Dr Daniel Weiss is now the longest-standing member of the CIP team, arriving in 2010 as the first Polonsky-Coexist Lecturer in Jewish Studies (now Senior Lecturer). Over the past two years, he has had three terms of research leave, spending time at the University of Tübingen as a visiting scholar, supported by a Humboldt Research Fellowship.
As Daniel returns and another academic year begins, CIP Communications and Programme Manager Dr Iona Hine asked him to account for his time away and what we can expect next from his research and wider engagement.
[Iona:] What was the main goal for your research leave, and how did the Humboldt Fellowship help?
[Daniel:] My main focus was a project reassessing attitudes of early rabbinic Judaism (tannaitic literature, 3rd century C.E.) to the Jesus-movement. Many scholars have assumed these texts had a negative attitude to various ideas associated with the Jesus-movement. The research I’ve engaged in indicates that, contrary to such assumptions, the early rabbinic texts do not seem to have a negative attitude toward such ideas. They may instead have affirmed a more theologically inclusive, tolerant, attitude than previously thought. This different perspective can provide new ways of understanding similarities between rabbinic literature and various New Testament texts—similarities others had already noticed, but interpreted differently.
The Humboldt Fellowship was very helpful in enabling me to spend time at the University of Tübingen, where I was able to benefit from both fruitful conversations and excellent scholarly resources. A change of setting often sparks new and different ideas.
You spent seven months in Tübingen, what was it that prompted you to go there? How did the setting support your research? Were there any particular highlights of your stay?
The most immediate reason for choosing Tübingen was the opportunity to collaborate with Prof Holger Zellentin, who teaches there. His areas of interest in Jewish/Christian/Muslim relations and textual history overlap closely with mine. We had previously collaborated in various contexts, but always while living in different cities—the types of idea-germination that were able to bubble up through our repeated casual conversations during my stay in Tübingen were really fruitful.
I was also eager to build up a connection with Prof Lejla Demiri in the Islamic Theology Faculty. Her research and teaching incorporates Scriptural Reasoning (another strong interest of mine) in innovative and effective ways. During my visit, I also had chance to get to know a wide range of other academics and postgraduate students. I felt able to participate extensively in the intellectual life of the University there—my desire for conversation and mutual engagement was definitely fulfilled!
Beyond these interactions, the Theologicum library was really excellent for my research purposes. I made extensive use of their critical editions of primary rabbinic texts, as well as their collections of secondary scholarship. Plus, the setting of living in Tübingen itself, with its beautiful surroundings, helped put me in a good mindset for thinking creatively about new ways of understanding old texts.
It was gratifying to see that my research ideas were of interest to a range of people. I presented in various academic contexts in Tübingen and at other German universities, and my research was highlighted in several venues. [See below.]
To stay in Tübingen is also to reside in Germany. As you look back, were there particular things you noticed or learned from the practical side of your international exchange? Maybe with regard to inter-religious relations?
Yes, it was very interesting to spend time in another country, and to gradually develop a sense of the ways in which inter-religious relations are different there, compared to the UK. For instance, while there is a prominent emphasis in German society on awareness of antisemitism in terms of discrimination based on ethnicity or genealogy, I learned that there is not the same emphasis on awareness of or sensitivity to lived Jewish religious practice. People did not necessarily think about sabbath travel or show understanding of dietary rules, for example. This lack of sensitivity may be linked to the way in which ‘racial discrimination’ is addressed in society, as distinct from the issue of ‘religious discrimination.’ Seeing the differences from the UK sparked various new thoughts for me, and I was able to discuss them with various academics in Germany during my time there. I hope that these connections can lead to future collaborations and projects that can help in developing new approaches to inter-religious relations in practical terms, in the context of both countries.
The Divinity Faculty and CIP recently celebrated the launch of your recent book (Modern Jewish philosophy and the politics of divine violence, Cambridge University Press 2023). What's the next book about? Are there any other writing projects in the pipeline?
The recent CUP book focused on juxtaposing modern Jewish philosophical thinkers with classical rabbinic theology and theopolitics. My next book, continuing the rabbinic theme, will be based directly on the research I conducted for the Humboldt Fellowship, and will hopefully succeed in painting a very different picture of early Jewish/Christian relations than has previously been assumed.
I’m also working on a project with Prof Napoleon Katsos on how midrash (classical rabbinic scriptural interpretation), when placed in conjunction with research in experimental linguistics, can help to illuminate everyday human language processing and creativity. And, I have also begun to sketch out another project, for a bit further down the road, tentatively entitled ‘Jesus and Other Outlaws in the Talmud.’
Whew, that’s certainly plenty of fodder for thought. Having been away from Cambridge, we naturally hope you'll return with renewed energy as well as all these fresh ideas. Are there opportunities on the horizon you think will be of interest to the rest of us? —that are fit for the public domain?
My experiences and conversations in Germany, both on my specific research project and on inter-religious relations more broadly, are already feeding into my undergraduate and graduate teaching for this coming academic year in new ways. For instance, in relation to the new module I’m co-teaching with Prof Esra Özüryek on antisemitism, Islamophobia, and ideas of ‘Christian Europe’.
My conversations have also given me new directions to think about in terms of practical inter-religious relations projects in which I’ve been involved, including Scriptural Reasoning and the Scripture & Violence project. I am hoping to find ways of pursuing joint projects in those areas with researchers with whom I was able to build connections in Germany. So, be on the lookout for research seminars and public workshops in Cambridge and beyond!
In the media
Interview with Tilman Wörtz, University of Tübingen Newsletter. [uni-tuebingen.de]
Fellow in Focus | Tübingen College of Fellows, September 2022. [uni-tuebingen.de/forschung]
Interview with Valentin Schmidt, Evangelischen Pressedienstes. [evangelisch.de] (Valentin is a Tübingen student focusing on Jewish Studies in the Protestant Theology Faculty.)
More from Daniel Weiss
Scripture & Violence (a project co-led by Daniel, with Dr Julia Snyder)
In God’s name only? [YouTube.com]—Celebrating Daniel’s work on Jewish philosophy and theopolitics at the 2023 Alumni Festival (video)
Daniel at the CIP Inter-Religious Research Seminar (31 October 2023)
And ‘Why are ducks kosher?’—an accessible discussion on a differently violent topic.