1. Curriculum Vitae
Yakir Englander
Yakir1212englander@gmail.com
Academic Address:
Harvard Divinity School
45Francis Avenue, Cambridge, MA 01238
(1)847-868-6541
EDUCATION
2012: Ph.D. (May 2012) from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Jewish Philosophy in
conjunction with Gender Studies.
"The Perception of the Male Body in Lithuanian Ultra Orthodox Society during the Last
Sixty Years, and its Ramifications for Understanding the Human Subject and the World"
Supervisors: Dr. Avinoan Rosenak (Jewish Philosophy Department);
Dr. Orit Kamir (Law Department and Gender Studies)
2005: M.A. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem:
Jewish Thought in Conjunction with Gender Studies.
Thesis: The Perception of Women's Sexuality in the Rabbinical Courts and its Influence on
its Verdicts. Summa Cum Laude.
Supervisors: Dr. Avinoan Rosenak (Jewish Philosophy Department);
Dr. Orit Kamir (Law Department and Gender Studies)
2003: B.A. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Departments of Psychology and Jewish Thought. Magna Cum Laude
1995-1998: Ultra Orthodox Yeshiva "Tiferet Abraham": Religious studies
FELLOWSHIPS
2015 – 2014 (September): A visiting Scholar in Women’s Studies Program in the
Divinity School, Harvard University
2014 - 2012 (September(: Postdoctoral Fellow in Israel Studies and Visiting Assistant

2. Professor in Religious Studies at Northwestern University
2014 - 2012 (September): Fulbright - Rabin Scholar
2014 - 2012 (September): Faculty at Shalom Hartman Institute in North America
2012-2010: Scholion Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2012-2008: Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem1
.
2011-2008: The Presidential Fellowship for Ph.D. Students at the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
2015 – 2014: Instructor at Harvard University (Divinity School). Courses entitled:
“Gender and Sexuality in Jewish Mysticism and Theology”
2014-2012: Shalom Hartman North America Scholar.
2014 - 2012(September): Instructor at Northwestern University (Religious Studies and
Jewish Studies). Courses entitled: From Diaspora Body to Zionist Body, and Back Again;
A Journey with the Images of the Jewish Body in the Twentieth Century (Winter 2013);
Gender Theory and Jewish Life (Spring 2013), Struggling with God – Creating the Self in
Modern Jewish Theology (Fall 2013)
2012-2011: Instructor at the Hebrew University (Jewish Philosophy and Gender
Studies). Course entitled "The Halakhic Body: Critical Thinking".
2012-2011: Instructor at the Hebrew University (Jewish Philosophy and Gender
Studies). Course entitled "Contemporary Research on Jewish Culture
from a Sociological Perspective: Gender and the Jewish Body".
2012 – 2006: A Research Assistant for Professor Avi Sagi and Professor Zvi Zohar.
2011-2007: Instructor at the Hebrew University (Jewish Philosophy and Gender
Studies). Course entitled “A Critical Reading of Halakhic Literature from a Feminist
Perspective"
2012-2010: Scholion Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2009-2007: Teacher in Eastern Europe (Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia,
Hungary and Bulgaria): Jewish Philosophy, Talmud, and Gender Studies.
2006-2004: Hebrew University: Teacher's Assistant (TA) for Professor Avi Ravitsky,
Introductory Course in Jewish Thought
2004-2001: Group Leader in "Gesher" Organization: Moderating secular-religious
1
http://www.hartmaninstitute.com/Fellows_View_Eng.asp?Fellows_Id=22

3. encounters, building Jewish identity at secular high schools and leading
Jewish Diaspora seminars on the subject of Jewish identity.
2006-2001: Taught 1st
-8th
grade, Hashmonaim School (Ultra Orthodox)
VOLUNTARY SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
2015 – 2012: Vice President of Kids4Peace International
2013-2002: Leader of Jewish Prayer Services for the High Holidays in Holland
2007-2012: Director of Kids4Peace Jerusalem – An Interfaith Educational
Program for Jewish, Muslim and Christian Children in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Ramallah,
Bethlehem and the surrounding areas.
2003-2012: Hillel Organization: Mentor to Ultra-Orthodox Jews who choose to
leave the Haredi world
2009-2005: Member of Volunteer Editorial Team for the journal "Deot".
2006-2005: Volunteer work with Advocate Susan Weiss, Chairperson, The Center
of Justice for Woman (her book on Jewish women denied divorce)
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS (Peer Reviewed)
Books:
2015 - 2012: The Perception of the Male Body in Lithuanian Ultra-Orthodox Society
During the Last Sixty Years, Magnes Press – The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem (Forthcoming) (in Hebrew)
2015 - 2014: Sexuality and the Body in the New Religious Zionist Discourse (with
Professor Avi Sagi), Academy Press, 2015 (In English)
2013 - 2010: Sexuality and the Body in the New Religious Zionist Discourse (with
Professor Avi Sagi), Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem 2013 (in Hebrew)

