Scroll Up

Stu Halpern, senior adviser to the provost, speaks with Dr. Michel Rosenfeld, University Professor of Law and Comparative Democracy; Justice Sydney L. Robins Professor of Human Rights; and Director of the Program on Global and Comparative Constitutional Theory at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. They discuss “The Conscience Wars: Rethinking the Balance Between Religion, Identity and Equality,” a book co-edited by Rosenfeld and Susanna Mancini, the Chair of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Bologna School of Law. The book comes out of their observation about the “profound change over time in how conscience claims are used to claim exemptions from the law.”

Dr. Daniel Rynhold, professor in modern Jewish philosophy at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, director of the Revel doctoral program and director of the Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College, discusses Nietzsche, Soloveitchik, and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy, co-written with Michael J. Harris, with Rabb Dr. Stu Halpern, senior adviser to the provost. In their discussion, Dr. Rynhold touches upon how Rabbi Jospeh Soloveitchik's effort to find the meaning of faith in the world was sharpened by having to confront Friedrich Nietzsche's savage critique of Christian theology. Though coming from opposed points of view, both men were committed to finding out how to craft a life that had meaning and value.

Dr. Jeffrey Gurock, Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History, talks with Rabbi Dr. Stu Halpern, senior adviser to the provost, about his book, Conversations with Colleagues: On Becoming an American Jewish Historian, where Dr. Gurock edited contributions by 16 historians of American Jewish life speaking about their intellectual journeys. In their discussion, they range over many subjects, from the migrations of the first cohort of Jews to the United States to the necessity for knowing about baseball in order to be an effective rabbi.

Dr. Steven Fine, the Dean Pinkhos Churgin Professor of Jewish History and founding Director of the Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies, interviews Stern College for Women alumna Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich about her latest book, Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Stories and Scriptures That Shaped Early Judaism (JPS).

How does wrestling with God bring us closer to religion? Is man today striving to rebuild Eden, or just another Tower of Babel? What is it like balancing a life of faith with a life in Hollywood? Join Stephen Tobolowsky, actor, director, and author of many books including "My Adventures with God," as he sits down at Yeshiva University with Jordyn Kaufman to discuss his journey with faith, the value behind having doubts about God, praying on the road, embracing the past to look to the future, his life in Hollywood, and what makes a story successful- much like the one he tells here.