Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer

Researcher of medieval Kabbalistic literature and its influence on Jewish culture, science, and thought

My research asks what it means to be human according to Kabbalah, how conceptions of prior and future worlds shape life in the present, and what distinguishes a golem from a robot. I am a senior lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Program in Jewish Studies and head of the Kramim Honors Program, a member of the Israel Young Academy's forum in the Humanities and Social Sciences for the 5787 term, and a research fellow in the first cohort of IJSS's academic fellowship program, which trains educators, scholars, and leaders to bring Jewish spiritual wisdom into classrooms, campuses, and public life. My work is grounded in the study of Kabbalistic manuscripts, and I am currently preparing an annotated edition and English translation of Rabbi Joseph Ashkenazi's commentary on Sefer Yetzirah for Oxford University Press. Alongside my research, I am also engaged in bringing Jewish spiritual treasures to a wider audience.