Malka Simkovitch
Who Invented the Diaspora?
Wednesday, November 4th, 2025 - 7:00-8:30pm ET
Wednesday, November 4th, 7:00-8:30pm ET
In partnership with the Jewish Publication Society
Who Invented the Diaspora?
The word diaspora is commonly used to designate the population of Jews outside the Land of Israel. But who first invented this Greek word, and what purpose was it meant to serve? This class will examine ancient Jewish letters that Jews within and without the Land of Israel wrote to one another which reveal profound disagreements about the diaspora – and about whether the category exists at all.
Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich is the Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society, Visiting Professor at Yeshiva University’s Revel Graduate School for Jewish Studies, and a Council Member of President Isaac Herzog’s Voice of the People delegation. She is the author of The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria, (2016), Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (2018), and Letters From Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity (2024). Simkovich’s articles have been published in journals such as the Harvard Theological Review, Sapir, the Journal for the Study of Judaism, the Jewish Review of Books, Tablet, Tradition, and The Christian Century. She served as the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and Director of Catholic-Jewish Studies at Catholic Theological Union from 2014–2024.
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