PIHT Fall Symposium

The Princeton Institute for Hasidic Thought invites you to join us on Sunday, November 9th at Princeton University for a symposium exploring the role and relevance of Hasidic thinking within the modern intellectual and cultural landscape. Bringing together scholars and students from a range of backgrounds and disciplines, this event aims to foster a dynamic and open conversation around the enduring significance of Hasidic texts, methods, and ideas. Welcoming both those deeply familiar with the Hasidic tradition and those newly curious, we will ask what it means to engage with Hasidic thought today and how it might contribute to rigorous intellectual inquiry and existential reflection.

The symposium will explore three core themes: first, the distinctive content and formal structures of traditional Hasidic learning; second, the value of multiple interpretive frameworks—both scholarly and traditional—in approaching both Hasidic and non-Hasidic texts; and third, a broader exploration of text study as a personal practice, asking how modes of learning can remain rigorous while also becoming more intellectually and existentially meaningful. These themes will serve as entry points into the richness of Hasidic thought and invite participants to consider how its insights might speak to contemporary concerns in philosophy, spirituality, and education. Our aim is not only to deepen understanding of Hasidism as a historical and religious phenomenon, but also to illuminate its potential as a living source of thought and engagement.

In addition to an opening discussion on the nature of Hasidism and the broader vision of the Princeton Institute for Hasidic Thought, the symposium will feature several interactive and interdisciplinary sessions. These include a public chavrusa (paired learning session) exploring the enduring relevance of traditional Jewish learning practices, a panel on alternative pedagogical models in the university setting, and a conversation on the art and implications of translating Hasidic texts, highlighting both how interpretation can open new pathways into complex material and how language itself can give shape to the ineffable. We warmly welcome your participation in what promises to be an engaging and inclusive exploration of thought, tradition, and intellectual possibility.

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS AND SCHEDULE:

Professor Paul Franks (Yale University) Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh (Cambridge University) Professor Ora Wiskind (Michlalah College)

       Professor Olga Litvak (Cornell University) Professor Glenn Dynner (University of Virginia) Dr. Eli Rubin

10-10:30 AM: Breakfast

10:30–10:45 AM: Opening Remarks

10:45–11:45 AM: The Spiritual World of Hasidism: A Historical and Intellectual Overview

Prof. Glenn Dynner (University of Virginia) and Dr. Eli Rubin

12–1 PM: God’s Psychology, Man’s Theology: A Public Chavruta (Text Study) on Kabbalah and Hasidism

Prof. Paul Franks (Yale University) and Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh (Cambridge University)

1:00–2:00 PM  Lunch

2:15–3:30 PM To Render an Inner World: The Responsibilities of Translation in Hasidic Texts (Panel)

Prof. Olga Litvak (Cornell University), Prof. Ora Wiskind (Michlalah College), Dalia Wolfson (Harvard University), Jacob Romm (Yale University)

3:45-4:30 PM Hasidic Study and the Western Academy: A Conversation on Teaching and Learning

Prof Ora Wiskind (Michlalah College) and Adina Goldman (Princeton University)

4:30 PM Closing Remarks

THANK YOU TO OUR CO-SPONSORS:

Chabad of Princeton University, Princeton University Program in Judaic Studies, Princeton University Center for Human Values, Princeton Center for Collaborative History

Sponsorship of an event does not constitute institutional endorsement of the speaker or views presented.