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Religion

Lecture Series The Others’ Faith

On the Path to Enlightenment: Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. With Jerome Gellman (Ben-Gurion University) and Johan Elverskog (Southern Methodist University), video recording of the event on 24 Sep 2020, in English
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On the Path to Enlightenment: Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism
Whereas Jews rarely came in contact with the teachings of Buddha before the nineteenth century, the spread of Islam in central and southeast Asia sparked an intensive exchange between Muslims and Buddhists. What shape did these relationships take?
Today, the popularity of Buddhism is growing in the West. Its followers include a group known as JuBus: predominantly American Jews who have adopted Buddhist practices. What explains that interest? And how do Judaism and Islam today approach a tradition of thinking that recognizes deities but not one all-powerful and immortal God?
A discussion with Jerome Gellman (Ben-Gurion University) and Johan Elverskog (Southern Methodist University), video recording of the event on 24 Sep 2020, in English
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Tying the Knot versus Bonds with God: Jews and Muslims in Interfaith Marriages. With Madeleine Dreyfus (cultural anthropologist and psychoanalyst) and Imen Gallala-Arndt (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), video recording of the event on 18 Jun 2020, in German
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Tying the Knot versus Bonds with God: Jews and Muslims in Interfaith Marriages
Does interfaith marital bliss require religious relativism?
Love goes beyond religious and cultural barriers, or at least that is what many believe. The growing number of interfaith marriages in Europe and the United States does seem to confirm this. But in day-to-day life, couples who practice different faiths confront a variety of challenges.
How do Jews and Muslims handle this? How can someone strike a balance between their own religious beliefs and their partner’s – and pass on those beliefs to children? And finally, how do the religious authorities react to interdenominational marriages?
With Madeleine Dreyfus (cultural anthropologist and psychoanalyst) and Imen Gallala-Arndt (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), video recording of the event on 18 Jun 2020, in German
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Non-Transcendental Morality: Judaism, Islam, and Atheism. With Jacques Berlinerblau (Georgetown University) and Ufuk Topkara (Johns Hopkins University), video recording of the event on 20 Apr 2020, in German and English
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Non-Transcendental Morality: Judaism, Islam, and Atheism.
Can mindsets critical of religion be constructive for a Jewish and Islamic theology that speaks to our times?
Skepticism, non-belief, and doubt have accompanied religions since their beginnings. As a result of advancing secularization, however, atheistic and agnostic convictions have become widespread in the Western world to an unprecedented level. How do Judaism and Islam respond to this?
As monotheistic religions, they both see the negation of God as a rejection of moral values. But do moral principles necessarily require recourse to transcendence? And how do Judaism and Islam meet the claim of rationality and reason formulated by the atheists?
With Jacques Berlinerblau (Georgetown University) and Ufuk Topkara (Johns Hopkins University), video recording of the event on 20 Apr 2020, in German and English
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What do you think about Jesus? Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. With Israel Yuval (Hebrew University in Jerusalem) and Maha El Kaisy-Friemuth (Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), video recording of the event on 18 Feb 2020, in German and English
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What do you think about Jesus? Judaism, Islam, and Christianity
Jewish and Muslim perspectives on Christianity – Many Christian beliefs and religious practices are baffling to Jews and Muslims, from the Holy Trinity and the veneration of saints to the role of Jesus as the Son of God. By contrast, the other two traditions applaud Christianity’s shared beliefs in divine creation and the immortality of the soul as well as the observance of moral principles.
Where do Jewish and Muslim perspectives on Christianity overlap? Where do they diverge? And how is the diversity of Christian denominations addressed in theological debates?
With Israel Yuval (Hebrew University in Jerusalem) and Maha El Kaisy-Friemuth (Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), video recording of the event on 18 Feb 2020, in German and English
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Mono or Poly? Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. With Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein (Elijah Interfaith Institute) and Reza Shah-Kazemi (Institute of Ismaili Studies in London), video recording of the event on 4 Feb 2020, in English
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Mono or Poly? Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism
How do today’s Jews and Muslims view Hinduism, which recognizes multiple deities?
Since Antiquity, Judaism has been preoccupied with setting itself apart from polytheistic religions and “idolatry.” Islam, too, has had numerous experiences with non-monotheistic religions, dating back to its emergence in the early seventh century BCE, and particularly during its expansion in Asia.
How do today’s Jews and Muslims view Hinduism, which recognizes multiple deities? As we will see, perhaps these historical perspectives are useful for a contemporary understanding of polytheistic religions, or perhaps such perspectives impede a nuanced exploration.
With Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein (Elijah Interfaith Institute) and Reza Shah-Kazemi (Institute of Ismaili Studies in London), video recording of the event on 4 Feb 2020, in English
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Judaism and Islam – The History of Theological Relations. With Lukas Mühlethaler (Free University Berlin) and Imam Abdullah Antepli (Duke University, USA), video recording of the event on 21 Nov 2019, in German and English
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Judaism and Islam – The History of Theological Relations
Judaism is generally regarded as the first monotheistic religion. The advent of Islam, however, brought a strictly monotheistic “competitor” to Judaism. How did Jewish scholars view this new religion? Both the Koran and early Islamic writings testify to numerous encounters between the Prophet Mohammed and Jews.
What does the Muslim Holy Scripture and early Muslim tradition reveal about how they perceived Jews and their religious ideas and practices?
With Lukas Mühlethaler (Free University Berlin) and Imam Abdullah Antepli (Duke University, USA), video recording of the event on 21 Nov 2019, in German and English
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Dialogical Lecture Series

