Annual Lucy S. Dawidowicz Lecture with Beth Berkowitz, PhD
Are Pit Bulls Dangerous?
Reflecting on Rabbinic Constructions of Risk
In this year’s lecture, Prof. Beth Berkowitz, Professor and Ingeborg Rennert Chair of Jewish Studies at Barnard College, explored the interaction of Jewish thought and animality, and illuminated what complex and evolving attitudes towards animals can teach us about ourselves. She highlighted rabbinic notions of dangerous animals and accompanying risk that reflect varying approaches to the world around us.
To read selections from Prof. Berkowitz’s upcoming book, click on the following titles:
Introduction Animals and Animality
Animal Danger Animals and Animality
Our annual Lucy S. Dawidowicz Lecture, celebrating the birthday of Or Zarua, is named in honor of our former congregant, who was perhaps the preeminent historian of the Holocaust.