The 2026 Crane Masterclass

Feb. 23rd-27th
9 AM – 1 PM
Gilman 388

The Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Program in Jewish Studies is happy to announce the upcoming program Imagining Israel Baal Shem Tov: Readings in Hasidic Hagiographic Literature with Crane Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies Jonatan Meir. This masterclass, hosted the week of February 23–27, 2026, will present a close examination of the forthcoming critical edition of the Shivhei ha-Besht. 

For more information about registration and attendance please contact Prof. Pawel Maciejko ([email protected]).

The 2026 Crane Lecture

Feb. 26th
4:30 PM
Gilman 208

The Mythological Figure of Israel Baal Shem Tov

This lecture offers a broad survey of the development of the literary and theological image of R. Israel Ba‘al Shem Tov, from the emergence of Hasidism in the mid-eighteenth century through the early twentieth century. It presents a groundbreaking attempt to examine the numerous – and often fantastical – legends surrounding the historical figure of the Ba‘al Shem Tov, to assess the diverse attitudes toward him as reflected in Hasidic literature, the Haskalah, Hebrew and Yiddish literature, and modern academic scholarship, and to reveal the ways in which his figure was employed and reshaped across different historical periods, up to the present day