Arts (IALA), and from 1994 to 2012 at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. Since 1990, more than a thousand students have participated in these innovative programs, and their influence can now be felt in the work of many Jewish educational organizations and institutions.