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�¾��ٳ���Dr. Benjamin D. Sommer, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS

The core of democracy as understood by the framers of the United States Constitution understood it was not just majority rule, but the separation of powers and the rule of law. They designed the American political system to ensure that what power does is distributed among several distinct bodies. Further, they saw to it that none of those bodies is the ultimate authority; instead, they are all subject to a basic law.

We usually associate this understanding good governance with political thinkers in the century prior to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, especially John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu. But these ideas are not only Western ideas. They also appear in classical Jewish literature.

In this session, we will attend to the political philosophy of Sefer Devarim (the Book of Deuteronomy). When we read Deuteronomy in its own cultural context, we’ll see that it emphasizes precisely these two ideas: the diffusion of authority among several bodies of governing officials and the subordination of all these officials to the law. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the JTS 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. 

Join ���ij�Ʒ this August for a special webinar series to help prepare for the Days of Awe. Through conversations with JTS scholars, we will explore themes that shape the High Holiday season, including fear and resilience, prayer and liturgy, and the enduring wisdom of Jewish texts and traditions. These sessions will offer fresh perspectives, thoughtful reflection, and practical insights to help deepen your experience of the High Holidays.

Featuring:

• Dr. Mordecai Schwartz
• Rabbi Naomi Kalish
• Cantor Shoshi Levin Goldberg

Sources for the Sessions Will Appear Here

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, JTS, 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 generation” 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 JTS 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 JTS 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 JTS 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 JTS 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, JTS

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 JTS 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 JTS 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 Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS

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 JTS 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, JTS

Within the first decade of his JTS 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 JTS 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 Dr. Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS

Baseball has long been called America’s pastime—but what happens when we read the game through the lens of philosophy, theology, halakhah, 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 bleachers” 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 JTS 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.