Modern manifestations of idolatry seems a rather lofty topic for a Sunday-morning conversation, but that’s exactly what dozens of people gathered at Lubavitch House at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelpia were deliberating not too long ago.
Judaism’s ancient prohibition on idol worship was just one of the subjects touched upon last month at the seventh annual Sinai Scholars Society Academic Symposium, a prestigious event that brings together Jewish college students with noted Jewish academics for a day of in-depth discussion and debate. Presenting student research papers chosen by a respected panel, participants displayed their scholarship on a host of Jewish topics—from the Jewish viewpoint on happiness and fulfillment to the implications of demographic shifts in the population of Israel.
“The symposium gives participating students a very valuable experience,” says Rabbi Dr. Lawrence H. Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic studies at New York University and a world-renowned biblical scholar, who served on the academic panel that judged the winning paper. “It’s not easy for the students. They present their research and field questions from true scholars in the field, as well as other students and rabbis; it’s almost like a dissertation defense.”
The Sinai Scholars Symposium serves as the culmination of the “Mentor-Protégé Program,” which pairs budding young scholars with experts in their field of interest. The mentors guide the students in their exploration of Jewish topics, sharing their own erudition and advice.
For college senior Sam Venis, a philosophy major at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, the chance to study a Jewish subject in a substantive and serious way proved a welcome opportunity. Work done on his winning paper, titled “The Psyche of the Idolater and Modern Man,” illustrated the differences and similarities between the study of philosophy and Torah.
“Both philosophy and religion focus on the same ideas, but approach them in two different ways,” explains Venis. “I was able to see how Judaism impacts personal meaning and my day-to-day life. It was great to learn about and recognize that I’m part of this great tradition.”
This year’s finalists were Samantha Lynne Friedman, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; Ariel Rubinstein, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Brianna Bailey, Arizona State University; and Dylan Thomas, University of California, Berkeley.
Venis, the winner, was presented with the Sinai Scholars Jewish Academic Innovation Award.
‘Something That Connects Each Student’
Sinai Scholars Society is a joint project of Chabad on Campus International and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), with more than 100 chapters throughout North America. The society invites students to partake in serious Jewish study, meeting eight times over the course of a semester and following a curriculum that applies each of the Ten Commandments to daily life.
To date, more than 15,000 students have taken part in the program.
“Sinai Scholars gives students the chance to engage with the text in an analytical way, something which they might not have had previously,” explains Rabbi Levi Haskelevich, the on-site campus rabbi at the Lubavitch House at Penn.
“For some, Sinai Scholars is completely life-changing,” says Chloe Landry, who participated in the program led by Rabbi Yisrael Bernath at Concordia University in Montreal. “They may have grown up with little to no Jewish education and may feel that they have no connection to Judaism whatsoever. Over the course of eight weeks, that lack of connection profoundly changes. They realize that even though their opinions may diverge, there is something that connects each student—and that is their Judaism.”
Sinai Scholar’s director, Rabbi Dubi Rabinowitz, adds that “students are able to take their learning to another level.”
The yearly symposium, which in the past has taken place at New York University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University and Dartmouth College, allows students the chance to expand their Jewish studies and then share what they learned with influential Jewish academics. In addition to Schiffman, the panel this year included Dr. Jan Feldman, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont; Dr. Michael Carasik, professor of biblical Hebrew at the University of Pennsylvania; Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe, dean of the Institute of American Talmudic Law in New York; and Dr. Simcha Leibovich, North American representative of the World Zionist Organization.
“Sinai Scholars and the symposium encourage students not to think that their academic pursuits end at the classroom door,” says Rabbi Yossy Gordon, executive vice president of Chabad on Campus International. “College is a time for positive individual growth, and actively furthering their Jewish education should play a central role in that.”
‘Sort of a Bridge’
This was the second time that the event was held at Lubavitch House, Chabad’s base at Penn. The center, which is directed by the president of Chabad on Campus International, Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, has just undergone a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation; the symposium was one of the first events held in the new space.
The daylong event drew academics, rabbis and students from the campus, offering stimulating intellectual debate, and unique modern applications of ancient and eternal ideas along with their bagels and lox. Opening with remarks by Haskelevich, participants heard from both the students and the panelists, with lively debate and conversation peppering the afternoon’s proceedings. In attendance were Rabbi Ephraim Mintz, executive director of JLI; Rabbi Ephraim Levin of Lubavitch at Penn; Rabbi Moshe Chaim Dubrowski of Chabad on Campus International; and Rabbi Zalman Abraham of JLI.
“Events such as this show students that Judaism can stand up in an academic setting,” says Schiffman. “University professors teach in a dispassionate way, and religion is taught in an active and participatory way. This symposium serves as sort of a bridge.”
It was organized by Rabinowitz and Devora Leah Notik of Sinai Scholars, in addition to Haskelevich and Rabbi Shmuel Weiss of McGill University in Montreal.
“The symposium is unique because it considers Jewish beliefs from a rational and academic perspective,” adds Abraham. “It’s rare for Torah to be discussed in an academic forum; instead of being dismissed as archaic, it’s being seriously debated by prominent scholars. As an audience member, it was invigorating to hear a discussion about the struggle between intellect and emotion—that eternal Jewish struggle—in such a frank manner.”
Ultimately, for Venis, from Queen’s University, the study of classical Jewish thought pointed him towards the underlying core difference between Athens and Jerusalem.
“In Judaism, you see philosophy incarnated,” he explains. “The value of thought can only go so far, and is only helpful as much as it affects the individual. It really is a living tradition.”
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