Hizky Shoham

Prof. Hizky Shoham heads the Program for Hermeneutics and Culture at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and is a research fellow at the Research Center in Hartman Institute, Jerusalem

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Prof. Hizky Shoham (Bar-Ilan University and the Shalom Hartman Institute) explores how modern Jews shape their worlds through holidays, life-cycle rituals, and emotional life. His latest book traces the history and significance of the bar and bat mitzvah. His guiding idea: there is no such thing as Judaism—only Judaisms.

Programs

Boycotts Then and Now: Lessons from the Nazi Era to BDS

From Nazi Germany to today’s BDS debates, boycotts have never been only practical tools. This talk revisits the 1930s controversy that divided the Jewish world over the anti-Nazi boycott and the Ha’avara agreement, showing how emotions—anger, humiliation, fear, and restraint—shaped political struggle, and what this history teaches about the emotional stakes of today’s BDS debates.

Why Bat and Bar Mitzvah?

Why, when so many customs have faded, have bar and bat mitzvah not only endured but expanded—engaging more Jewish families and demanding growing financial, emotional, and family investment? If they are rites of initiation, who is initiated, and into what? Tracing their modern transformations, this talk explores what these rituals mean to Jewish families today.

Israeli Holidays: A New, Bottom-Up Judaism

This talk explores how Israeli creativity meets Jewish tradition through the holidays. Using Yom Kippur as an example, it traces the holiday’s non-institutional history from the Mandate era to today, showing how grassroots practices shaped a new, popular strand of Judaism—neither religious nor secular—and highlighting its role as a civic glue in Israel’s divided society.

Tu B’Shvat Reimagined: Jewish Roots and Global Green

Is Tu B’Shvat the Jewish “Green Day”? This talk traces the history of this minor holiday and shows how a chain of inventive interpretations has shaped its diverse meanings in contemporary Jewish culture—ranging from mysticism and Zionism to universal ecological awareness.

Lag Ba'omer: a chain of repressions

Lag BaOmer is one of the most puzzling days in the Jewish calendar: how did the Omer, described in the Torah as days of joy, become associated with mourning? This talk shows how the holiday’s unclear origins gave rise to surprising new meanings across different Jewish cultures.

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Books

Why Celebrate Bar and Bat Mitzvah?

Rites of Initiation, Gender...

2024

Walter de Gruyter

Israel Celebrates

Jewish Holidays and Civic C...

2017

Jewish Identities in a Changin

Interested in booking Hizky Shoham to speak at your next event? Contact Jewish Speakers Bureau (infREMOVEo@jewREMOVEishspeakerREMOVEsbureau.com), America's only speakers bureau for Jewish-interest speakers, authors, entertainers, and experts.