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Shalom Hartman Institute scholars made several presentations at the May 2011 “ Why Be Jewish Gathering ” sponsored by the Samuel Bronfman Foundation  in New York City. The Foundation partnered with Shalom Hartman Institute of North America to facilitate conversations and text study sessions on the theme of Nationhood, Peoplehood and the Question of Collective Identity.

 

Institute President Donniel Hartman opened up the two-day conference by exploring how questions of peoplehood manifest themselves in contemporary Jewish life and the problems inherent in using this language.

 

The Foundation wrote in its newsletter: "Together we asked: should the conventional definition of ‘Jewish peoplehood’ be an assumed end goal?  In a world of intense individualism, can Judaism be defined primarily as a personal and internal experience?  Is a sense of belonging to a Jewish collective even central to how we give meaning and purpose to contemporary Jewish life?  

 

The Bronfman Foundation’s annual Why Be Jewish Gathering “brings together a wide cross-section of Jewish thought leaders to explore the question, “Why Be Jewish?” from an array of perspectives.”

 

Hartman Institute speakers and their topics were: 

Videos of their lectures can be found by clicking here .