Chanukah O' Chanukah!

This episode on Jewanced, we take a deep dive into everything Chanukah with Rabbi Prof. Jeffrey Woolf as we dig into real story behind how and why Jews celebrate the iconic 8-day festival of lights and the holiday’s fascinating evolution throughout the ages. We also ponder its meaning as we find parallel themes between the uncertainty and unrest of its ancient era to our current social and political landscape.

Rabbi Prof. Jeffrey R. Woolf is an internationally known scholar, lecturer and public figure. He is an Associate Professor in the Talmud Department at Bar-Ilan University, specializing in the History of Halakhah, Medieval and Renaissance Jewish History, the Philosophy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and the inter-action between Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

He received his PhD in Medieval Jewish History at Harvard University and spent two years at Yale University as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. Rabbi Woolf studied for nine and a half years under Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik זצ”ל, from whom he received semikhah (rabbinic ordination) in 1982.

He is a leading advocate and spokesman for Modern Orthodoxy. In Israel, he is a member of the Executive Committee of Maaleh: The Center for Religious Zionism and served on the Central Committee of Israel’s Bayt Yehudi (Jewish Home) Party.

Rabbi Dr. Woolf is a much sought-after lecturer, addressing a broad swath of issues and topics. Proficient in five languages (English, Hebrew, French, Italian, German), he has lectured throughout Israel, North America, and Europe. He is frequently interviewed in the media, both in Israel and abroad. 

He has edited three books, among them the most recent translation of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s classic work, Kol Dodi Dofeq. His latest book was The Fabric of Religious Life in Medieval Ashkenaz (1000-1300), Leiden 2015. He is presently working on a book of essays on Israeli Orthodoxy and its encounter with modernity.

Links:

@JeffreyWoolf on Twitter

Rabbi Woolf on Academia.edu, containing a selection of published papers, book reviews, talks, and other posts.

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