4. Editorial Works:
2013-2012: Co-Editor for the book: Jewish Philosophy and Zionist Thought: Writings
of Yoske Achituv, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem 2013 (in Hebrew)
2013 – 2011: Assistant Editor for the book: Faith: Jewish Perspectives (Avi Sagi and
Dov Schwartz Ed.), Academic Studies Press, Boston 2013 (in English)
2008: Assistant Editor for the book: Eliezer Goldman: Judaism without Illusion,
Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem 2009 (in Hebrew)
Articles:
2015-2014: “A Critical Reading of American Jewish Engagement with the Israeli-
Palestinian Conflict”, Explorations in Jewish Religious and Philosophical Ethics
(Forthcoming) (In English)
2015-2014: “Expressional-Judaism and Tensional-Judaism: A Critical
Thinking on Contemporary Jewish Life” (Submitted for Publication) (In
English)
2015-2014: “The Death of Humanity and the Need for a Glory Culture - The Existential
Project of Elie Wiesel” (Submitted for Publication) (In English)
2014: “The 'Jewish Knight' of Slobodka: Honor Culture and the Image of the Body in an
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Context”, Religion 45.4 (2015) (In English)
2014: “An Ultra-Orthodox Duel: The Image of Slobodka’s Yeshiva in the European
Culture”, (Forthcoming) (In Hebrew)
2014-2013: “The Halakhic Body: A Phenomenological Perspective on the Halakhic
Body”, (In Hebrew) (Forthcoming)
2013 - 2012: “The Image of the Male Body in Lithuanian Ultra-Orthodox Thought in
Israel and Corresponding Strategies for Forging an A-Feminine Public sphere”,
Journal of Contemporary Religion 29:3 (2014): 457 - 470 (In English)
2013: The Term “Israel” in Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, Vol. 4: 153 –
165 (In English)
2013 - 2012: “Changing Concepts of the Ultra-Orthodox Body: Rabbi Avigdor Miller as

5. a Test Case”, American Academy Journal of Religion 82:3 (2014): 771 – 810 (In
English)
2011: “Halakha as Praxis: The Body of the Zaddik in 20th
Hasidic Stories”,
Mechkarei Yerusalim be-Safrut Ivrit 27 (2014): 103 – 132 (In Hebrew)
2011: “Body and Shame in the World of Tanaim and Amoraim (Ancient Jewish
Sages)” (with Dr. Orit Kamir), Jewish Studies 49 (2013): 57 – 101. (In
Hebrew)
2011: "We Believe in Peace: Religion as a Tool for Forging Dialogue in Jerusalem",
Responsibilities and Actions of the Youth in Cultural Inheritance, Innovation
and Development, University of Beijing, Beijing (2011): 193 - 197 (In
English)
2010: “Secular Influence on Haredi Thought – The Philosophy of Rabbi Avigdor
Miller as Test Case”, Daat 71 (2011): 133 – 165. (In Hebrew)
2010: “The Representation of the Female Body and its Sexuality in the Israeli
Rabbinical Courts: An Analysis”, Iyunim Bitkumat Israel: Studies in Israeli
and Modern Jewish Society 21 (2011): 280 – 316. (In Hebrew)
2009: “From Halakhic to Pastoral Discourse in Religious-Zionist Halakha:
Masturbation as a Test Case (With Prof. Avi Sagi)”, Democratic Culture Journal 13
(2012): 269 – 324. (In English)
2009: “The Conception of the Human Being and its Halakhic Function in the
Writing of the Hazon Ish” in: Hadarin: Hartman Institute Academic Journal 2 (2010):
183 – 214. http://reshit.hartman.org.il/ (in Hebrew)
2009: “From Halakhic to Pastoral Discourse in Religious-Zionist Halakha:
Masturbation as a Test Case” (With Professor Avi Sagi) Democratic Culture
Journal 13 (2011): 213 – 257. (In Hebrew)
2008: “Design of the Body in ‘The Light Burn’, a Novel by Aharon Appelfeld”,24
Readings in Appelfeld’s Writings (Avi Lipsker and Avi Sagi Ed.), Bar-Ilan
University Press (2012): 57 – 84 (In Hebrew)
2008: “Homosexuality and Dignity in the U.S. Conservative Movement's Halakha
Take Out in USA (With Dr. Amalya Ziv), Conservative Judaism: Thought, Culture and
Sociology, (Professor Aviezer Ravitzky and Dr. Avinoam Rosenak Ed.) (In
Hebrew) (Forthcoming)
2007: “The Perception of Homosexuality in the U.S. Reform Movement's Halakha –
A Critical Reading” in Reform Judaism: Thought, Culture and Sociology (Dr.

