Hava Tirosh-Samuelson
Director, Center for Jewish Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Center for Jewish Studies
Arizona State University
PO Box 874302
Tempe, AZ 85287-4302
Titles
- Distinguished Global Futures Scholar, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
- Director, Center for Jewish Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism, Center for Jewish Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Biography
Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson is Regents Professor of History, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism, and Director of Jewish Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. She holds a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and Mysticism from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1978), and a bachelor's degree in religious studies from SUNY-Stony Brook, New York (1974). Prior to joining the faculty of Arizona State University in 1999, she taught at Indiana University (1991-1999), Emory University in Atlanta (1988-1991), Columbia University in New York (1982-1988), and Hebrew Union College in New York (1980-1982).
Tirosh-Samuelson is a Jewish intellectual historian who focuses on the interplay of philosophy and mysticism, Judaism and science, and Judaism and ecology. In addition to over 50 essays and book chapters, she is the author of "Between Worlds: The Life and Work of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon" (1991) which received the award of the Hebrew University for the best work in Jewish history for 1991, and the author of "Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge and Well-Being in Premodern Judaism" (2003), and "Religion and Environment: The Case of Judaism" (2020). She is also the editor of "Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed World" (2002); "Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy" (2004); "Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life: The Legacy of Hans Jonas" (2008); "Building Better Humans? Refocusing the Debate on Transhumanism" (2011); "Hollywood’s Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema" (2012); "Jewish Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century: Personal Reflections" (2014); "Perfecting Human Futures: Transhuman Visions and Technological Imaginations" (2016), "The Enduring Legacy of Salo W. Baron" (2017), and "The Future of Jewish Philosophy" (2018). Professor Tirosh-Samuelson is the editor-in-chief of the "Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers (2013-2018), a series of 21 books featuring outstanding Jewish thinkers and their reflections on Judaism.
Within the field of science and religion, Tirosh-Samuelson explores the interplay of religion, science and technology with a focus on transhumanism and the relationship between Judaism, science and medicine. She is the PI or Co-PI of several Templeton funded projects: 1) “Facing the Challenges of Transhumanism: Religion, Science, and Technology” (2006-2010); 2) “The Transhumanist Imagination: Innovation, Secularization and Eschatology” (2012-14); 3) “Beyond Secularization: Piloting New Approaches for the Study of Religion, Science, and Technology in Public Life” (2016-2018); and 4) "Beyond Secularization: Religion, Science and Technology in Public Life (2019-2022). These grants have funded symposia, public lectures, faculty seminars, and international conferences. Tirosh-Samuelson is a member of International Society of Science and Religion (ISSR) and serves on the academic board of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science and has served as Division Chair of Medieval Jewish Philosophy in the Association of Jewish Studies (2017-2020). As director of the Center for Jewish Studies at ASU, Tirosh-Samuelson manages the international society, Judaism, Science and Medicine Group (JSMG) and organizes its annual conferences.
Education
- PhD, Philosophy and Kabbalah, Hebrew University of Jerusaleum, 1978
- BA (with honors), Religious Studies, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1974
Expertise
Journal Articles
2012
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. Transhumanism as a secularist faith. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 47(4):710-734. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2012.01288.x. (link )
2010
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2010. History and the future of science and religion. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 45(2):448-451. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2010.01094.x. (link )
2005
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2005. Religion, ecology, and gender: A Jewish perspective. Feminist Theology 13(3):373-397. DOI: 10.1177/0966735005054919. (link )
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2005. Rethinking the past and anticipating the future of science and religion. Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science 40(1):33-41. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00640.x. (link )
2001
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2001. Nature in the sources of Judaism. Daedalus: Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 130(4):99-124. (link )
2000
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2000. A Jewish perspective on religious pluralism. Mcalester International 8(Spring):73-112. (link )
1997
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1997. Theology of nature in sixteenth-century Italian Jewish philosophy. Science in Context 10(4):529-570. DOI: 10.1017/S0269889700002805. (link )
1991
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1991. Review: Continuity and revision in the study of Kabbalah. AJS Review 16(1/2):161-192. (link )
1990
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1990. Jewish culture in Renaissance Italy – a methodological survey. Italia 9:63-96.
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1990. The political philosophy of Rabbi Abraham Shalom -- the platonic tradition (in Hebrew). Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 9:409-440. (link )
1988
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1988. In defense of Jewish humanism. Jewish History 3(2):31-57. (link )
1986
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1986. Maimonides and Aquinas: The interplay of two masters in medieval Jewish philosophy. Conservative Judaism 39:54-66.
