Freedoms and Challenges 2021

  

|  Schedule |  Recorded Presentation |  Instructor Bio |

 

Welcome!

Thank you for registering for the online course, Freedoms and Challenges: America’s Earliest Jewish Communities, 1650–1840!

American Jewish history begins over 100 years before the United States was founded, and the experiences of the earliest Jews lay out the foundational themes of America itself. In this course we will explore the writings, architecture, ideas, and daily lives of American’s earliest Jewish individuals and communities—lives that were vigorous, variegated, and experimental. Issues they faced still concern us today: desires of individuals v. communities; the relationships of different communities to one another; how experiences differ by generation, geography, and gender; and the overall strategies, choices, and responses we make in creating and securing our identities in a nation that does not fully define them for us. Join us in a lively and meaningful exploration of America’s earliest Jewish communities and individuals, and see how very much alive they feel today.

This course includes four 90-minute classes; exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation; and in-depth Q&A sessions with the instructors.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Return to this page often for additional resources! You will have access to all the material on this page from the time you register until June 30, 2021.

Course Activity	Dates of Access	Description
Class #1
Class #1: Online presentation (live!)	3/2/2021, 4:00 PM eastern time	Accidents and Opportunities Jews came to America perhaps accidentally, but they shaped their lives and communities here in full recognition of the freedoms and challenges America provides. In this first class we will examine the European and South American precursor experiences that brought Jews to American shores, and begin to examine the choices early American Jews made regarding their faith, their interaction with other transplanted European cultures, and their interactions with one another. How did Jews understand themselves in this truly new world? How were they understood and seen by others? What might we learn from them over 350 years later?
Video of Class #1	starting 3/3/2021	Watch the first class presentation. Available exclusively to course participants.
Class #2
Class #2: Online presentation (live!)	3/16/2021, 4:00 PM eastern time	Promise or Peril? The Jewish and life journeys of Judah Monis, Moses Michael Hays, and Abigail Levy Franks provide three compelling tales of how Jews in early America shaped their Jewish lives. One converted to Christianity; one thrived in the “first circles of society;” and one struggled to keep kosher and mourned a daughter’s intermarriage, even while hailing the opportunities America provided to the family. Heartbreak, heritage, and freedom of choice will frame our consideration of paths taken—and not—by these early American Jews.  Note: To attend, return to your confirmation email received at the time of registration with a link to the live event. If you are unable to attend the live event a recording will be posted to this page, the following day (see below).
Video of Class #2	starting 3/17/2021	Watch the second class presentation. Available exclusively to course participants.
Class #3
Class #3: Online presentation (live!)	3/23/2021, 4:00 PM eastern time	American and Jewish Revolutions The late 18th century establishment of the United States was unique in not imposing a state religion on its citizens. People of all faiths—including Jews—were free to exercise their religion without pressure or penalty. Jews in America understood this as a revolution, indeed. But as in many revolutions, fracturing as well as unity could result. In this session we will explore the creative and diverging ways in which the growing Jewish population began to organize, define, and express itself, with a particular focus on New York City and Rhode Island. Note: To attend, return to your confirmation email received at the time of registration with a link to the live event. If you are unable to attend the live event a recording will be posted to this page, the following day (see below).
Video of Class #3	starting 3/24/2021	Watch the third class presentation. Available exclusively to course participants.
Class #4
Class #4: Online presentation (live!)	3/25/2021, 4:00 PM eastern time	Beyond the Northeast Before the American Revolution, most of the Jewish people in America lived in New York City or in small communities the American South. After the Revolution, as more Jews arrived and Jewish communities began to spread beyond the Alleghenies, the nature of American Jewish communities took on many looks—and looked different from life in New York. We will end the course traveling (virtually) to small-town Jewish America, and to exploring the growing diversity of American Jewish experiences. And together we will consider the lessons and insights we can gain for our own lives from the beginnings of Jewish life in America.   Note: To attend, return to your confirmation email received at the time of registration with a link to the live event. If you are unable to attend the live event a recording will be posted to this page, the following day (see below).
Video of Class #4	starting 3/26/2021	Watch the fourth class presentation. Available exclusively to course participants.

 

RECORDED PRESENTATIONS

Class 1: Accidents and Opportunities
Presented by: Ellen Smith  
Running Time: 1:26:05  
Live Broadcast: March 2, 2021

Class 2: Promise or Peril?
Presented by: Ellen Smith  
Running Time: 1:25:57  
Live Broadcast: March 16, 2021

Class 3: American and Jewish Revolutions
Presented by: Ellen Smith  
Running Time: 1:25:36  
Live Broadcast: March 23, 2021

Class 4: Beyond the Northeast
Presented by: Ellen Smith  
Running Time: 1:24:28  
Live Broadcast: March 25, 2021

INSTRUCTOR BIO

Ellen Smith (esmith2@brandeis.edu), Professor Emerita of Brandeis University, retired as Director of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University in September 2020, where she also taught in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and the Heller School for Social Management. Trained as both a professional historian and a museum curator, she has produced over three dozen books, articles, and museum exhibitions on American Jewish history, including three major exhibitions on Boston Jewish history. She is the co-author and editor, with Jonathan D. Sarna, of The Jews of Boston, and was the chief consultant to the Emmy award-winning WGBH (PBS) television show of the same name. Ellen is a past Curator of the American Jewish Historical Society, and was the Chief Curator in the planning stage of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. She has advised Jewish preservation projects across the country, including locally at Boston’s Vilna Shul. Ellen is a past president of the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, and is on the Board of Care Dimensions, the largest hospice provider in the northeast.

COURSE HANDOUTS

Class 1 Slides Worksheet
Class 1 Slides (large)
Class 2 Slides Worksheet
Class 2 Slides (large)
Class 3 Slides Worksheet
Class 3 Slides (large)
Class 4 Slides Worksheet
Class 4 Slides (large)

RESOURCES

Further Reading & Resources

Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center