This new title in the Theatre & series explores the intersections between theatre and Judaism, offering a uniquely nuanced approach as a counterpart to the more common discourse surrounding Jewish theatre. Arguing that theatre allows for a subtle engagement with religious heritage that does not easily fall into a religious/secular dichotomy, it examines the ways in which Jewish tradition lends itself to theatrical performance. With rigorous scholarship and a fresh perspective, Theatre and Judaism promotes a transnational and comparative approach, considering Judaism as a religious-cultural tradition rather than focusing on a particular national context.Exciting and thought-provoking, this is the perfect companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of theatre or religious studies.
How does theater shape the ways in which we understand and experience time and our place in it? This book explores the question by examining the figure of the Messiah and messianic time in modern Hebrew and Israeli theater. Situating theater against the hopes, anxieties and crises of Israeli society and the shift in the temporal imagination that accompanied Zionism, illuminates the political, theological and theatrical signifi cance of time. By analyzing key Jewish and Hebrew plays, the book sheds new light on Israeli culture and on messianic and theatrical temporalities.
This book explores the resilience of Jewish civil society organizing in Ukraine during the tumultuous early months of the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion. Developed in collaboration with Paideia - the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, the research chronicles a project that involved Ukrainian Jewish communities during wartime through Paideia’s alumni network. Drawing on rich empirical data, the authors examine the multifaceted work of Jewish organizations and organizing efforts, from sustaining rituals to engaging in humanitarian work. The book examines single case studies and broader cross-organizational analyses, shedding light on the capacity of Jewish groups to repurpose activities, pivot from serving specific communities to addressing broader societal needs, and mobilize resources under extreme conditions. This resilience, the authors argue, is shaped by a complex interplay of factors: pre-existing organizational structures, transnational networks, and the fusion of symbolic and material elements rooted in the Ukrainian-Jewish experience. By situating these efforts within a wider context, the book uses different streams of organization studies to provide an in-depth analysis of resilient civil society organizing during wartime. Aimed at organization scholars, civil society researchers, activists, and those interested in Jewish culture and Ukrainian history, this book offers critical insights into the possibility of civil society resilience in the face of war.
