Conversion Before the Law: Modern Judaism and Religious Freedom

Please join us for this Occasional Workshop on Jewish Law, Thought, and Identity with Princeton Professor of Religion Leora Batnitzky. Traditionally, the requirements to convert to Judaism are twofold: acceptance of the authority of Jewish law and binding oneself to the fate of the Jewish people. This conception of conversion can clash with modern notions of religious freedom that most often center on individual conscience. To explore this tension, and what we might learn about the modern Jewish condition and “religious freedom” from it, Professor Batnitzky’s talk focuses on four cases: the mid-19th century lunacy trial of Warder Cresson in Philadelphia, the 1962 case of Oswald Rufeisen (Brother Daniel) in Israel, the 1970s Langer affair in Israel, and the British Jewish Free School case in 2009.

Leora Batnitzky, Professor of Religion, Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Jewish Studies; Director, Program in Judaic Studies, Princeton University

Register: https://forms.gle/Kc6kxTBGfzwo7pUM6

Cosponsored with the Center for Jewish Studies and the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion.

A kosher lunch will be provided to all registrants at noon.