The Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

—commonly called the Katz Center—is a postdoctoral research center devoted to the study of Jewish history and civilization.

History

The Katz Center is the continuation of two pioneering institutions devoted to advanced research: Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning and the Annenberg Research Institute. Dropsie College was the first accredited doctoral program in Judaic studies in the world. The Annenberg Research Institute was a center for advanced study in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam founded in 1986 with staff and collections carried over from Dropsie College. The founding director of the Katz Center was David B. Ruderman. The current Ella Darivoff Director is Steven Weitzman. The Katz Center was established in 1993 as a part of the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. It was first named the Center for Judaic Studies (CJS); later, the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (CAJS)—and in 2008, the Katz family endowed the center in memory of former board chair and philanthropist Herbert D. Katz. It is located in an award-winning building across from

Independence National Historical Park Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves several sites associated with the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. Administered by the Nationa ...

in Center City Philadelphia. The Katz Center houses offices for scholars who are in residence throughout the academic year for postdoctoral research, as well as an extensive library of Judaica, a reading room, and seminar and meeting spaces.

Fellowship program

The Katz Center's primary activity is an academic fellowship program, which brings scholars from around the world to Philadelphia for a semester or a year. The program supports approximately 20 fellows each year; scholars apply if their current research fits the annual theme. Weekly seminars allow fellows to share their findings with each other and with invited scholarly guests; annual conferences are open to the wider academic community. WTP2 Mike Reali 06b

In addition, the Katz Center offers public programs and a summer intensive course for graduate students.

Library at the Katz Center

The combination of the Dropsie/Annenberg library with the Judaica holdings of the Penn Libraries resulted in a 350,000-volume collection of Judaica, including more than 8,000 rare books and an assortment of cuneiform tablets. There are also 451 codices in eleven alphabets and 24 languages and dialects. Some of the languages and dialects represented include Hebrew, English, German, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic, Latin, Judeo-Arabic, Armenia, Telugu, and Syriac. Fragments from the

Cairo Geniza The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the ''genizah'' or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, Egy ...

and others written in Coptic and Demotic on papyrus round out the collection. The library also holds the personal letters of more than 50 Jewish-American leaders from the 1800s and 1900s, including

Isaac Leeser Isaac Leeser (December 12, 1806 – February 1, 1868) was an American Orthodox Jewish religious leader, teacher, scholar and publisher. He helped found the Jewish press of America, produced the first Jewish translation of the Bible into English, ...

Sabato Morais Sabato Morais ( he, שבתאי מוראיס; April 13, 1823 – November 11, 1897) was an Italian-American rabbi, leader of Mikveh Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and founder of the Jewish Th ...

, and Abraham Neuman (three ministers of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia),

Cyrus Adler Cyrus Adler (September 13, 1863 – April 7, 1940) was an American educator, Jewish religious leader and scholar. Early years Adler was born to merchant and planter Samuel Adler and Sarah Sulzberger in Van Buren, Arkansas on September 13, 1 ...

(president, Dropsie College,

Mikveh Israel Mikveh Israel ( he, מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל, 'Hope of Israel') is a youth village and boarding school in the Tel Aviv District of central Israel, established in 1870. It was the first Jewish agricultural school in what is now Israel ...

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish or ...

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

; librarian,

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

), Charles Cohen (president, Mikveh Israel, Fairmount Park Commission), his journalist sister Mary M. Cohen, Yiddish journalis
Ben Zion Goldberg
and the benefactor Moses Dropsie.

Publications

The Katz Center houses the ''

Jewish Quarterly Review ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of Pe ...

,'' the oldest continuously published journal of Judaic Studies in English. Founded in England in 1888 under the editorship of

Claude Montefiore Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, also Goldsmid–Montefiore or just Goldsmid Montefiore (1858–1938) was the intellectual founder of Anglo- Liberal Judaism and the founding president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, a schola ...

and

Israel Abrahams Israel Abrahams, MA ''(honoris causa)'' (b. London, 26 November 1858; d. Cambridge, 6 October 1925) was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of his generation. He wrote a number of classics on Judaism, most notably, ''Jewish Life in the ...

, ''JQR'' first came to the U.S. in 1911 under the editorship of

Solomon Schechter Solomon Schechter ( he, שניאור זלמן הכהן שכטר‎; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the ...

and

. It is currently published by

Penn Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 2 ...

Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania Libraries Halper 317 f 1r

The Katz Center partners with the

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 26 ...

to publish the book serie
Jewish Cultures and Contexts
The series is edited by Shaul Magid, Francesca Trivellato, and Steven Weitzman.

Notable fellows

* Israel Bartal: winner of the Landau Prize for the research of the history of the Land of Israel (2009) *

Menachem Ben-Sasson Menahem Ben-Sasson ( he, מנחם בן-ששון, born 7 July 1951) is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for Kadima. Between 2009 and 2017 he was the president of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, succeeding Menachem Magidor ...

: former member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Kadima Kadima ( he, קדימה, lit=''Forward'') was a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely following the implementation of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement p ...

; former president of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

(2009-2017) * Amnon Ben-Tor: winner of the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for archaeology (2019) * Yoram Bilu: winner of the

for Sociology and Anthropology (2013) * Richard I. Cohen: winner of the Arnold Wischnitzer Prize (1998) *

Natalie Zemon Davis Natalie Zemon Davis, (born November 8, 1928) is a Canadian and American historian of the early modern period. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of History and Anthropology and Professor of Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto in ...