1982
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1982. Sefirot as the essence of God in the writings of David Messer Leon. AJS Review 7:409-425. DOI: 10.1017/S0364009400000751 . (link )
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1982. The concept of Torah in the work of David Messer Leon (in Hebrew). Jerusaleum Studies in Jewish Thought 2:94-117.
Books
2015
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2015. Avi Sagi: Existentialism, Pluralism, and Identity. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004280809.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2015. Lenn E. Goodman: Judaism, Humanity, and Nature. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004280755.
2014
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. David R. Blumenthal: Living with God and Humanity. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004279742.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. Elliot Dorff: In Search of the Good Life. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004279032.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. Eugene B. Borowitz: Rethinking God and Ethics. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004269989.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. Jewish Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century: Personal Reflections. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004279612.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. Judith Plaskow: Feminism, Theology, and Justice. Brill Academic Publishers. DOI: 10.1163/9789004279803. ISBN: 978-9004279797.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2014. Moshe Idel: Representing God. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004280793.
2013
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2013. David Novak: Natural Law and Revealed Torah. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004258204.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2013. Eliezer Schweid: The Responsibility of Jewish Philosophy. Brill. ISBN: 978-9004235076.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds. 2013. Jonathan Sacks: Universalizing Particularity. Brill. ISBN: 978-9004249806.
2012
Bernardi, D., M. Pomerance and H. Tirosh-Samuelson eds. 2012. Hollywood’s Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema. Wayne State University Press. ISBN: 978-0814334829.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and K. L. Mossman eds. 2012. Building Better Humans? Refocusing the Debate on Transhumanism. Peter Lang GmbH, Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften. ISBN: 9783631635131.
2008
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and C. Wiese eds. 2008. The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004167223.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and C. Wiese eds. 2008. The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life. Brill Academic Publishing. ISBN: 978-9004167223.
2004
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. ed. 2004. Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy. Indiana University Press. ISBN: 978-0253216731.
2003
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2003. Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge, and Well-Being. Hebrew Union College Press. ISBN: 978-0878204533.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. ed. 2003. Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word. Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University Press. ISBN: 978-0945454359.
1991
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1991. Between Worlds – The Life and Thought of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon. State University of New York Press. ISBN: 978-0791404485.
Book Chapters
2014
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. Avi Sagi: An intellectual portrait. Pp. 1-32 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds., Avi Sagi: Existentialism, Pluralism, and Identity. Brill Academic Publishers.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. David R. Blumenthal: An intellectual portrait. Pp. 1-32 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds., David R. Blumenthal: Living with Humanity and God. Brill Academic Publishers.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. Judith Plaskow: An intellectual portrait. Pp. 1-25 Judith Plaskow Feminism, Theology, and Justice. Brill Academic Publishers. DOI: 10.1163/9789004279803_002. ISBN: 9789004279803.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. Religion. Pp. 49-72 In: Ranisch, R. and S. L. Sorgner eds., Post- and Transhumanism: An Introduction. Peter Lang GmbbH. ISBN: 978-3631606629.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. The Bible in the Jewish philosophical tradition. Pp. 1916-1943 In: Berlin, A. and M. Z. Brettler eds., The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199978465.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. The preciousness of being human: Jewish philosophy and the challenge of technology. Pp. 428-457 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and A. W. Hughes eds., Jewish Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century: Personal Reflections. Brill. ISBN: 9789004279612.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2014. Utopianism and eschatology: Judaism engages transhumanism. Pp. 161-180 In: Mercer, C. and T. J. Trothen eds., Religion and Transhumanism: The Unknown Future of Human Enhancement. Praeger. ISBN: 978-1440833250.
2012
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. Feminism and gender. Pp. 154-189 In: Kavka, M., Z. Braiterman and D. Novak eds., The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy: The Modern Era. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521852432.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. Jewish environmentalism: Bridging scholarship, faith and activism. Pp. 65-117 In: Lasker, D. ed., Jewish Thought and Jewish Belief. Ben Gurion University of the Negev Press. Beer Sheba.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. Kabbalah and science in the Middle Ages: Preliminary remarks. Pp. 476-510 In: Freudenthal, G. ed., Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9781107001459.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. New perspectives on transhumanism. Pp. 29-52 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and K. L. Mossman eds., Building Perfect Humans? Refocusing the Debate on Transhumanism. Peter Land GmbH. ISBN: 978-3631635131.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2012. Science and human betterment: Three prophets of transhumanism. Pp. 55-82 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and K. L. Mossman eds., Building Perfect Humans? Refocusing the Debate on Transhumanism. Peter Lang GmbH. ISBN: 978-3631635131.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H., D. Bernardi and M. Pomerance. 2012. Introduction: The Hollywood question. Pp. 1-18 In: Bernardi, D., M. Pomerance and H. Tirosh-Samuelson eds., Hollywood's Chosen People: The Jewish Experience in American Cinema. Wayne State University Press. ISBN: 978-0814334829.
