Michael
S.
Berger, Ph.D
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
樱花动漫
500 W. 185th Street
New York, NY 10033
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Academy of Religion
SERVICE
Emory University
Member, Board of Advisors for Center for Ethics in Public Policy and the
Professions, Emory University (1996-2010)
Faculty Member, Student Conduct Council (1998-2004)
Cradle of Christianity Exhibit, Carlos Museum (2007-08)
- aided in mounting the exhibit, in coordinating the speaker series, and taught
in lecture series of Evenings@Emory
Faculty Member, Emory College Honor Council (2014-present)
Member, Emory College Honor Council Advisory Board (2019-2022)
Member, 鈥淓mory Purpose Project,鈥 part of Provost鈥檚 鈥淔lourishing Project鈥 (Sp 鈥22)
Department of Religion
Member, Curriculum Committee (1995-present), chair (2007-2018)
Served on search committee for position in early Indian religions (1996)
Director of Undergraduate Studies (1999-2001, 2007-2018)
Member, Candler School of Theology Old Testament search (1999-2000)
Interim Chair (2012-13)
Served on search committee for joint position in modern Judaism (2019-20)
Graduate Division of Religion
Member, Policy and Curriculum Committee (2003-04, 2007-2009)
Chair, Jewish Religious Cultures Course of Study (2007-2009)
Institute for Jewish Studies
Member, Executive Committee (1999-2003)
Director of Undergraduate Studies (2000-2001, 2021-22, 2023-24)
Acting Director of the Institute (2002-2003)
Coordinator, Tenenbaum Lecture Series (1998-2001, 2003-2004, 2006-2010)
Member, Undergraduate Committee (2014-2020)
Field Evaluator, doctoral and fellowship applications in Talmud and Rabbinics, Memorial
Foundation for Jewish Culture (2004-14)
Board Member, Theta Alpha Kappa National Honor Society in Religious Studies
and Theology, Member-at-large (2017-2021), Treasurer (2021-present)
ADULT EDUCATION
1995 - 1996: Instructor for Wexner Jewish Leaders study group, Atlanta, GA
1996 - 2007: teach occasional classes for Jewish day school teacher enrichment, Atlanta
1996 鈥 present: teach a bi-weekly class for Wexner Heritage alumni, Atlanta, GA
2006-2008: led and helped re-design 鈥淎braham curriculum鈥 on Jewish philanthropy,
Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta
2008-2023: Lecturer in Rabbinics for Wexner Heritage Foundation Jewish Leaders program
2020-present: faculty member, Legacy Heritage Fund鈥檚 鈥淥nBoard Program鈥 for lay leaders
of Jewish organization
RAMAZ UPPER SCHOOL (New York City)
1993-1994: Teacher of Jewish Studies courses at the honors level
EMORY UNIVERSITY (Atlanta, Georgia)
1994-2000: Assistant Professor of Religious Authority and Ethics in Judaism
2000-present: Associate Professor of Jewish Studies
Teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Jewish Ethics,
modern Jewish history, Jewish theology and Rabbinic literature
2012-13: Interim Chairperson, Department of Religion
YESHIVA ATLANTA HIGH SCHOOL [now Atlanta Jewish Academy] (Atlanta, Georgia)
2004-2006: Headmaster
Oversaw a transition period to clarify school鈥檚 mission as a Modern
Orthodox co-educational high school, implement an appropriate educational
program, develop lay leadership and secure a permanent headmaster.
THE AVI CHAI FOUNDATION (New York, NY)
2001-2019: Consultant
Helped design, develop and evaluate programs in Jewish education and
administrative leadership for North American Jewish day schools, with a
special focus on the development of adolescent religious identity
AZRIELI GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH EDUCATION AND ADMINISTRATION,
YESHIVA UNIVERSITY (New York, NY)
2024- present: Dean
Phi Beta Kappa Society
Lady David Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1992-93)
Fulbright Research and Teaching Award at Bar Ilan University, 2001-2002 (declined)
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, 2001-02, 2022-23
Recipient of Kathleen Connolly-Weinert Leader-of-the-Year Award, Theta Alpha Kappa
(National Honor Society for the Study of Religion), 2012
Emory University
University Research Committee Summer Grants, 1995, 1996
Center for Teaching and Curriculum Award in the Humanities, 2000
Woolford B. Baker Service Award, 2008
Nominations:
Finalist, Koret Foundation Publication Fellowship, 1997
Crystal Apple award for graduate teaching, 1999
Books:
Rabbinic Authority (Oxford University Press, 1998), 226 pp.