6. Avinoam Rosenak Ed.), Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem 2014: 228 – 260 (In
Hebrew)
2007: “Ideology in the Rabbinical Courts: An examination of the Israeli Rabbinical
Courts Rulings on the Topic of Violence as a Rationalization for the Claim of
Disinterest”, In Halakha and Ideology (Dr. Rosenak Ed.), Van Leer and Magnes,
Jerusalem, 2012: 60 – 77 (In Hebrew)
CONFERENCE PAPERS
2015 (April 27): “The Secrets of the Haredi World”, Jewish Studies Program, Princeton
University, New Jersey.
2015 (April 16): “The Desire to Touch the Holy: Between Law and Prayer”, HDS
Dean's Leadership Forum, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA.
2015 (April 2): “Credibility and Vulnerability of Peace leaders”, Seminar, St. Michael
College, Burlington, Vermont.
2015 (April 1): “Breaking Barriers, The Way to Peace in Israel/Palestine”, A Panel
Discussion, St. Michael College, Burlington, Vermont.
2015 (March 4): “American Judaism, Israeli Judaism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”,
Seminar Class, Brandies University, Boston, MA.
2015 (Feb 25): “Religion and Approaches to Nonviolent Conflict Transformation in
Israel and Palestine", Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA.
2015 (Jan): “God and Intimacy in the Talmud”, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge.
2014 (November 19): “Ultra-Orthodox Theology and Sexuality”, Religious Studies
Seminar, University of Chapel Hill, NC.
2014 (November 18): ““The Role of Religion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: How
Does Interfaith Dialogue Promote Peace?”, Open Lecture, Duke University, NC
2014 (November 18): “Zionist-Orthodoxy, Media and Sexuality”, Seminar, University of
Chapel Hill, NC.
2014 (November 18): “Ultra-Orthodox Intimacy”, Seminar, Duke University, NC
2014 (July 1 - 26): A seminar for scholars from all over the world with focus on religion
and conflict regions, to be held at Columbia University, JTS and Union Theological
Seminary, NYC.

7. 2014 (June 2): “The Death of Humanity and the Image of God – New Reading in the
Theology of Elie Wiesel”, Faculty Seminar, Jewish Studies, Northwestern University,
Chicago
2014 (May 27): “New Paths in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Politics, Actions, Dialogue
and Theology” - Buffett Center, Northwestern University, Chicago
2014 (May 2): “‘Judaism’ or ‘Judaisms’ – How Understandings of Jewish Identity
Influence the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” - Buffett Center, Northwestern University,
Chicago
2014 (April 7): “The New Religious-Zionist Discourse on Body and Sexuality” - Seminar
for Jewish Ethics, Schwalb Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, Omaha University,
Nebraska
2014 (April 5): “The Role of Theology in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Kids4Peace -
Interfaith in Jerusalem” - Opening Lecture at Community Engagement Center, Omaha
University, Nebraska
2014 (March 13): “Conflict, Politics and Interfaith Dialogue” - Culture Studies Seminar,
University of Toronto, Canada
2014 (March 12): “Sexuality and Contemporary Jewish Theology” - Religious Studies,
Sudbury University, Canada
2014 (March 11): “The Role of Religion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” - Religious
Studies, Sudbury University, Canada
2013 (November 2): “Theology and Politics” - Bradley University, Illinois
2013 (November 1): “Changes in the Image of God in Jewish Theology and Philosophy”
- Faculty Seminar, Religion and Philosophy Department, Bradley University, Illinois
2013 (June 23): “From Human to Divine and Back Again: Religion as Instrument for
Self-Critique and Self-esteem”, Sacred Texts, Rochester College (In English)
2013 (April 24): “The Body and Sexuality in the Zionist-Orthodoxy Discourse”, a
Faculty Seminar at Northwestern University (In English)
2013 (April 20): "Can We Believe in Peace: A Theology of Peace”, Goucher College,
Baltimore (In English)
2013 (April 19): “The Image of the Israeli Soldier in Poetry and Cinema”, Goucher
College – Baltimore (In English)
2013 (April 13-14): “The Public and Private Ultra-Orthodox Sphere”, Minorities,
Media and Democratization in the Contemporary Middle East, University of
Nebraska at Omaha (In English)