: winner of the

Holberg International Memorial Prize The Holberg Prize is an international prize awarded annually by the government of Norway to outstanding scholars for work in the arts, humanities, social sciences, law and theology, either within one of these fields or through interdisciplina ...

(2010); Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

; recipient of the

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...

(2012) * Daniel J. Elazar: founder and former president of the

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an Israeli research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. Currently, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs's research portfolio consists of five prima ...

* Yaakov Elman: founder of the field now known as Irano-Talmudica * Seymour Gitin: winner of the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclop ...

's Percia Schimmel Prize (2004) *

Nurith Gertz Nurith Gertz ( he, נורית גרץ, born 1940) is an Israeli Professor Emerita of Hebrew literature and film at The Open University of Israel. She served as head of the theoretical track at the Department of Film and Television, at Tel Aviv Unive ...

: winner of the Brenner Prize for Literature (2009); recipient of the Israeli Book Publishers' Association Gold Award (2010) *

Moshe Greenberg Moshe Greenberg (Hebrew: משה גרינברג; July 10, 1928 – May 15, 2010) was an American rabbi, Bible scholar, and professor emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Biography Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

in Bible (1994) * Bonnie Honig: winner of the Foundations of Political Thought Book Prize (1994) * Gershon Hundert: winner of the Judaica Reference Award from the Association of Jewish Libraries (2008) *

Moshe Idel Moshe Idel ( he, משה אידל; born January 19, 1947) is a Romanian-Israeli historian and philosopher of Jewish mysticism. He is Emeritus Max Cooper Professor in Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and a Senior Researcher at the ...

: winner of the

for Jewish thought (1999) * Sara Japhet: former president of the World Union of Jewish Studies (2005-2009); winner of the

for Biblical studies (2004) * Yosef Kaplan: winner of the

for the history of the Jewish people (2013) * Ruth Mazo Karras: co-winner of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

's Joan Kelly Memorial Prize (2012) *

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (born September 30, 1942, in Toronto, Ontario) is a scholar of Performance and Jewish Studies and a museum professional. Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University, she is best known for her ...

: Chief Curator of the Core Exhibition at the

POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews ( pl, Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich) is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew word ''Polin'' in the museum's English name means either " Poland" or "rest here" and relates to ...

; recipient of the Foundation for Jewish Culture award for lifetime achievement (2008) * Norman Kleeblatt: winner of the National Jewish Book Award (2009); former chief curator at the Jewish Museum (1982-2017) * David C. Kraemer: director of the Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Library at the

* Shaul Magid: winner of the American Academy of Religion Award (2008) * Michael A. Meyer: winner of the National Jewish Book Award (1968, 1989, 1997); co-founder of the

Association for Jewish Studies The Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) is a scholarly organization in the United States that promotes academic Jewish Studies. The AJS was founded in 1969 and held its first annual conference that year at Brandeis University , mottoeng ...

David Nirenberg David Nirenberg is a medievalist and intellectual historian. He is the Director and Leon Levy Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He previously taught at the University of Chicago, where he was Dean of the Divinity Scho ...

: dean of the University of Chicago Divinity School; founding Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society * David B. Ruderman: founding director of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies; winner of the National Jewish Book Award (2010) * Maurice Samuels: director of the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism; winner of the Gaddis Smith International Book Prize (2004) * Edwin Seroussi: winner of the

for the study of culture, art, and musicology (2018) * Stephanie B. Siegmund: winner of the

's Herbert Baxter Adams Prize (2006) * Gershon Shaked: winner of the

for Hebrew literature (1993) * Anita Shapira: winner of the

for History (2008) * Anna Shternshis: co-creator and co-director of the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and ...

nominated album '' Yiddish Glory'' * Reuven Snir: winner of the Tchernichovsky Prize for Translation (2014) * Michael C. Steinlauf: director of Poland's branch of the

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust his ...

* Guy Stroumsa: winner of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award (2008); Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite * Susan Rubin Suleiman: recipient of France's

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

merit (2008) * S. Ilan Troen: founding director of the journal ''

Israel Studies ''Israel Studies'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history, politics, society, and culture of the modern state of Israel. It was established in 1996 S. Ilan Troen as founding editor(Brandeis University). It is publishe ...

'' * Yaron Tsur: co-founder of the

Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel ( he, האוניברסיטה הפתוחה, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CH ...

* Chava Turniansky: winner of the

for Jewish language and literature (2013) * Elliot R. Wolfson: winner of the American Academy of Religion Award (1995, 2012); winner of the National Jewish Book Award (1995, 2005) *

Joseph Yahalom Joseph Yahalom (born April 11, 1941) ( he, יוסף יהלום) is a professor of Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Since 1983, he has been a member of the Academy of the Hebrew Language. Biography Joseph Yahalom was born i ...

: winner of the Bialik Prize (2012); winner of the Ben-Zvi Prize for Lifetime Achievement (2003)

References

External links

* *
Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
{{coord, 39.947312, -75.148493, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Judaic studies Jewish studies research institutes University of Pennsylvania Old City, Philadelphia 1993 establishments in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1993