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Hanukkah & the Jewish Experience at UVA in the Classroom & Beyond (Virtual)

Hosted By Lifetime Learning
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Event Details
Speakers: James Loeffler, Vanessa Ochs, Jake Rubin

Virtual Event with Live Captioning

As the University of Virginia prepares to “Light the Lawn” and the Jewish community kindles its Hanukkah lights, join Lifetime Learning and a panel of UVA Jewish leaders to discuss Hanukkah, UVA’s Jewish Studies department, and Jewish life at the university today.

A panel of distinguished experts will speak to the current Jewish experience at UVA, the relationship between Jewish Studies and Jewish student life, and the Jewish Charlottesville community. The panel consists of the University of Virginia’s James Loeffler, the Jay Berkovitz Professor of Jewish History and the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of the Jewish Studies Program; Rabbi Vanessa Ochs, Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies; and Rabbi Jake Rubin, (Col ’02) Executive Director of the Brody Jewish Center (Hillel).

This #faculty #digitalevent is #open to all alumni, friends, and families.

Faculty Speakers

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James Loeffler, Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History and the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies

James Loeffler is the Jay Berkowitz Professor of Jewish History at the University of Virginia, where he also serves as the Ida and Nathan Kolodiz Director of the Jewish Studies Program. Between 2013 and 2015 he was a Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellow in International Law and Dean’s Visiting Scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center. At UVA he teaches courses in Jewish and European history, Russian and East European history, international legal history, and the history of human rights. He is a co-convenor of the UVA Human Rights Research Network, a faculty partner in the UVA Religion, Race & Democracy Lab, and co-editor of the Association for Jewish Studies Review. In 2020, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research.

Vanessa Ochs, Professor and Rabbi, Department of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies Program, University of Virginia

Rabbi Vanessa Ochs is a Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and a core member of the Jewish Studies program. Rabbi Ochs teaches courses on Jewish feminism, Jewish weddings, the Passover Haggadah, ethnographic fieldwork in religion, and spiritual writing. She is the Chair of the Professional Consulting Committee: UVA Chaplaincy Services and Pastoral Education at UVA Health System.

Jake Rubin, Rabbi and Executive Director of Brody Jewish Center, University of Virginia

Rabbi Jake Rubin (Col ’02) has served as the Executive Director of the Brody Jewish Center at the University of Virginia since 2009. During his tenure, Rabbi Rubin has served as the President of the United Ministries at UVA, a coach for new Hillel directors, a member of the Executive Committee of Hillel International’s Board of Directors, and Chair of Hillel International’s Directors Cabinet. He was awarded the Cohen Fellowship as well as the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence award for his contributions to the Hillel movement.