In case you missed it, the lobby in Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center has been renovated! The renovation took place over the summer 2021 and it’s looking bright, beautiful and ready to be used. Visit the Center at 96 Wentworth Street.
The Jewish Studies Endowed Scholarship is an exciting new opportunity for supporters to help offset tuition costs for students pursuing Jewish education at the College of Charleston. The Endowed Scholarship can provide flexible, needs-based awards at any point during a student’s time at CofC. $1,000-$2,000 per year can be the deciding factor for a student and their families when deciding which college to attend. Awards from the Endowed Scholarship can help match offers from other schools and provide the push needed to attract students from all over the country.
We know that the College of Charleston and Charleston Jewish communities are invested and eager to help make our city a destination for motivated young Jewish scholars. To that end, we’ve set up the Endowed Scholarship to use a crowdfunding model so that all of us — parents, alumni, and members of the Jewish community — can come together to support this goal. By making a tax-deductible donation of any amount at any time, you would be directly helping to ease the financial burden of tuition for one or more students who are participating in our program. Jewish Studies alumni have become leaders in the Charleston Jewish community and beyond, so a gift to the Endowed Scholarship is an investment in a strong Jewish future.
To donate go to give.cofc.edu/Jewish-Life and select the Jewish Studies Endowed Scholarship from the drop-down menu OR mail us a check with a note that it is for the Jewish Studies Endowed Scholarship. Contact Kim Browdy at ksbrowdy@cofc.edu with any questions.
Learning is what goes on in colleges and Jewish Studies is at its heart a vibrant academic program, with community outreach a prominent feature of its identity, from the Program’s inception more than thirty years ago. This semester Jewish Studies will re-introduce serious mini-seminars, essentially condensed courses (or highlights of courses) consisting of class sessions devoted to a single topic. Mini-seminars are free and open to the public. Enrollees are expected to secure the required reading, complete all assignments, and to attend all of the class sessions, thereby creating a genuine learning community. The class discussions will assume that enrollees have done the required assignments. The reading assignments will be made available on-line prior to the first class meeting.
Contact Mark Swick for details at swickmn@cofc.edu or 843-953-4930.
This fall, Jewish Studies will offer three mini-seminars; (1) a weekly immersive ulpan class by Professor Noa Weinberg which introduces students to Hebrew, both as a spoken language and as a written one; (2) a three-session exploration by Rabbi Moshe Davis of contemporary issues which help define Modern Orthodoxy; and (3) a three-session “highlights” of Professor Joshua Shanes’ course on Jewish Mysticism.
Jewish Studies is excited to present an impressive slate of community programs this semester. Sunday brunches begin on August 26th as they host Hillel International President and CEO Eric Fingerhut.
Learn more about the exciting Sunday brunches happening this Fall in the Jewish Studies Fall 2018 newsletter.
We are happy to welcome Noa Weinberg to Charleston as our Hebrew Instructor. Noa has a long background in Hebrew instruction, teaching at various ulpanim in Israel. Noa has degrees from the University of Haifa (Media Studies) and Tel Aviv University (Language Instruction). Noa is joined in Charleston by her husband Ori and their young daughter, Ella. Bruchim habaim!
Dr. Ezra Cappell is joining the College of Charleston this fall in a joint appointment as Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of English. Dr. Cappell comes to the College following a career at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he was instrumental in starting a Jewish Studies Program. Dr. Cappell holds degrees from NYU (M.Phil and Ph.D.) as well as City College (M.A.) and Queens College (B.A. magna cum laude). His publications include American Talmud: The Cultural Work of Jewish American Fiction (SUNY Press 2007) and his current project under contract, Off the Derech: Leaving Orthodox Judaism in the Modern World. He is joined by his wife Ilisa and their three young children, Nathan, Aviva, and Liat. Welcome!
Don’t miss out on all the exciting events and news happening in the Jewish Studies Program this Fall!
Jewish Studies Fall 2018 Newsletter
Jewish Studies has a number of new initiatives on the horizon. They will launch the Perlmutter Fellows Program this Fall in order to cultivate students “who embody academic excellence, community involvement, and leadership.”
Learn more about the program in the Jewish Studies Fall 2018 newsletter.
Special thanks to JSP Advisory Board past-Chair Anita Zucker for her lead gift in support of the Perlmutter Fellowship.
A World of Jewish Culture began twenty years ago in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel.
Now celebrating Israel @ 70, the Jewish Studies program is thrilled to present three Israeli films in their Charleston debut. Screenings will be held in Arnold Hall. Admission is $10, with popcorn and refreshments provided.
6/3 at 10AM: Israel at 70 Film Series: Ben Gurion, Epilogue
6/5 at 6PM: Israel at 70 Film Series: Israel – A Home Movie
6/6 at 6PM: Israel at 70 Film Series: The Fifth Heaven
Also taking place back by popular demand, music leaders from Congregation Bet Haverim in Atlanta bring their vibrant voice and spirit to Saffron’s Jewish Coffeehouse for an encore performance. Will Robertson, Gayanne Geurin, Brad Davidorf, and Sarah Zaslaw – singers accompanied by violin, accordion, and guitar – travel the spectrum of eras and places, languages, and moods, honoring facets of the Jewish experience.