Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”  

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With Dr. Arnold Eisen, Chancellor Emeritus; Professor of Jewish Thought, 91¿ì²¥, and 
E.J. Dionne, Journalist, Harriman Chair in American Governance, Brookings Institute

A frank and wide-ranging conversation between two admirers of these great religious leaders  about the fateful linkage of politics to prophecy in America from the “greatest generationâ€� until our own day. Focusing on the intertwined legacies of Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Reinhold Niebuhr, the discussion will explore how their distinct approaches to prophecy, justice, and political responsibility continue to shape American public life. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”  

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With Rabbi Benjamin Resnick, Author of Next Stop, Rabbi Pelham Jewish Center, Rabbinical School Alum 

For decades, Jewish American literature was defined by giants like Roth, Bellow, Malamud, and Ozick, whose novels explored assimilation and the immigrant experience. But what defines Jewish American writing today? Author and 91¿ì²¥ alum Rabbi Benjamin Resnick reflects on how the field has changed and asks whether the Jewish American novel still exists in the way readers once understood it. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Further Reading
Shalom Spiegel, Amos vs. Amaziah, reprinted in Judah Goldin. ed. The Jewish Expression (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), pp. 39-65. (Amos vs. Amaziah was originally published in 1958 by 91¿ì²¥ as an independent small monograph).

Shira Billet, “Harry S. Truman’s Bible and Earl Warren’s Talmud: A Forgotten Story in the Encounter Between American Law and Jewish Studies,” Diné Israel: Studies in Halakha and Jewish Law, vol. 38 (2024), pp. 11-36.

With Dr. Shira Billet, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, 91¿ì²¥

In the decades after World War II, Jewish American legal thinkers began drawing on biblical and rabbinic stories to help explore fundamental questions of constitutional interpretation. The work of Robert Cover in the 1980s, first developed in the context of the Vietnam war, is the most famous and influential example. But lesser-known figures such as Edmund Cahn and 91¿ì²¥ professor Shalom Spiegel began developing this discourse in the context of the postwar moment in 1950s America, and the civil rights movement that emerged in its wake.

Dr. Shira Billet examines how these figures, and others, brought Jewish narrative traditions into American law schools and legal thought, shaping new ways of thinking about law, interpretation, and the relationship between law and ethics. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”  

Download Sources

With Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, 91¿ì²¥

How do judges settle cases when there is no clear right answer? How are precedents mined for new rulings? Should laws be the product of a legislator’s own creativity, or are there other sources for legal truth that need to be turned to first? These are all questions that have animated both contemporary American and late ancient rabbinic legal thinkers.

In this session, we will put ideas and concepts from U.S. legal theory into conversation with rabbinic texts to illuminate different approaches to the challenges of legal decision-making. We will discuss some of the ways the ancient rabbis responded to those challenges and the legacy those approaches have left in Jewish thought and culture. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”  

With Dr. Jack Wertheimer, Joseph and Martha Mendelson Emeritus Professor of American Jewish History, 91¿ì²¥

Within the first decade of his 91¿ì²¥ presidency, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein energetically launched a broad range of new initiatives.  His efforts garnered widespread attention and even an adulatory cover story in Time magazine. They also prompted sharp public challenges from some of his closest colleagues.

This session examines his distinctive leadership style, the debates he provoked, and the reasons his legacy might be ripe for reconsideration. Dr. Jack Wertheimer, Emeritus Professor of American Jewish History, will present research from his forthcoming biography of Finkelstein. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: Jewish Ideas and the American Experiment”  

Download Sources

With Dr. Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, 91¿ì²¥

Baseball has long been called America’s pastime—but what happens when we read the game through the lens of philosophy, theology, halacha and aggadah? This session explores the striking parallels between rabbinic interpretation and the rules, debates, and evolving traditions that shape baseball—from classic arguments over judgment calls to today’s introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, which raises new questions about authority, precision, and the role of human interpretation.

Through stories of Jewish players, fans, and cultural figures—and with insights from Rabbi Robbie Harris, known as the “rabbi of the right field bleachersâ€� for the New York Yankees—we’ll uncover how meaning is constructed both on the field and in the beit midrash. Expect a lively conversation that brings together sport, text, and the enduring Jewish love of argument. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the 91¿ì²¥ Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between Jewish thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how Jewish ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped—and been shaped by—the American experiment. 

Sources for sessions can be found here.