Sherman Community Lecture 2025
Jewish studies. The annual Sherman Lecture returns on the 20th May 2025 in the stunning Reading Room at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library. Professor Philip Alexander FBA is Emeritus Professor of Postbiblical Jewish Literature at the University of Manchester, and a founder and former director of its Centre for Jewish Studies. Many of his scholarly interests overlap with those of Gaster, and since 1992 he has worked intensively on the Gaster Collection of manuscripts at the John Rylands Library – the largest single collection of its kind in the world. He will critically survey Gaster’s vast range of interests and activities, and assess his scholarly legacy and his place in Jewish history. Tickets here.
The Peake Lecture 2025
The Book of Hebrews. The Peake Lecture will be given at the Nazarene Theological College on Saturday 22 March by HRF Loveday Alexander and Emeritus Professor Philip Alexander. The title is "Sacrifice and Salvation: Reading Hebrews Today", and the event is scheduled to run from 9.30am-4.00pm. Drinks provided, but bring your own lunch. Register here.
Klezmer performance: Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concert Series
Yiddish music. Susi Evans (clarinet) and Szilvia Csaranko (accordion) perform old Yiddish melodies from a remarkable archive of manuscripts collected in Jewish villages in Ukraine between 1912 to 1914. Thursday 13 March, 1:10-1:55pm at the Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, Martin Harris Centre. Further information.
Manchester Jewish Museum: Museum Evening Talks
Jewish Studies. Professor Philip Alexander shares his journey from a non-Jewish Norther Irish Protestant background to becoming a leading figure in Jewish Studies. His talk will reflect on the challenges he faced in understanding Judaism, his efforts to establish Jewish Studies as a serious academic field in British universities, as well as some of the interesting people he met along the way. He will also explore how the Jewish community in Britain, and particularly Manchester, has changed over the years from his standpoint as an engaged and sympathetic outsider. Thursday 27 March 6-7.30pm at the Manchester Jewish Museum. Tickets and further information here.
Sephardi Modernities Seminar Series 2025
Jewish studies. Moshe Behar will give a lecture as part of the Sephardi Modernities Seminar Series titled, ‘Leftist Arabised Jews, Arab Nationalism and the Question of Individual and Collective Rights.’ Tuesday 11 February, 5:30pm on Zoom. Register here. Further information.
Faculty/School recognition for MA student
Jewish education. Congratulations to Yehudis Fletcher, MA Religions & Theology, who was the School's nominee for the Faculty’s Distinguished Achievement Award: Postgraduate Student of the Year. The criteria was that "the nominee should be an outstanding postgraduate student on a taught programme who has excelled in some significant manner." Yehudis was put forward by SALC for her charitable work and research relating to the place of secular education in the Charedi or so-called ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. Among other things, her charitable foundation published an Education Policy Position paper 9 Sept 2024, supported by Baroness Estelle Morris and Baroness Tessa Blackstone, that has been taken up by the media, including the BBC and the Jewish Press, and is intended to influence the Government’s ‘Children’s Wellbeing Act’.
PhD studentship, AHRC
Jewish History. This AHRC-funded PhD studentship for a collaborative doctoral project with the Manchester Jewish Museum is entitled "Defying Disability in Victorian Jewish Manchester: The Diaries of David Isaacs and Social Marginality in a Minority Community.” The project will be supervised by Daniel Langton. It offers a unique opportunity for the doctoral student to both advance their research and archive skills and also work with a museum on public-facing initiatives. The deadline for complete applications is 13 February, 2025. For more information and contact details for any questions, please see further information.
Lecture, University of Copenhagen
Moshe Behar will give a lecture on ‘Settler Colonial Studies, Terminations of Colonialism, and Ethnonationalism’. 11 December 2024, 14:00 at the University of Copenhagen. Further information.
Klezmer performance
Upcoming concert. Klezmer Klassica will give their first full-length concert to launch their new EP, Klezmer Klassica: Volume 1 and 2. Tuesday 10 December, 7.30pm at the Anthony Burgess Foundation. Tickets and further information here.
Scriptural Encounter 2024
Faith responses to difficult challenges. This series of Scriptural Encounter addresses the question, 'What might be the role of the faith traditions in encouraging measured reconciling solutions?’ We are exploring ways to deal with tensions that arise from our respective Scriptural traditions. The third webinar will be presented by Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth, director of Mosaica, an Israeli NGO advancing community mediation and dialogue and Director Emeritus of the Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution. Thursday 28 November, 4-5.30pm online via Zoom. Registration details here.