8. 2013 (April 6): “Return to the ‘Other’: The Imperative of a New Jewish Theology of
Return”, the Right of Return, Boston University (In English)
2013 (March 25):"Phenomenology of the Body? Theory and Theology", Yale
University (In English)
2013: (February 20): “The Image of the Ultra-Orthodox body in Musar Theology”,
University of Chicago (In English)
2013: (January) “When Orthodox Jewish Theology meets Merleau-Ponty's
Phenomenology: the Image of the Jewish Body” (a Research Faculty Seminar),
Bradley University (In English)
2013: (January): “Contemporary Ultra-Orthodoxy Theology”, Bradley University (In
English)
2012: “Strategies for Dealing with the ‘Problem of the Body’ in Contemporary
Ultra-Orthodox Thought in America, and their Consequences for the
Formulation of the Public Sphere as an a-Femininity Sphere”, Ultra-Orthodoxy
in America, Northwestern University (In English)
2012: “Contemporary Ultra-Orthodoxy in America”, Ultra-Orthodoxy in USA,
Northwestern University (In English)
2012: “The Defended Haredi Body: The City of God and the City of Man”, Scholion
Institute, The Hebrew University (In English)
2011: "The Practical Academy: 'We Believe In Peace': Religion As Tool For
Creating Dialogue In Jerusalem", University in Beijing, China, at the
Beijing Academic Forum (In English)
2011: "The Jewish Knight–Slabodka's Yeshiva and the Honorable Ultra
Orthodox Jew", Van Leer Institute and Max Planck Institute, Berlin (In
English)
2011: "Using Phenomenology Research Tools to Read Ultra Orthodox Texts",
Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
2010: "The Tension Around the Status of the Zadik's Body in the 'Event' and
'Halakhah': A Reading of the Stories of Rabbi Israel from Viznitz", in: Halakhah
as an 'Event' Conference, Hebrew University and Van Leer Institute.
2009: "The Conservative Movement's Attitude towards Gay Sex: A Critical
Analysis”, Van Leer Instiute, Jerusalem.
2009 : “Gender and Sexuality from an Orthodox Perspective”, Departmental

9. Seminar for Gender Studies, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva.
2008: “Homosexuality and Lesbianism in Reform Halacha (CCAR), Van Leer
Institute, Jerusalem.2
2007: “Kids4Peach and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, Opening of Desmond Tutu
Peace Center, G.T.S., NY.3
2007: “Ideology and Halacha: The Case of the Rabbinical Courts in Israel”, Van Leer
Institute, Jerusalem.4
2007: “Violence and Get in the Rabbinical Courts of Israel”, Van Leer Institute,
Jerusalem.
LANGUAGES
Hebrew, mother tongue; English, fluent; Aramaic, fluent; Yiddish good understanding
skills; French, good reading skills.
AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
2015 - 2014: Ephraim Urbach Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant, Memorial Foundation
2012: Fulbright – Rabin
2011: The Israel Council of Higher Education (CHE)
“Berlinsky-Sheinfeld Award for Change in Israeli Society” For volunteer
work as Director of “Kids4Peace Jerusalem”
2011 Representing the Hebrew University: "The Practical Academy: 'We
Believe In Peace': Religion As Tool For Creating Dialogue In Jerusalem",
University in Beijing, China, at The Beijing Academic Forum (In English)
2011-2012: Guggenheim Scholarship at the Hebrew University for Jewish
Studies and Ethics.
2008-2011: Presidential (Nasi) Scholarship at the Hebrew University.
2008-2011: Hoffman Scholarship for Volunteers in the Community, Hebrew
University.
2007: Layfer Scholarship for Gender Studies.
2005-2007: Mandel Scholarship for Jewish Studies.
2
http://www.vanleer.org.il/heb/videoShow.asp?id=414
3
http://www.episcopalatlanta.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/921
4
http://www.vanleer.org.il/heb/videoShow.asp?id=342

10. 2005-2006: Lakritz Scholarship.
2004: Hillel Organization Scholarship for Voluntary Social Activities
References:
Dr. Avinoam Rosenak, Head of Jewish Philosophy Department, Hebrew University of
Jerusalem
avinoam.rosenak@mail.huji.ac.il
Dr. Orit Kamir, Law Department, Peres Academy, Israel:
oritkamir@gmail.com