Overview of all lecture series as part of our Jewish Islamic Forum

Video recordings
2015–2020

Our Academy’s Jewish-Islamic Forum

All About ...

The Book of Job. Aesthetics, Ethics, Hermeneutics

Book presentation (in German and English)

Audio recording
21 Jan 2015

Obedience

An Installation in 15 Rooms by Saskia Boddeke & Peter Greenaway

Exhibition
22 May to 15 Nov 2015

Matters of Faith: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Nine animated movies

Video Project
2011

JMB Journal 12: Ban on Images

Publication
2015

Dialogues on Jewish Present: On the Question of Redemption – Messianism and the End of Days

Lectures and Discussion with Moshe Idel and Elliot R. Wolfson. Chair: Micha Brumlik

Audio recording
10 Dec 2009

Peter Schäfer: The Origins of Jewish Mysticism

Discussion with the Author, Christoph Markschies, and Micha Brumlik (in German)

Audio recording
25 Jun 2012

Modernized, then Tolerated?

Do religions need reformation or do they have a history that we do not really understand? (in German)

Audio recording
10 Oct 2013

Zimzum. God and the creation of the world

Micha Brumlik and Vivian Liska in conversation with the author Christoph Schulte

Audio recording
30 Oct 2014

Holidays: Old Rituals, New Customs (17)

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Old Rituals, New Customs

Museum employees talk about traditions on Jewish holidays.

Across Mannheim in the Matzo-Mobile

David Studniberg about the great feeling to support others during the corona crisis

Report
Apr 2020

The Big Clean-Up

Dana Akrish on Passover in Jerusalem

Essay
Mar 2018

 A yellow clay plate with traditional Passover herbs

A Kind of Family Gathering

Bitter Herbs and Their Relatives in the Diaspora Garden

Essay
2017

The Long Night of Tikkun

Mirjam Wenzel and Avner Ofrath about what we can learn from loving women

Essay
May 2013

New Customs for the New Year

Shlomit Tripp about tashlikh boats and petals on the water

Essay
2012

 Picture of scholars with books discussing with each other

Kol Nidre and the “Civil Improvement of the Jews”

Haim Mahlev on controversies throughout the ages

Essay
2015

Apples in Honey and Gefilte Fish

Museum employees share their personal experiences of the High Holidays

Interview
2013

Cycling Holiday

Avner Ofrath on Yom Kippur in Israel

Gloss
2012

Jewish Halloween

Naomi Lubrich on candy as a tricky matter for synagogues on Simhat Torah

Gloss
2012

 Hand-painted colorful candelabrum made of ceramic and synthetic resin depicting various New York City landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the World Trade Center, Broadway, and others.

Hanukkah Lasts Eight Days...

and for each day, we’ve got a little treat for you here (including some information about Chrismukkah)

Online Feature
2017/20

“8 Facts” about Hanukkah

David Studniberg on the Jewish Feast of Dedication

Essay
2016

“If I were a rich mouse ...”

Michal Friedlander on Mickey, Minnie and their Hanukkah message

Essay
2015

In the Sleeping Car with Ten Hand-puppets and a Travel Hanukkah Candelabrum

Shlomit Tripp on her Hanukkah with the bubales family

Essay
2015

Menurkeys for Thanksgivukkah?

Food for thought and recipes by Signe Rossbach

Essay
2013

Tu bi-Shevat Traditions in Israel

Avner Ofrath on trees, fruit, and a breath of New Age

Essay
2013

“Clever Esther” – Not Suitable for Children?!

Shlomit Tripp reports about her child-oriented retelling of the Esther story

Essay
2015

Quite “best practice”

Tom Chai Sosnik celebrated his coming out as transgender in spring 2015 with remarkable aplomb – in a ceremony performed by Rabbi Tsipi Gabai at a Jewish school in California, supported by his family.

Essay
2017

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