The Emergence of Ethical Man, ed. mss. of Joseph Soloveitchik (Ktav, 2005), 212 pp.
Return and Renewal: Reflections on Teshuva and Spiritual Growth, edited with
Reuven Ziegler mss. of Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein (Maggid, 2018), 230 pp.
Articles:
"Towards a New Understanding of Judah Halevi's Kuzari," Journal of Religion 72/2
(1992):210-28.
"Rabbinic Authority: A Philosophical Analysis," Tradition 27/4 (1993):61-79.
"Women in Judaism from the Perspective of Human Rights," with Deborah E.
Lipstadt, in Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Religious
Perspectives, ed. by John Witte, Jr. and Johan van der Vyver
(Dordrecht/London/Boston, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1995), pp. 295-
322; repr. in Human Rights in Judaism: Cultural, Religious, and Political
Perspectives, ed. by Michael J. Broyde and John Witte, Jr. (Northvale, NJ:
Jason Aronson Press, 1998), pp. 77-112.
"The Halakhic Basis for Civil Disobedience in a Democratic State," in Tolerance,
Dissent, and Democracy: Philosophical, Historical, and Halakhic
Perspectives, ed. by Moshe Sokol (Jason Aronson, Inc., 2001).
"U-viqashtem mi-sham: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Response to Martin Buber's
Religious Existentialism," Modern Judaism 18 (1998):93-118.
"Two Models of Medieval Jewish Marriage: A Preliminary Study," Journal of
Jewish Studies 52:1 (2001): 59-84. Repr. in Michael J. Broyde and
Michael Ausubel, eds., Marriage, Sex, and Family in Judaism (Lanham.
Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005), 116-48.
鈥淥rthodoxy and Jewish Federations: Reflections from 鈥極ut-of-Town鈥,鈥 in Toward a
Renewed Ethic of Jewish Philanthropy, ed. by Yossi Prager (Jason
Aronson, Inc., 2010), 157-90.
Book chapters:
鈥淢arriage, Sex, and Family in the Jewish Tradition: A Historical Overview,鈥 in
Michael J. Broyde and Michael Ausubel, eds., Marriage, Sex, and Family
in Judaism (Lanham. Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005), 1-14.
鈥淢aimonides on Sex and Marriage,鈥 in Michael J. Broyde and Michael Ausubel,
eds., Marriage, Sex, and Family in Judaism (Lanham. Md.: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, 2005), 149-91.
鈥淪ex, Marriage and Family in Judaism,鈥 in Don Browning, M. Christie Green and
John Witte, Jr, eds., Sex, Marriage and Family in the World Religions (New
York: Columbia University Press, 2006), 1-75.
鈥淭aming the Beast: Rabbinic Pacification of 2nd century Jewish Messianism,鈥 in
James K. Wellman, Jr. ed., Belief and Bloodshed: Religion and Violence
across Time and Tradition (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007), 47-61.
鈥淭almud/Halakhah (Jewish Law)鈥 chapter in The Cambridge Guide to Jewish
History, Religion and Culture, ed. by Judith R. Baskin and Kenneth Seeskin
(Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 311-36.
鈥淭he Concept of Family in Judaism,鈥 in The Concept of Education and the Concept
of Family in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Key Concepts in Interreligious
Discourses series. Ed. Georges Tamer. De Gruyter, 2025 (forthcoming).
Book Reviews:
Hilkhot Tzava (Religious Laws of Army Service) by Zecharia Ben-Shelomo,
Tradition (1991):98-101.
In God's Mirror by Harold Schulweis, Midstream November (1991):46-48.
The Temple: Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now by Joshua Berman, Jewish
Book Council News 13/3 (1995):5-6.
Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity by Steven Weitzman,
JAAR Fall 2008.
