Hartley Lachter
Assistant Professor of Religion
Director of Jewish Studies
Muhlenberg College
Department of Religion Studies
Muhlenberg College
2400 Chew Street
Allentown , PA 18104-5586
Phone: (484) 664-3429
Email: lachter@muhlenberg.edu
Education
Ph.D. 2004, New York University
Medieval Jewish Mysticism
Dissertation title: Paradox and Mystical Union in the Zohar.
M.A. 1997, McGill University
History of Hebrew Bible Interpretation
Thesis Title: Revelation from Between the Lines: Martin Buber's Biblical Hermeneutic.
B.A. 1996, McGill University,
Joint Honors degree in Jewish Studies and Philosophy
Fellowships and Awards
-2006, National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute at Oxford University:
" Representations of the Other: Jews in Medieval Christendom” (declined)
-2000-2001, National Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Fellowship
-1997-2000, Skirball Doctoral Fellowship
-1996, Honors B.A, Norman Berman Memorial Prize, Dean's Honor List
Languages
Hebrew, Aramaic, German, French
Employment
Muhlenberg College , 2005 - Present, Assistant Professor of Religion; Director of Jewish Studies
Jewish Traditions
Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
Gender and Sexuality in Judaism
Understanding the Hebrew Bible
Paths in Jewish Thought
Jewish Mysticism: Kabbalah
Religion and Violence
First Year Seminar: Encountering the Occult
Vassar College, 2002-2005, Dept. of Religion, Visiting Lecturer.
Vassar College , Spring 2002, Spring 2001, Dept. of Religion, Visiting Adjunct Instructor.
Religion and War
Medieval Jewish-Christian Polemics
Freshman Seminar: God's Body
Jewish Studies 101: Introduction to Jewish Studies
Jewish Philosophy
Western Mystical Traditions: Kabbalah
Advanced Seminar: Gender and Sexuality in Judaism
Religion 101: Introduction to the Critical Study of Religion
Advanced Seminar: Religion and Critical Thought
Jewish Experience in the 20 th Century (Modern Jewish Thought)
Classical Jewish Culture: Messiahs, Heretics and Redeemers
Rutgers University, Fall 2001, Dept. of Jewish Studies, Visiting Adjunct Lecturer.
Jewish Mystical Traditions
New York University, Fall 2000, College of Arts and Sciences, Teaching Assistant.
Conversations of the West: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
New York University , Spring 1999 – Spring 2000, Dept. of Jewish Studies, Adjunct
Lecturer:
Magic, Religion, and the Jewish Tradition
Jewish Philosophy in the Medieval World
Introduction to Jewish Mysticism and Hasidism
McGill University, Summer 1998, Faculty of Religion, Visiting Adjunct Lecturer.
Sexuality, Textuality and Spirituality: Kabbalistic Readings of the Hebrew Bible
Articles Accepted for Publication
"Kabbalah, Philosophy and the Jewish-Christian Debate: Reconsidering the Early Works of Joseph Gikatilla." The Journal For Jewish Thought and Philosophy , Spring 2008 (forthcoming).
Works in Progress
Article: “Kabbalistic Motifs in Isaac ibn Sahula's Meshal ha-Qadmoni .”
Article: “Mystical Annihilation and Renewal in the Zohar .”
Article: “Mapping Kabbalah and the Study of Jewish Mysticism.”
Book: Working title - Kabbalah, Mysticism and Esotericism in the Middle Ages – an examination of the mystical doctrines of the Zohar and related literature and their relationship to Western Esotericism. Under contract with Equinox publishers, August, 2009.
Book: An examination of mystical experience in the Zohar and other Kabbalistic literature from the second half of the 13th century within the context of the prevailing Jewish-Christian debate.
Conference Papers and Panels
" Promoting Kabbalah and Conflicting with the Church in Isaac ibn Sahula's Meshal ha-Kadmoni ,” 43 rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2008.
“Mystical Annihilation and Cosmic Renewal in the Zohar.” Mid-Atlantic American Academy of Religion conference, New Brunzwick , NJ , March 2008.
Roundtable Respondent and Organizer, "Is Kabbalah Mysticism?" Association for Jewish Studies Conference, San Diego , December 2007.
" Ecstatic Triumph: Kabbalah, Jewish Identity, and Jewish-Christian Polemics in 13 th Century Castile,” American Comparative Literature Association conference, Puebla , Mexico , April, 2007.
“ Kabbalah and Conflict: Thirteenth-Century Spanish Kabbalah
and Jewish-Christian Polemics,” Association for Jewish Studies conference, San Diego , CA , December, 2006.
“Philosophy, Mysticism, and the 13th Century Jewish-Christian Debate in Joseph Gikatilla's Early Works,” Association for Jewish Studies conference, Washington , D.C. , December 2005.
“ Mystical Aspects of Worship in the Zohar,” Association for Jewish Studies conference, Chicago , December, 2004.
“Panentheism and Mystical Union in the Zohar,” Association for Jewish Studies conference, Boston , December 2003.
Vassar College , Spring 2002, Fishman Faculty Development Seminar on Jewish Studies in the Academy, Panelist, “Trajectories in Jewish Studies.”
Editorial Work
Editor for the Judaism section of Religion Compass , Blackwell Publishers.
Departmental Service
Director, Jewish Studies Program, 2005-Present, Muhlenberg College.
Nominating Committee, 2007-2008, Muhlenberg College
College Taskforce on the "Senior Year Experience," 2006-2007, Muhlenberg College.
Faculty Representative, Theta Alpha Kappa Religion Honors Society.
Religion Department Planning Committee, Fall 2005, Muhlenberg College.
Represented Muhlenberg as a “Summit Scholar” – funded by the Schusterman Foundation – at the “Hillel Summit on the University and the Jewish Community” in Washington , DC , May 21-23, 2006.
Jewish Studies Steering Committee , 2002-2005, Vassar College.
Professional Affiliations
Association for Jewish Studies
American Academy of Religion
American Comparative Literature Association
European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism
Association for the Study of Esotericism