Today the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, upon the recommendation of the Bronfman Chair search committee, offered the position to Yehuda Kurtzer, Harvard PhD candidate and Wexner Graduate Fellow, who entitled his project

“The Sacred Task of Rebuilding Jewish Memory”

The committee took into consideration the proposal itself, the ability for that idea to become an accessible book, the candidate’s interview, the symposium presentation, the courses candidates proposed to teach at Brandeis, outside recommendations, and responses from the symposium audience. No candidate won in all categories and every candidate impressed the committee.

From Yehuda’s project proposal…

“The next great step for the Jewish future will be the reclamation of the Jewish past. I
believe that the most successful, interesting and engaging programs currently invigorating the
Jewish world are seizing upon this idea, and implementing the gifts of the Jewish past in
surprisingly progressive and fresh ways. I feel part of this process through my various
communal initiatives and both eager and equipped to study and articulate its roots and its
implications. The innovation I propose to advance at Brandeis is not a limited program but a
powerful programmatic and public policy statement on what authentic Jewish memory means,
from where it derives, and how the Jewish community can reinforce its values both in theory
and in practice.”

For a look at all the finalists, click here…

updated March 4th…finally, the official press release from Brandeis