Healing the World: An Evening of Dialogue & Discoveries

Healing the World: An Evening of Dialogue & Discoveries

AFHU Greater New York Region

November 10, 2009
6:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Download the Healing the World invitation or contact Naomi Smook, 212-607-8517.

Read about the faculty presenters.

Program:

6:00 PM - Light Dinner

6:45 PM - Keynote Address by Dr. Kenneth Stein, "Shifting Middle East Landscapes: Yesterday and Tomorrow"

7:40 PM - First Session (choose course from list below).

8:40 PM - Second Session (choose course from list below).

9:30 PM - Evening Concludes

Courses:
Fighting Bacteria and Viruses
Professor Isaiah (Shy) Arkin
Our modern era, for all its medical miracles, is currently plagued by outbreaks of swine flu and other infectious diseases. Join Professor Arkin as he describes the basic physiology of significant human pathogens such as influenza. This course will explore essential questions, providing insights into recent discoveries that will help scientists to counteract the destructive impact of these pathogens. His work, which begins at the molecular level, covers such mysteries as the salt and acid pumps in bacteria and viruses. These intricate processes will be described, as will current efforts to design inhibitors that can derail pathogens and prevent their spread.

From Tiny to Great: Nanotechnology’s Contribution to Solving the World’s Energy Crisis
Ronny Costi
In the face of growing natural resource scarcity and depletion, researchers are striving to develop forms of renewable solar energy. Ronny Costi will discuss the role that pioneering nanoscience and nanotechnology techniques are playing in the quest to develop clean and renewable energy. Learn the difference between a solar cell and solar fuel, and discover how they work. Develop a basic understanding of the amazing field of nanoscience and the size-dependent behavior of materials in nature. Their special properties make nanomaterials promising elements in the scientific drive to create renewable and non-polluting energy sources.

Jewish Identity, Assimilation and Continuity: Are Jews Across the World Similiar or Different?
Professor Sergio DellaPergola
This course will examine Jewish population and community trends in Israel, the US, and worldwide. Professor DellaPergola will highlight the trends that may well determine the future of the Jewish people and Israel in particular. Learn about Jewish demography and the questions it raises concerning Jewish identity. Explore the thought-provoking and truly complex question of how a Jew is defined. These assessments and analyses, which have many quantitative and qualitative dimensions, are vital to the future of the Jewish people in every part of the globe.

Freud, Zipporah, and the Bridegroom of Blood: National Ambivalence in the Bible
Professor Ilana Pardes
Professor Pardes will explore Freudʼs reading of the story of “The Bridegroom of Blood” (Exodus 4:24-26) in Moses and Monotheism. The course will highlight Freudʼs vital contribution to the understanding of the fashioning of ancient Israel in his probing of the hidden psychical phenomena which shape the history and character of the nation behind the scenes. But it will also point to the limitations of Freudʼs account. Pardes regards “The Bridegroom of Blood” as a text in which Egyptian polytheism returns from the realm of the repressed, revealing cardinal fissures within the monotheistic framework. Special attention will be given to Zipporahʼs unusual role and to the conflicting representations of femininity in Exodus.

The Challenge of Protecting Human Rights in Israel
Professor Yuval Shany
Israel is a democracy founded on the Rule of Law. Still the ability of Israelʼs judicial system to effectively protect human rights is complicated by the problematic constitutional infrastructure that exists in Israel and by the enormous challenges that the Israeli society faces. The presentation will discuss the record of achievement of the Israeli legal system in light of these difficulties, focusing in particular on issues relating to minority rights within Israel and Israeli-Palestinian relations.

The Nature of Things: Maimonides on the World’s Ailments and their Cure
Professor Sarah Stroumsa
As a physician, Maimonides (1135-1204), widely considered the worldʼs greatest Jewish thinker, encountered physical illness on a daily basis. As a highly original philosopher, he pondered the troubles of the world in more general terms, discussing the nature of illness as well as the impact of phenomenon such as climate change and natural disasters. Professor Stroumsa will examine Maimonidesʼ analysis of the worldʼs varied ailments. We will learn how Maimonides assessed pagan responses and cures to these calamities, and develop an understanding of the towering philosopherʼs rationalist response to crises of both individual and universal nature.

Israel’s Role in Creating a Sustainable Environment
Professor Rony Wallach
As the earthʼs ecosystem becomes more fragile, water can mean the difference between sustenance and starvation across two-thirds of the globe. Professor Wallach will examine the unique Israeli experience in terms of developing and managing limited water resources and treating successful agriculture in an arid environment. He will also discuss Israelʼs research directed towards studying the various phases and components of the soil-water-atmosphere complex.