The Peace and Violence of Judaism. Shofar ;
Values in Halakha: Six Case Studies by Aharon Lichtenstein, Tradition 56:3
(Summer, 2024), pp.103-121
Translations:
"Conversion: Birth and Judicial Process" by Aharon Lichtenstein, Tradition Fall
1987
Articles by Yehuda Amital and Nahum Rabinowitz in Jewish Tradition and
the Nontraditional Jew, ed. Jacob J. Schacter (Northvale, N.J. and
London: Jason Aronson, 1992), pp. 119-38, 177-204.
Op-ed and other short articles:
"Recruiting Jewish Educators among Jewish Studies Graduate Students," Ten Da'at
Spring 1996, pp. 83-86.
"Re-examining No-Fault Divorce," Emory Report, "First Person" column (April 22,
1996)
"Jewish Educators: Broadening the Pool," Jewish Education News 22:3 (2001): 73-
75.
鈥淛ewish Education in an Age of Personalized Religion,鈥 PEJE 10th anniversary
issue (2007).
鈥淩eligious Purposefulness in Jewish Day Schools,鈥 Hayidion Autumn 2008, 6-13.
鈥淒eveloping a Framework for Effective Jewish Day School Leadership,鈥 Hayidion
Spring 2011, 24-26.
鈥淎 Tale of Two Philanthropists,鈥 eJewish Philanthropy, Oct. 10, 2012
()
鈥淎 Compelling, yet More Demanding, Vision for 21st Century Day Schools,鈥
Hayidion Autumn 2014, pp. 21-22.
鈥淐hange is in the Air 鈥 Now Let鈥檚 Make it Last,鈥 with Leah N. Meir, eJewish
Philanthropy, Sept. 17, 2018 (in-the-air-now-lets-make-it-last/)
鈥淪etting the Stage (or table) for Effective Change: A Lesson from Sukkot,鈥 eJewish
Philanthropy, Sept. 26, 2018 (stage-or-table-for-effective-change-a-lesson-from-sukkot/)
鈥淭hanksgiving 鈥 the Power of Noticing,鈥 eJewish Philanthropy, Nov. 14, 2018
()
鈥淕etting to Sustainability: The Case of the Jewish New Teacher Project,鈥 eJewish
Philanthropy, Sept. 19, 2019 (sustainability-a-case-study-of-the-jewish-new-teacherproject/?utm_source=Sept+19%2C+2019&utm_campaign=Sept+19&utm_
medium=email)
Quoted significantly in 鈥淲hat鈥檚 New on Your Holiday Table,鈥 by Flora Rosefsky,
Atlanta Jewish Times Aug 13, 2021
鈥淚nflating Grades vs. Enhancing Performance,鈥 Inside Higher Education Sept. 1,
2021
PAPERS AT CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA, INVITED ACADEMIC LECTURES
"The Philosophical Argument of Halevi's Kuzari," Association for Jewish Studies
Conference, Boston, December 1990
鈥淏iblical and Rabbinic Understandings of Atonement," Conference on Guilt and Atonement
in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Jerusalem, December 1993
"A Re-examination of the Periodization of Halakha," Association for Jewish Studies
Conference, Boston, December 1993
鈥淯-vikashtem mi-sham: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Response to Existentialism,"
Association for Jewish Studies Conference, Boston, December 1995
鈥淧eriodization in the Talmud and Beyond," SECSOR (Southeastern Commission for the
Study of Religion), March 1996
鈥淭he History and Halakha of the Agunah Problem," International Conference on Orthodoxy
and Feminism, February, 1997
鈥淭he Halakhic Basis for Civil Disobedience in a Democratic State," The Orthodox Forum,
April, 1997
"The Textual Revolution: Is the Periodization of Jewish Law a Function of Texts?",
Comparative Sacred Texts Seminar, Emory University, November 1997
"The Spiritual Odyssey of Halakhic Man: Joseph B. Soloveitchik's U-vikashtem mi-sham,"
The Soloveitchik Institute Inaugural Symposium, Boston, December, 1997
鈥淭he State of Israel and Jewish Messianism," the Alice Tate Lecture in Judaic Studies at
UNC Charlotte, March 1998
"Bystanders and Rescuers," the inaugural Tenenbaum Lecture at Columbia College,
Columbia, South Carolina, November, 1998
"Conceptions of Marriage in Jewish Law," Candler Faculty Luncheon, April 1999
"Bhrgu and Moses Go Back to the Future: The Transformative Role of Time in
Commentarial Narrative," AAR, Boston, November 1999
