Shalom Hartman Institute
Encyclopedia
Shalom Hartman Institute is a Jewish research and education institute based in Jerusalem, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, that offers pluralistic Jewish thought and education to scholars, rabbis, educators, and Jewish community leaders in Israel and North America. The Institute's goal is to develop new and diverse voices within the Jewish tradition.

History

Shalom Hartman Institute was founded by Rabbi Professor David Hartman
David Hartman (rabbi)
David Hartman is an American and Israeli rabbi and philosopher of contemporary Judaism, founder of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel, and a Jewish author.- Early life :...

. In 1971, Rabbi Hartman, his wife Bobbi and their five children, made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...

 to Israel, leaving his congregation in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. Rabbi Hartman’s home in Jerusalem became a beit midrash for young people who were attracted to Rabbi Hartman’s philosophy. By 1976, the group moved to a local synagogue, and the Shalom Hartman Institute was born - named for the memory of Rabbi Hartman’s father.

After several changes of location, Teddy Kollek
Teddy Kollek
Theodor "Teddy" Kollek was mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, and founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1989...

, former mayor of Jerusalem and a longstanding supporter of Rabbi Hartman, offered the Institute more than three acres of land in the city’s "Cultural Mile," which comprises the Jerusalem Theater, the L.A. Mayer Institute for Islamic Art and other cultural and educational centers and institutes.

The Institute established a variety of programs for teachers, rabbis, and lay leaders. Under Rabbi Hartman and his son, Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman
Donniel Hartman
Donniel Hartman is a Jewish Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbi and educator. He is President of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. He has written books and essays on Judaism and modernity and is a frequent speaker at academic conferences and synagogues in the United States and Canada...

, the Institute has become a training center whose programs reach thousands of participants every year. Rabbi Dov Gartenberg of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 wrote in his blog in 2005 that the Institute, "enables us to reflect on cutting edge issues facing modern Judaism." In 2009, Donniel Hartman was named President of Shalom Hartman Institute, and David Hartman was named Founding President. In 2010 the Shalom Hartman Institute was called "prestigious" by a website covering San Francisco Bay Area Jewish affairs.

Shalom Hartman Institute's campus houses an advanced research center, provides a home to more than 50 scholars, including Moshe Halbertal
Moshe Halbertal
Moshe Halbertal , is a noted Israeli Jewish philosopher, professor and writer.- Biography :He is a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy at Hebrew University, and a faculty member at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem, Israel...

, Israel Knohl
Israel Knohl
Israel Knohl is the Yehezkel Kaufmann Chair of Biblical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Senior Fellow at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem....

, Moshe Idel, Menachem Lorberbaum
Menachem Lorberbaum
Prof. Menachem Lorberbaum is the chair of the department of Jewish Philosophy, Talmud and Kabbala at Tel Aviv University and is co-director of the Center for Jewish Political Thought. He is a Senior Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Prof...

, and others. The campus is also home to Charles E. Smith High School for Boys, grades 7-12, with more than 350 students, an in-house publications department that is publishing a series of books on Jewish thought with UK-based publisher Continuum International Publishing Group
Continuum International Publishing Group
The Continuum International Publishing Group is a publisher of books, with its editorial offices in London and New York City. It had been owned by Nova Capital Management since 2005...

, theology and philosophy conferences, and centers for training educators, rabbis and lay community leaders.

In 2008, Internet industry website ReadWriteWeb
ReadWriteWeb
ReadWriteWeb is a Web technology blog launched in 2003. RWW covers Web 2.0 and Web technology in general, and provides industry news, reviews, and analysis. Founded by Richard MacManus, Technorati ranked ReadWriteWeb at number 12 in its list of top 100 blogs worldwide, as of October 9, 2010. RWW...

 said the Hartman website "makes good use of current trends."

In May 2010, Israel's opposition party leader Tzipi Livni
Tzipi Livni
Tzipporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is an Israeli lawyer and politician. She is the current Israeli Opposition Leader and leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset. Raised an ardent nationalist, Livni has become one of her nation's leading voices for the two-state solution. In Israel she has...

 of Kadima
Kadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...

 called upon the Hartman Institute to organize the speakers for a daylong conference at the Israeli Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 on Jewish identity in Israel.

Organizational structure

Shalom Hartman Institute is structured around three centers and a board of directors.

Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought

The Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought is a think tank developing new ideas about Jewish life. Scholars and educators discuss pluralistic Jewish thought for the 21st century. Past participants in programs include Krister Stendahl
Krister Stendahl
Krister Stendahl was a Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, and Church of Sweden Bishop of Stockholm. He also served as professor and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School.-Life:...

 and Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer is a prominent American political philosopher and public intellectual. A professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he is co-editor of Dissent, an intellectual magazine that he has been affiliated with since his years as an undergraduate at...

. Areas of research include ethics, politics and public policy, halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

, gender, Judaism in Israel, world Jewry, religion and religiosity, Jewish classics.

Education Center for Israeli-Jewish Identity

The Education Center for Israeli-Jewish Identity focuses on pluralistic forms of contemporary Judaism for Israelis, from non-religious high school students to senior officers in the IDF
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

. The Education Center's aim is to help Israelis learn about their Jewish heritage. The Be'eri Initiative for Pluralistic Jewish Education works with more than 50 Israeli high schools, hundreds of teachers and thousands of students. The Avi Chai Foundation, one of the Be'eri program's original funders says: "the project has had a significant positive influence on student attitudes to Jewish studies."

Shalom Hartman Institute-North America

The goal of the Shalom Hartman Institute-North America is to strengthen Jewish communities in North America. SHI North America runs programs and seminars across the US and Canada.

The Institute runs a three-year program for North American rabbis that one participant described as: "one of the blessings of my rabbinate."

Shalom Hartman Institute Board, Funders, Supporters

Shalom Hartman Institute board members include (2010–2011), Angelica Berrie, Board Chair.

Shalom Hartman Institute-North America is a non-profit organization with a 501.3c charitable status for accepting donations. Canadian Friends of Shalom Hartman Institute is a registered Canadian charity and is located in Montreal. Avi Chai Foundation
AVI CHAI Foundation
AVI CHAI is a private foundation endowed in 1984 by Sanford Bernstein, a well-known successful investor who become a Modern Orthodox Baal teshuva and who had wanted to further the cause of outreach to alienated and assimilated Jews worldwide. Avi-Chai functions in the United States and in Israel...

helps fund programs in Israel on Jewish pluralism and education.

External links

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