The Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University is pleased to share the abstracts for the winning essays of the 2025 Selma and Lewis Weinstein Prize in Jewish Studies:
Sage Segal Lattman, ’25
“Descent and Dissent: Interfaith Marriage and Reform Judaism’s 1983 Resolution of Patrilineal Descent”
Abstract:
This essay explains how, starting in the 1970s, the Reform Jewish movement underwent a series of changes relating to intermarriage which culminated in a 1983 decision to approve patrilineal descent. It argues that to address the issue of intermarriage, Reform Judaism drew on the movement’s tradition of a bottom-up approach to change within the religion, where leaders altered practice to fit with the behavior of congregants. It first examines Schindler’s Outreach program, which was the movement’s first step in accommodating intermarriage. Following the acceptance of Outreach, Schindler, in his capacity as president of the UAHC, pushed the Central Conference of American Rabbis, to change the rules surrounding patrilineal descent. This essay explores the tensions between the UAHC and the CCAR, detailing how the congregational arm came to have power over the rabbinic arm. While most CCAR members came to agree with the decision, it faced sharp criticism from Reform rabbis outside North America, who feared that it would isolate American Reform Judaism from Jews in other parts of the world. To accomplish this, this essay draws on obscure archival materials from the members of the CCAR’s Committee on Patrilineal Descent as well as published records from the CCAR.
Henry Getz Levenson, ’28
“‘Wine Mingled with Water Is Pleasant’: The Literary Structure of the Greek Additions to the Book of Esther”
Abstract:
This essay explains how, starting in the 1970s, the Reform Jewish movement underwent a series of changes relating to intermarriage which culminated in a 1983 decision to approve patrilineal descent. It argues that to address the issue of intermarriage, Reform Judaism drew on the movement’s tradition of a bottom-up approach to change within the religion, where leaders altered practice to fit with the behavior of congregants. It first examines Schindler’s Outreach program, which was the movement’s first step in accommodating intermarriage. Following the acceptance of Outreach, Schindler, in his capacity as president of the UAHC, pushed the Central Conference of American Rabbis, to change the rules surrounding patrilineal descent. This essay explores the tensions between the UAHC and the CCAR, detailing how the congregational arm came to have power over the rabbinic arm. While most CCAR members came to agree with the decision, it faced sharp criticism from Reform rabbis outside North America, who feared that it would isolate American Reform Judaism from Jews in other parts of the world. To accomplish this, this essay draws on obscure archival materials from the members of the CCAR’s Committee on Patrilineal Descent as well as published records from the CCAR.
Charlotte Pearl Ritz-Jack, ’25
“Textbooks, Trips, and Transformation: How Israel Programming Shaped—and Shook—Jewish Identity”
Abstract:
Textbooks, Trips, and Transformation: How Israel Programming Shaped—and Shook—Jewish Identity serves as the second chapter of my thesis project, in which I show how Jewish mainstream education attempted to normalize Zionism throughout the 2000s and 2010s despite increasing tensions around Israel. I analyze the lesson plans, primary source materials, and advertisements of common forms of Jewish education (including summer camps, gap year programs, Hebrew school, and diaspora travel trips) alongside interview testimony of individuals who underwent these experiences. In doing so, I argue these programs armed young Jews with black and white thinking techniques, making them unprepared to engage with critique of Israel with nuance. This explains the divergence and polarization in beliefs about Israel today.