Download Sources

with Dr. Shira Billet, Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought and Ethics, 91�첥 

Ancient philosophers described a political ideal of “civic friendship,” the idea that fellow citizens in a political community ought to pursue a certain kind of bond of friendship, in order to create flourishing societies steeped in a robust social fabric. Dr. Shira Billet explores the central role of notions of civic friendship in traditional Jewish sources. In light of current events in Israel, we will turn our attention to Jewish texts that relate to civic friendship in wartime and in times of crisis, with special connections drawn to the holiday of Hannukah.

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Download Sources

with Rabbi Eliezer Diamond, PhD, Rabbi Judah Nadich Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics 

The Greek philosophers asserted that there are four types of friendship. This model, which was adopted by Maimonides, considered shared joint engagement in intellectual matters the highest form of friendship. Missing from this paradigm is the importance of certain character traits in creating and sustaining friendships. We consider the “four friendships” model and then take a mussar oriented approach to suggest alternative paradigms. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Download Sources

with Rabbi Mychal Springer, Adjunct Professor, 91�첥, and Manager of Clinical Pastoral Education at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City   

Job’s friends come to Job in the midst of his unspeakable losses and try to comfort him. We learn from the Book of Job and explore the challenges of being a good friend when someone is suffering. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Download Sources

What do we owe our neighbors? How much are we obligated to contribute to our cities, our neighborhoods, our streets, and how much can we just take of ourselves and let everyone else take care of themselves? These are modern questions, but they are ancient Jewish questions, too. The Talmud speaks in a different language than we do, so it probes these issues through law and narrative. We read a short passage from the Talmud about what it means to be a good neighbor, and unpack it to see how these questions are broached and what insight the text has to share. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Download Sources

with Dr. Benedicte Sere, Visiting Professor, 91�첥 and Associate Professor of Medieval History, University of Paris Nanterre, Member of the Institut Universitaire de France

This session was generously sponsored by Temple Israel of Albany.

In a world where religious differences have often been a source of division, the concept of friendship emerges as a powerful tool for forging connections, fostering receptiveness to others, and nurturing understanding. Beginning with a discussion of Aristotle’s friendship, followed by several case studies, we investigate how friendship has been actualized and experienced throughout history within the context of interfaith dialogue. We will also consider to what extent an ambivalence about friendship exists in Jewish-Christian relations from the Middle Ages up to the present day.

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship

Download Sources

with Dr. Yael Landman, Assistant Professor of Bible, 91�첥��

This session was generously supported by Rabbi Sherre Hirsch.

From Lucy and Ethel to Thelma and Louise, female friendships have captivated consumers of modern media. Yet if we look to the Hebrew Bible, examples of female friends seem few and far between. This session explores female friendship in the Hebrew Bible by examining relationships (or lack thereof) between biblical women such as Ruth and Naomi, the anonymous daughter of Jephthah and her friends, and Deborah and Yael. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship. 

Download Sources

with Dr. Edna Friedberg, 91�첥 Fellow and senior curator, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum��

This session was generously sponsored by George Goldberg.

During the 1930s and 40s, friendship ties could mean the difference between life and death, refuge and danger. In this session we learn about Americans who went to great lengths to help European Jews in need of escape–whether penpals, exchange students, or total strangers. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship. 

Download Sources

with Dr. David Fishman, Professor of Jewish History, 91�첥��

This session is generously supported by Rona Solberg In Honor of Berna’s and Bill Haberman’s 70th Anniversary.

Imagine two friends surrounded by German soldiers in the forest, with a single pistol in their possession, and one of them hands the pistol to the other, saying: “Abrasha, you should live, you are the greater poet”. This was the depth of friendship between Yiddish poets Abraham Sutzkever and Shmerke Kaczerginski.  They inspired each other to creativity and acts of heroism. We explore their lives together, as fellow inmates of the Vilna ghetto, living in the same room and working in the same slave labor site, and ultimately how their friendship ended in separation after the war. 

About the Series

“Two Are Better Than One:” Friendship in Jewish Text and Tradition  

Friendship is a critical component of our daily lives, our mental health, and our Jewish communal experiences. Ecclesiastes (4:9) posits, “Two are better than one,” underscoring the significance of companionship and partnership in Jewish tradition and the role they play in a life well-lived. Join 91�첥 faculty to explore the concept of friendship through Jewish texts, history, and thought. They will consider friendship in times of joy and times of crisis, both with those in our inner circles and with our neighbors and fellow citizens more broadly.  We also consider some important paradigms for friendship and discuss the values we can distill from these models of friendship.