Shalom Hartman Institute Welcomes Dr. Claire E. Sufrin as Editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas featuring informed conversations, and thoughtful disagreement on Jewish issues that matter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, New York –When the Fall 2022 issue of the Sources Journal hits people’s mailboxes, there will be a new name on the masthead. Sufrin, recently named Editor of Sources, the Shalom Hartman Institute’s scholarly publication of Jewish ideas, is also co-editor of The New Jewish Canon, a collection of the most significant Jewish ideas and debates of the past two generations.
This issue of Sources, Sufrin’s first and the Institute’s fourth, opens with essays on Zionism from Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, Dr. Donniel Hartman, Dr. Mijal Bitton, and Dr. Masua Sagiv who delve into topics ranging from political liberalism to Jewish solidarity to Israeli national identity, to Jewish perspectives on power.
Also included is a roundtable discussion addressing how a Jewish community might recover after discovering a sexual predator in its midst. The issue closes with a series of meditations on the Shema, the most well-known Jewish prayer, by philosopher Dr. Samuel Fleishhacker.
When the opportunity to edit Sources arose, Sufrin’s love of Judaism as an intellectual project led her to say yes: “Just as collections of Midrash preserve multiple conflicting interpretations of biblical stories, Judaism not only tolerates but at times seems to encourage conversation and even disagreement …in pursuit of finding meaning and defining values.”
Her unique perspective introduces traditional Jewish ideas to explain the social and emotional ethos of this moment:
“The definition of a scholar has expanded to include women and others whose voices are largely missing from the Talmud... Sources exists to nurture and curate conversation about the issues motivating and perplexing Jews today and the ideas that they find themselves turning over and over."
Before joining Hartman, Sufrin taught for 12 years at the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern University. She holds a BA in Religious Studies from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Stanford University.
The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. The Institute is committed to the big relevant ideas impacting Jewish communities today and to ensuring that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century.
To interview Dr. Sufrin and any Sources contributors, email: Jan.greenfield@shalomhartman.org
