About

This is a discipline unique in its methods and subject matter. Studying its sources and mastering its methods are invaluable in your general undergraduate education. You learn to analyze complex ideas carefully and clearly; to eschew vague, impressionistic reflection; to read with care, curiosity and wonder; to formulate arguments in an organized and persuasive fashion.

Jewish Philosophy and Thought focuses on studies down through the ages and in bringing the methods of general philosophy and religious research to bear on Jewish questions.

Our program attempts to strike a balance between surveys discussing the history of Jewish philosophy and thought (that is, major thinkers and movements), including some listed under Jewish intellectual history; courses that cover particular thinkers like Maimonides, R. Kook and R. Soloveitchik; or movements like kabbalah and Hasidism and specific problems.

Interdisciplinary courses often taught in the Philosophy Department probe the interface of philosophy with religious thought. Some of these courses provide perspectives unavailable at any other college.

Jewish Studies at Yeshiva College is organized as a cluster that includes programs in Bible, Hebrew, Jewish History, and Jewish Philosophy and Thought. A student majoring in Jewish Studies may choose a concentration in any of these programs. Hebrew is also available as a separate major.