The place of Devorah in Jewish literary history, nature's role in the Song of Songs, Emancipation's influence on 19th century Jewish genre painting-these are some of the thesis topics tackled by this year's master's students to demonstrate entrance into the world of independent scholarship.

"Rather than writing a paper to fulfill a teacher's needs, these students are claiming an area as their own," says Provost Barry Mesch, Stone/Teplow Families' Professor of Jewish Thought, who teaches the graduate research seminar. "As they demonstrate mastery over the subject, they also demonstrate a form of independent scholarship." Eight students will present their theses in May as the final requirement for earning a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies (MAJS) this spring. The following overviews of three thesis topics represent the range of depth and breadth of the presentations.

Trends in women's ritual participation in Orthodox inclusive minyanim is the focus of Sharon Strosberg, one of two graduating online MAJS students. Strosberg conducted an ethnographic study of inclusive minyanim located in the northeast, the west coast and Israel to examine how women are now included in some prayer ritual and Torah reading. Brought up in a traditional home, she used her research as an opportunity to fuse her personal interests with her studies of feminist literature.

Visual images of the Twelve Lost Tribes of Israel fascinate Deborah Feinstein. A museum curator for 20 years with a graduate degree in Islamic Art, Feinstein examines "Echoing Images"-how images of the tribes have evolved and how these images relate to Jewish national identity. Her thesis presentation includes her original artwork, adapting the textual to the visual.

For David Wesson, the focus is on text. Inspired by Dr. Steve Copeland's class on Kohelet, Wesson conducts a reading of the Torah metaphorically rather than literally, focusing on wisdom literature. What does it mean to become wise? What forms can idolatry take? How can idolatry and monotheism be mistaken for one another? Wesson addresses these questions, drawing on the theological concepts in Kohelet and Maimonides.

Other student topics include a study of leadership in the Boston Jewish community during the immediate post-Holocaust period and internal rhetoric in the legal writings of Maimonides. Thesis presentations take place on May 17 at 4 p.m. and May 18 at 4:30 p.m. in Berenson Hall and are open to the Hebrew College community.



back to top