Jan 23, 2017
Speaker: Dr. David C. Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics
Program Series: Rabbi Joshua O. Haberman Distinguished Scholar Series
Location: Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, Bethesda
Date: November 3, 2016
Jewish History following the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome has been represented as a history of wandering and homelessness, in which place could not matter because the sacred Jewish place had been left behind. Besides, as Abraham Joshua Heschel argued, Jews build sanctuaries in time, not in space. However, building on his new book Rabbinic Judaism: Space and Place, Dr. Kraemer argues that space and place remained central to Judaism even during its exile. He demonstrates that the "homes" of Judaism were central to Jewish practice throughout the centuries, even before Zionism returned the focus of Judaism to its ancient home.