News and Events

× Monday, February 9, 2026
Discussants: Ruby Namdar, Novelist (LABA). Professor Haim Weiss, Ben Gurion University. Facilitated by Professor Shai Secunda, Bard College
Olin Humanities, Room 102 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
In this conversation between a professor of classical Hebrew literature and a contemporary Hebrew novelist, we will discuss a remarkable Talmudic tale about a rabbi, hiding in a cave to avoid Roman persecution, who then reemerges after twelve years to a world that appears unchanged. We will explore some of the literary and philosophical features of this story as we consider the relationship between the study of classical Hebrew literature and the writing of modern Hebrew literature today.

× Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Please join us weekly and stay as long as you like.
Kline Commons 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm EST/GMT-5
Language tables are held at Kline and entail about an hour of casual discussion during meal times, where students interested in a language get to know each other and practice colloquial conversations. They are held by the tutor of the language, and although sometimes professors join the table, it is a very low-stakes and fun setting to immerse yourself in a language, its culture and the foreign language community at Bard.

× Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Olin Humanities, Room 102 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Join us as we welcome Abby Stein, who will give a talk on Gender and Judaism and share her own powerful story. Stein was born and raised in a family of distinguished rabbinic lineage (she’s a tenth-generation descendent of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism), and studied to become a rabbi before leaving that world in 2012. Since coming out, she has been working to raise support and awareness for trans rights and for those leaving ultra-Orthodoxy. Stein is a Jewish educator, author, speaker, and activist, whose forthcoming book Sources of Pride is an anthology and exploration of Jewish texts on identity, gender, sexuality, and inclusivity.