The Zionist Idea

Can we see Zionism as a project of the Jewish people’s collective imagination?

October 28, 2022

October 28, 2022

Rabbi Lauren Berkun is Dean of Rabbanut North America and Senior Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. She is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, graduate of Princeton University with a BA in Religion and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Lauren was a Wexner Graduate Fellow, a CLAL Rabbinic Intern, and a Rabbinic Fellow in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Rabbinic Leadership Initiative. She has also served as the JTS Midwest KOLLOT

iEngage, Israel, Video, Zionism, Diaspora, Ideas for Today, Liberal Zionism

What is the importance of building an ideal society based on an idea, a north-star organizing principle? Can we see Zionism as a project of the Jewish people’s collective imagination?

In her four-part series, Why Israel? Revisiting the Meaning of Zionism, Lauren Berkun explores why Israel should matter to a 21^st century North American Jew. What are some of the most meaningful spiritual and moral visions for Israel today? How can we engage in a nuanced, pluralistic conversation about them? Each class consists of a weekly lecture, text study, and breakout discussion groups.

Other sessions in this series:

Relational Zionism: November 3
Zionism and Power: November 10
Zionism and Overcoming History: November 17

This series is part of Ideas for Today, curated courses by Hartman Institute scholars on the big Jewish ideas of this moment.

The Zionist Idea

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