YEAR IN REVIEW | BERNARD REVEL GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH STUDIES | SCHOLARSHIP • TORAH • WISDOM • THOUGHT
Last year, I began writing this letter in the shadow of October 7th. I did not expect to be writing a letter eighteen months later still awaiting the return of hostages and with continued concern for their welfare and that of our IDF troops. We continue to pray for Israel’s safety and security, and I sincerely hope not to be beginning next year’s letter in this manner. For Revel itself, the news thankfully remains positive. I reported here last year that we had partnered with the Philos Project in the creation of a Hebraic Studies program designed for Christian students, and the first six students from that program graduated this year with an MA in Jewish Studies. We have since welcomed a new cohort of eight students and hope to begin with a third cohort in Fall 2025. We will also see the first three of our South Korean students officially graduating this summer with the new Revel Graduate Certificate in Jewish Studies.
As a result of all of this, Revel continues to grow, with record numbers now in our degree programs.* SCHOOL 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
77
97
116
130
137
BERNARD REVEL
*The total number of students taking Revel courses, including auditors and undergraduate students, brings the number up to over 170 students.
Revel of course continues to hold public facing events, and our faculty continue to produce the very best in Jewish Studies scholarship, with highlights contained in this booklet as you will see. The international standing of our faculty can occasionally be a double-edged sword, however, and it is both with great pride and also some sadness that I report that we will be losing Professor Aaron Koller from our faculty at the end of the 2024–25 academic year. Aaron has been appointed to the extremely prestigious position of REGIUS PROFESSOR OF HEBREW at Cambridge University, an honor that reflects Aaron’s exceptional reputation in his field. Both his colleagues and countless students have benefitted immeasurably from his 16 years with us, and we will all miss him both personally and professionally. We wish him all the very best in his new life, and I look forward to publishing pictures in our 2025 “Year in Review” of Aaron happily punting down the Cam. I will end, as I always do, with recognition of those of you who are reading this. Whether colleagues, students, alumni, or friends and supporters, none of the things that we celebrate in our Year in Review would be possible without your support, whether moral or material. We are always happy to hear from you with feedback and ideas, so feel free to be in touch with us and to get involved.
With all best wishes,
Daniel Rynhold, PhD Dr. Mordecai D. Katz Dean
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