"How did Judaism Survive 2,000 Years in Exile," Cullum Lecture Series in Religion,
Augusta State University, March 2001
Participant in "Forum on Religion and Violence," Emory University, October 2001
Respondent to Brooks Hollifield on "Evidential Christianity," Emory University's Graduate
Division of Religion faculty-student colloquy, November, 2002
鈥淭aming the Beast: Rabbinic Pacification of 2nd century Palestinian Messianism,鈥
Conference on Religion, Conflict and Violence: Exploring Patterns Past and
Present, East and West, University of Washington, May 2004
鈥淭he Reception of Rabbi Judah鈥檚 Mishnah: A Re-examination,鈥 Conference in honor of
Professor David Halivni, May 2005
Respondent to Philip Reynolds, 鈥淗ow Marriage Became One of the Sacraments,鈥 Faculty
luncheon, Candler School of Theology, November, 2007
鈥淭he Orthodox Community and Federations: The View from 鈥極ut-of-Town,鈥 Orthodox
Forum on Philanthropy, March 2008
Panel Discussion,PEJE Biennial Conference, 鈥淭he Future of Jewish Education,鈥 April 2008
Session chair, 鈥淭he Situation in Israel,鈥 Orthodox Forum on Relationship of Orthodox Jews
and Other Jewish Ideologies, March 2009
鈥淎merican Religion and American Judaism: Natural and Intentional Communities,鈥
Southeastern Conference for the Study of Religion, March 2011
Panelist, 鈥淛ewish Models of Conflict Resolution,鈥 Association of Jewish Studies
Conference, December 2011
Respondent to Jonathan Crane鈥檚 鈥淎 Phenomenology of Confidentiality, Secrecy and
Privacy,鈥 Tam Institute for Jewish Studies Seminar Series, Feb 2012
Participant in Wabash Center research project on the Religious Site Visit, Georgia
Perimeter College, October 2013
Panelist, 鈥淪urvey of the Long Term Impacts of Liberal Education on Religious Studies
Majors,鈥 American Academy of Religion Annual Conference, Nov 2013
鈥淔itting In: American Jewish Self-Understanding over the Course of the 20th Century,鈥
Conference on Re-thinking Jewish Identity and Jewish Education, Brandeis
University, March 30-31, 2014
鈥淎merican Judaism: The Interplay of Intentional and Natural Communities,鈥 Association of
Jewish Studies Conference, December 13, 2015
鈥淚srael and the Intentional Judaism of American Jews,鈥 Leffell Seminar on Israel Studies,
White Plains, New York, August 1-3, 2016
鈥淭echnology and the Religious Self: Trends in American Judaism,鈥 Oxford University
Summer Institute on Modern and Contemporary Judaism, Oxford, UK July 2-10,
2017
鈥淚nnovation in a Preservationist Mode: New Strategies in Contemporary Ultra-Orthodoxy,鈥
SECSOR, Athens, GA March 1, 2020
Participant and respondent in virtual Oxford Summer Institute on Modern and
Contemporary Judaism, July 5-8, 2020
鈥淛udaism in Society,鈥 part of Faiths in Conversation series, SMU Perkins School of
Theology and The Dallas Institute, December 7, 2020 (Zoom)
Participant and respondent in virtual Oxford Summer Institute on Modern and
Contemporary Judaism, 鈥淒isruption, Resilience, Rebuilding,鈥 July 6-7, 2021
Panelist, 鈥淧ew鈥檚 Jews,鈥 National Jewish Retreat, Stone Mountain, GA, August 12, 2021
鈥淚ntentional Jews: The Influence of American Religion on American Judaism,鈥 National
Jewish Retreat, Stone Mountain, GA August 15, 2021
鈥淭he Concept of Family in Judaism,鈥 Bavarian Research Center for Interreligious
Discourses, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Oct. 6-7, 2021 (Zoom)
鈥淏est Practice in Higher Education Workshop,鈥 webinar sponsored by the Center of
Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Effat University (Jedda, Saudi Arabia), Oct.
18, 2021
Respondent, session on 鈥淐atholic Theology and Jews,鈥 Catholic Theological Society of
America, Atlanta, GA June 10, 2022
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
樱花动漫
500 W. 185th Street
New York, NY 10033