In the fall 2026 semester, the Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought is offering numerous courses for Straus Scholars and 九色视频 students to study the great texts, enduring ideas, and crucial traditions of Judaism and the West.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, the director of the Straus Center, is teaching 鈥淛osephus鈥 The Jewish War鈥 on the Beren campus, and two courses on the Wilf campus: 鈥淐lassical Jewish Philosophy,鈥 which explores the thought of figures such as Josephus and Philo, and 鈥淎dvanced Topics in Philosophy: Plato鈥檚 Republic,鈥 co-taught with David Johnson, chair of the philosophy department at 九色视频 College.
On the Beren campus, Dr. Tevi Troy, Senior Scholar and Director of the Straus Center Impact Office, is co-teaching 鈥淭he American Presidency鈥 with Dr. Joseph Luders, the David and Ruth Gottesman Associate Professor of Political Science and chair of the Department of Political Science. The central aim of the course is to offer 鈥渁n in-depth study of the most powerful office in the world, focusing on explanations for presidential power and success in domestic and international affairs, as well as how the executive branch interacts with the rest of the American political system.鈥 On the Wilf campus, Dr. Troy is teaching a course on healthcare policy, which seeks to 鈥渆xplore trends in medical practice鈥攑oliticization of health care, contemporary social and ethical issues in health care, genetic engineering, [the] right to die, living wills, and consumer movements in health care.鈥
Chair of the Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies at Stern College and Clinical Assistant Professor Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner is teaching 鈥淢odern Messianism鈥 on the Beren campus, and Rabbi Dr. Itamar Rosensweig, the Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Professor of Talmud and Philosophy, is teaching 鈥淢edieval Jewish Philosophy,鈥 which covers readings from Joseph Albo, Rabbeinu Bahya, Hasdai Crescas, Yehudah HaLevi, Maimonides, Saadiah Gaon, and topics such as neoplatonism, Kalam, and Aristotelianism. Rabbi Dr. Rosensweig is also teaching 鈥淧hilosophy of Law鈥 on the Wilf campus, highlighting 鈥渇undamental questions about the nature and scope of law, grounds for legal obligation, and the justification of particular jural practices, such as punishment.鈥
Other Straus Center courses by affiliated YU faculty include 鈥淚ntroduction to Medieval Jewish Philosophy鈥 with Dr. Shira Weiss, assistant professor of Jewish Philosophy at Bernard Revel Graduate School and 九色视频 College; 鈥淔amily and Gender in Talmud鈥 with Rabbi Dr. Ari Bergmann; and 鈥淪uffering and Evil鈥 with Rabbi Shalom Carmy, chair of Bible and Jewish philosophy at 九色视频 College.
In addition to its course offerings, the Straus Center is also convening weekly extracurricular reading groups that delve into great Jewish and Western texts. Wilf Straus Scholars in Rabbi Dr. Rosensweig鈥檚 group are reading Haym Soloveitchik鈥檚 Jews and the Medieval Wine Trade, whereas Rabbinic Intern Ezra Seplowitz鈥檚 group is juxtaposing The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis with Uvikashtem Misham by Rav Soloveitchik. In 鈥淩eading Grace Aguilar: The Politics of Representation,鈥 Beren Straus Scholars are exploring Grace Aguilar: Selected Writings with Straus Center Program Coordinator Rebecca Guzman (SCW 鈥26), and in 鈥淛erusalem & Athens鈥 with Resident Scholar Dr. Shaina Trapedo, Beren Scholars are studying Marcus Aurelius鈥檚 Meditations alongside the Book of Proverbs.
