College of Jewish Studies Heidelberg

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he Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg (HfJS) was founded in 1979. It is supported by the Central Council of the Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland), financed through the local and federal government and is a fully recognized and accredited institution of higher learning. Nowhere else in Europe can Jewish studies be pursued in comparable breadth and depth. This allows... the HfJS to impart to its students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, the richness and diversity of Jewish religion, history and culture within an academic context.
With 10 professors and as many Assistants the HfJS is today the leading center for Jewish studies in Europe. Due to the recognition the HfJS has attained, it has become a main source of information for politicians, the media, churches and other educational institutions, as well as being since 2007 a member of the College Rectors’ Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz).
The HfJS views itself as a part of a community wherein it can serve as a catalyst for understanding and dialogue. Its task is not merely the advancement of academic research and knowledge, but also to serve as a bridge between the Jewish community in Germany and the society at large. In its public lecture series "Heidelberger Hochschulreden" such noteworthy luminaries have spoken as Chancellor Angela Merkel, Marcel Reich-Ranicki and Joschka Fischer. The HfJS has also been able to involve a wide array of academics, students and others with an interest in Jewish religion and culture through its various publications: "Trumah", the academic journal of the HfJS and its book series "Schriften der Hochschule für Jüdische Studien". An electronic newsletter is also published regularly that offers news and information about the HfJS.
​​“…and thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua, 1:8): Originally, this excerpt has been thought to refer to the “Book of the Torah”. But in the 19th century, the "Wissenschaft des Judentums" applied this phrase to the whole of Jewish religion and culture. Nevertheless, the movement’s institutions of Jewish higher education in Breslau and Berlin remained isolated from the scientific landscape, having been ultimately dismantled during the National Socialist Regime. Later founded by the Central Council for Jews in Germany in 1979, the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg chose this phrase from Joshua as its guiding principle to be followed in accordance with its manifold meanings. In doing so, the HfJS fosters the legacy of the "Wissenschaft des Judentums" by further developing its approaches into a dynamic part of the surrounding scholarly terrain.
The Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg is a point of dynamic scholarly discussion that incorporates all facets of Jewish religion, history, cultures and societies. While the proximity to the historical heritage of Ashkenaz provides decisive impetus for both academic and religious work at the HfJS, its interest invariably extends beyond to all areas of geography and chronology as to consider Jewish cultures at large: in the past and present; within a self-reliant Judaism; within the Diaspora; and likewise within the land of Israel.
The Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg opens its doors to all students and scholars—regardless of their respective origins and creeds. It also undertakes a dual track, which is demonstrated by the mere layout of the HfJS itself: The scientific Albert Einstein Library is situated, albeit with seminar rooms between them, in juxtaposition to the corresponding house of learning, the Beth Midrash. Here within the same institution, the learning of religious foundational texts of Judaism with the campus Rabbi meets the study and scientific discourse among members and academic staff. Equipped with a kosher cafeteria, the HfJS furthermore caters to the needs of its members for nourishment and a relaxing social atmosphere.
The interplay between internal and external perspectives allows the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg to hone its view on religion, history, culture and society. It is, after all, the teachers and graduates who will refine our knowledge of Jewish history and theology. As a center of excellence unique in its field to Europe, the HfJS distinctly enables diverse resources and future prospects both within and outside of the Jewish communities of Europe.
The HfJS provides strong language training at all levels (in Biblical, Rabbinical and Modern Hebrew, as well as Hebrew-scripted languages, such as Yiddish and Judeo-Arabic). It offers degrees in accredited B.A. and M.A. programs taught in German, as well as an international M.A. partnership program in “Jewish Civilizations” taught in English together with Paideia—The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. Finally, the HfJS also provides a Ph.D in Jewish Studies (Dr. phil.) in cooperation with the University of Heidelberg.
The B.A. in Jewish studies offers to students of the HfJS a course of study that is focused on the humanities and cultural studies. It is not connected to any particular denomination or confession and requires no previous knowledge of Hebrew, nor does it presuppose a familiarity with Jewish religion, history or culture. The portion of general studies can count as 75%, 50%, or 25% of the total course of study. Students who chose this path focus on the sources of Judaism: that is, the sacred texts of Judaism and their interpretation over the course of history; the history of the Jewish people; Jewish philosophy, art, and literature; as well as other thematically associated fields. In this way, the object of inquiry is time and again viewed through the perspective offered by a number of academic disciplines.
After the completion of the B.A. with a portion of at least 50%, the course of study can be continued in order to acquire the degree of M.A. in Jewish Studies. In the course of the student’s M.A. studies the knowledge gained during the B.A. will be expanded and deepened. The comprehensive course offerings at the HfJS makes it possible for students who aspire to the M.A. in Jewish studies to specialize in an area of study according to their own choosing. The M.A. degree qualifies graduates for PhD study.
In contrast to the M.A. in Jewish studies the HfJS also offers a joint masters degree program in Jewish Studies and the History of Jewish Culture. The program is open for all advanced students in the fields of the humanities, social sciences and theology, as well as students with a degree in Islamic studies or political science. This course of study offers to graduates who have already become acquainted in the course of their bachelor studies with technical and research-intensive modes of learning a rapid entrance into the academic field of Jewish Studies. Students are able to quickly specialize and to choose for themselves their focus according to their individual interests.
This program is offered by the HfJS in conjunction with the Karl-Franzen-Universität Graz. After a first required semester in Heidelberg the student must spend at least one semester in Graz. This M.A. qualifies graduates for PhD study.
Jewish Civilizations is a joint Master"s program between the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg and Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. The first phase of the degree program takes place in Stockholm with the One-Year Program, for which the annual application deadline is 15th April to matriculate for the following Winter semester.
The non-consecutive Master’s programme in “Jewish Civilizations” should develop in students the ability to develop the cultural-academic study of Jewish civilizations in their different forms, through intensive language and source study, to which competency in Hebrew language and expertise in the source material are central. In addition to this, in the course of their studies in Stockholm and Heidelberg, students should acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge and knowledge of relevant methods, in order to be able to devote themselves to the study of complex events in Jewish culture in the past, present and future.
The study of the medieval period has traditionally been separated between different faculties and departments. In the past several decades new perspectives have been developed in the humanities that stress transdisciplinary research, and through which new forums of scholarly exchange have been created. The graduate of the Heidelberg M.A. in Medieval Studies will attain a degree of familiarity with these developments and shall seek to make them consistently fertile for advanced research projects. Students are able to draw upon the extensive course offerings in medieval history, culture and the research at the various faculties of the University of Heidelberg and the HfJS.
This M.A. programme centres on a reasoned, theoretically and methodologically sound engagement with the manifold literary connections existing between Antiquity (Greek and Roman), Christian/Jewish cultural traditions and the great national literatures of Europe. The aim is to enable students to obtain an overview of the main lines of Hebrew/Jewish, Greek/Latin and modern literary and cultural development and to describe and discuss them convincingly and confidently. To this end, they will be expected to acquire the specific skills required by a course in Classical Studies on the one hand and the study of modern languages on the other. They will also need to be able to dovetail those skills productively for purposes of application. They will also learn to compare and contrast the different approaches and methodologies prevalent in the disciplines they are concerned with and to relate them to one another.