On March 15th
Department Chair of Religion at George Washington University,
Robert Eisen joined the Rumi Forum for a presentation on Jews and
how they have survived centuries of persecution and thrived in the
West.
Over
time, Jews have endured great hardships and overcome challenging
obstacles in order to be a successful minority religion in the
West. Today, Jews make up roughly 2% of the total population in
North America while other Western countries such as France (2%),
and the United Kingdom (2%) retain similar shares of the global
Jewish population. From the adversities that accompany maintaining
a religious minority identity, Jews have amassed achievements in
economic, intellectual and artistic spheres. In this talk,
Professor Robert Eisen will share insights from a book he is
currently writing about this occurrence. He will explain from an
academic standpoint how Jewish religion and culture evolved over
the centuries and prepared Jews for the challenges of the modern
period. He will also attempt to share insights about what people
from other cultures can learn from the success of Jews in the
modern West.
Speaker:
Robert
Eisen is a Professor of Religion and Judaic Studies and Chair of
the Department of Religion. The focus of his most recent research
approaches to peace and violence in Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam. Eisen is the author of four books that reflect his varied
interests: Gersonides on Providence, Covenant, and the Chosen
People (State University of New York Press, 1995); The Book of Job
in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2004); The
Peace and Violence of Judaism: From the Bible to Modern Zionism
(Oxford University Press, 2011); Religious Zionism, Jewish Law, and
the Morality of War (Oxford University Press, 2017). He also
co-edited Philosophers and the Jewish Bible (University of Maryland
Press, 2008) with Charles Manekin. Eisen is currently working on a
book about why Jews have been remarkably successful in the modern
Western world economically, intellectually, and culturally. Eisen
has received a number of grants and awards to support his research,
including a Fulbright research grant at the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem in 1999-2000. He was also given a teaching award in 2005
from George Washington University in recognition of his
contributions in the classroom. Eisen is active in adult education
initiatives. He served from 1991-2008 on the Board of Directors for
the Foundation for Jewish Studies which brings lecturers to
Washington from academic institutions all over the world.