Lauren Berkun
Rabbi Lauren Berkun is a Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she directs Rabbinic Initiatives and is a member of the senior executive team. She also oversees staff education, training and curriculum development for Hartman’s iEngage project. 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
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 21st 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.
