Students Take Stage at Symposium

Last Sunday’s all-day Students-and-Scholars symposium at Johns Hopkins University turned the tables on both standard academic conferences and typical Jewish educational events by having students present original papers on topics of their choosing. Rabbis and distinguished academics listened, commented, and finally voted on a winning paper.

Responding to the theme, “Ancient Ethics in a Postmodern World,” the papers touched on matters dealing with philosophy, the Internet, end of life issues, civil liberties and democracy, and the basis of scriptural belief itself. The atmosphere at the symposium, which was sponsored by the Sinai Scholars Society and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, was supportive, friendly and constructive – even when students presented ideas that were bound to raise a few eyebrows, if not hackles, among some in the audience.

“Unlike man oral presentations, the student’s talks were not meant to be a defense of their work, but rather an opportunity to receive construction feedback on the ideas raised in the paper, and to spur a conversation about these ideas,” said Rabbi Yitzchak Dubov, director of the Sinai Scholars Society. Discussions following the talks were lively and often spiced with humor. The academic panelists often urged students to dig deeper or follow up on related research.

The winning paper was presented by Aden Ratner-Stauber, 23, a graduate student in clinical psychology at New York University. Ratner-Stauber, who grew up in Los Angeles and is distantly related to Sigmund Freud on her mother’s side, makes the case that behind Freud’s secularism and outright rejection of Judaism lies a core concept about the subconscious that corresponds to the teachings of Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah as laid out by the 18th century Jewish scholar, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.

“It’s really beautiful to see a fusion of academia and Judaism in a way in which you can use your strengths and your passions to further Jewish thought and knowledge,” she said.

Professor Naftali Loewenthal of University College London flew to Baltimore from England to be part of the academic panel. He told an observer that he especially appreciated the fact that students took time out amid all the pressures of their exams and assignments to participate. “And then they write something about Judaism, they research it and they work on it, this is really impressive to me.”

The academic panel also included professors Beatrice Lang Caplan of Johns Hopkins, Jan Feldman of the University of Vermont, Lewis Glinert of Dartmouth, and Steven Harvey of Bar-Ilan University, a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins. The program featured talks by the panelists on their special areas of interest.

Feldman, who spoke about “Judaism, Islam, and Women’s Rights,” said she liked the opportunity to keep her finger on the pulse of Jewish student thinking. “You don’t have the opportunity to incorporate students into most academic conferences,” she said.

For graduate film student Andrew Aidman, 25, presenting at the symposium was an opportunity to gain experience and confidence in speaking and teaching. After speaking at last year’s conference, he said, “I got this really positive feedback and I felt like, okay, I can do this.” The University of Southern California student now regularly teaches about Judaism, and gave daily classes during a Birthright trip to Israel.

Stephanie DeCross said that for her the symposium was “a once in a lifetime experience to have a bunch of other Jewish students together who are so invested in topics they are very passionate about.” The 21-year-old Dartmouth student said she had enjoyed the challenge of being exposed to viewpoints other than her own through the Sinai Scholars program, the on-campus course that leads up to the Student-and-Scholars Symposium.

As the conference drew to a close, ending with dinner and an awards ceremony at which Ratner-Stauber was announced winner of the $500 prize, students who may have met only that morning were chatting like old friends.

Their papers will be printed in the Sinai Scholars Journal, which is sent out to universities across the country. Many of the students will continue to refine and develop the papers in the coming months.

Commenting on the papers, Feldman laughed and said, “It may raise my expectations in terms of my own students’ performance.”

The Sinai Scholars Society, a joint project of Chabad on Campus and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), provides a fresh and exciting context for Jewish life and learning on college campuses by integrating the study of classic Jewish texts, social programming, and national networking opportunities. The curriculum addresses important issues in modern life in light of ancient sources, and provides an opportunity to join a discussion that stretches across three millennia. For a list of affiliated campuses, go to http://www.sinaischolars.com.