Vision
The intention behind the Popular University’s approach is to pose the question of the meaning resonating in the Jewish traditional texts, namely approaching them in the perspective of contemporary questions and the relation to the contemporary Jewish condition. The object of the method is to combine the two dimensions into an intellectual and cultural approach.
Activity
The Popular University for Judaism proposes :
Seminars
The program proposes courses of introduction to the spirit and method of the basic disciplines of Jewish studies, Bible, Talmud, Midrash-Aggadah, Philosophy, Kabbalah, Halakha, Hermeneutics, through the examination of themes in relation to contemporary questions.
International conferences
We will organize three annual conferences on subjects concerning the contemporary debate, clarifying them with the issues of Judaism, which obviously must be elaborated suitably for this clarification. These conferences will be published in the Pardès review. They will also be recorded audiovisually and placed on the University site and other sites.
The publications
We also have a review, Pardès, founded in 1985, and which currently is the only review of Jewish thought in Europe. Pardès values open-mindedness and interdisciplinary initiatives. Such dynamics correspond to the spirit of the new program developed by the Popular University of Judaism. The review could thus propose the publications of the international conferences.
An interactive study community
We aspire to create a study fraternity and not only to provide education bureaucratically. Such a study community will also bring teachers and students together, allowing exchanges between them and distribution of texts.