Chaya Sima Koenigsberg, an up and coming, highly respected Judaic studies scholar, will be this year’s featured speaker at Congregation Agudath Sholom’s four-part spring scholar series.
The theme of her series is “Illuminating Medieval Ashkenaz: Studies in Text and Imagery.” Her talks will focus on the history and customs of the Jews of medieval Ashkenaz (Germany and Northern France). In addition to textual study of primary sources, Koenigsberg will examine Hebrew illuminated manuscripts produced in medieval Germany in the 13th and 14th centuries. These manuscripts are among the treasured artifacts that have survived the trials of Jewish history and whose imagery provides a window into the worldview of the Jews who commissioned them hundreds of years ago. To understand the significance of these vibrant images and the texts they adorn, Koenigsberg will trace the origins and outlook of the Jewish communities of medieval Germany, and their intellectual and artistic creativity in the face of calamity.
She will be giving a class on four consecutive Wednesday evenings in May: May 3, 10, 17 and 24. Each class will begin at 8 p.m., and will be held at Congregation Agudath Sholom.
Koenigsberg is an assistant professor of Judaic studies at Lander College for Women, The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School. She was a resident scholar at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University and an instructor at Stern College for Women. She received her BA in psychology from Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women and MA and PhD in Jewish philosophy from Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies.
While pursuing her graduate studies, Koenigsberg served as a member of the Judaic studies faculty at Manhattan High School for Girls in NYC and Shevach High School in Queens. She holds a teaching certificate from Michlalah Jerusalem College for Women in Israel, and completed the Educational Leadership Advancement Initiative program through the Lookstein Center at Bar-Ilan University. The synagogue has sponsored a scholar series during the spring for more than a dozen years now, and is always a highly anticipated part of the shul’s adult education program.
“We are excited to bring a major scholar to our synagogue once again for a four-part series,” said Rabbi Daniel Cohen, spiritual leader at Congregation Agudath Sholom. “This is an opportunity for our community members to hear a very talented young woman give a series of meaningful Torah classes. I urge everybody to attend.”
The program is free and open to the entire community.
Michael Feldstein is a contributing editor for The Jewish Link. He owns his own marketing consulting firm, MGF Marketing, and can be reached at [email protected].