2011
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2011. Engaging transhumanism. Pp. 19-54 In: Hansell, G. R. and W. Grassie eds., H±: Transhumanism and Its Critics. Metanexus Institute.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2011. Gender and the pursuit of happiness in Maimonides' philosophy. In: Baumgarten, E., A. Raz-Krakotzkin and R. Weinstein eds., Tov Elem: Memory, Community and Gender in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Societies - Essays in Honor of Robert Bonfil. Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies, Hebrew University/The Blalik Institute.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2011. Gender in Jewish mysticism. Pp. 191-230 In: Greenspahn, F. E. ed., Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah: New Insights and Scholarship. New York University Press. ISBN: 978-0814732861.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2011. Judaism and the care for God's creation. Pp. 286-319 In: Winwright, T. L. ed., Green Discipleship: Catholic Theological Ethics and the Environment. Anselm Academic. ISBN: 978-1599820248.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2011. Judaism and the science of ecology. Pp. 345-355 In: Haag, J. W., G. R. Peterson and M. L. Spezio eds., The Routledge Companion to Religion and Science. Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-49244-7.
2010
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2010. Eine auseinandersetzung mit dem tranhumanismus aus Jüdischer perspektiv. Pp. 307-328 In: Coenen, C., S. Gammel, R. Heil and A. Woyke eds., Die Debatte über »Human Enhancement«: Historische, philosophische und ethische Aspekte der technologischen Verbesserung des Menschen. Transcript Verlag, Bielfel.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2010. Jewish mysticism. Pp. 399-423 In: Baskin, J. R. and K. Seeskin eds., The Cambridge Guide to Jewish History, Religion, and Culture. Cambridge University Press.
2009
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2009. Jewish philosophy, human dignity, and the new genetics. Pp. 81-122 In: Sutton, S. D. ed., Biotechnology, Our Future as Human Beings and Citizens. State University of New York Press, Albany. ISBN: 978-1438426860.
2008
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2008. Understanding Jonas: An interdisciplinary project. Pp. xxi-xlii In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. and C. Wiese eds., The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism and the Phenomen of Life. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN: 978-9004167223.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2008. Virtue and happiness. Pp. 707-767 In: Nadler, S. and T. M. Rudavasky eds., The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy: From Antiquity through the Seventeenth Century. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521843232.
2006
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2006. Judaism. Pp. 25-64 In: Gottleib, R. S. ed., The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0195178722.
2004
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2004. Editor introduction: Jewish philosophy in conversation. Pp. 1-26 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. ed., Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy. Indiana University Press. ISBN: 978-0253216731.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2004. The Bible in the Jewish philosophical tradition. Pp. 1948-1925 In: Berlin, A. and M. Z. Brettler eds., The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0195297546.
2003
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2003. Introduction: Judaism and the natural world. Pp. xxxiii-lxii In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. ed., Judaism and ecology: Created world and revealed word. Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780945454366.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2003. Jewish spirituality: Past models and present quest. Pp. 1-30 In: Greenspoon, L. J. and R. A. Simkins eds., Spiritual Dimensions of Judaism:Studies in Jewish Civilization. Creighton University Press. ISBN: 978-1881871422.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2003. Philosophy and Kabbalah: 1200-1600. Pp. 218-257 In: Frank, D. H. and O. Leaman eds., The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521655743.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 2003. Response. The textualization of nature in Jewish mysticism. Pp. 389-406 In: Tirosh-Samuelson, H. ed., Judaism and Ecology: Created World and Revealed Word. Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780945454366.
1998
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1998. Human felicity – fifteenth-century Sephardic perspectives on happiness. In: Cooperman, B. D. ed., In Iberia and Beyond: Hispanic Jews Between Cultures: Proceedings of a Symposium to Mark the 500th Anniversary of the Expulsion of Spanish Jewry. University of Delaware Press. ISBN: 978-1611491746.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1998. Maimonides’ view of happiness: Philosophy, myth, and the transcendence of history. Pp. 189-213 In: Carlebach, E., J. M. Efron and D. N. Myers eds., Jewish History and Jewish Memory: Essays in honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi. Brandeis. ISBN: 978-0874518719.
Tirosh-Samuelson, H. 1998. The ultimate end of human life in post-expulsion philosophical literature. In: Gampel, B. R. ed., Crisis and Creativity in the Sephardic World 1391-1648. Columbia University Press. ISBN: 978-0231109222.
1997
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1997. Jewish philiosophy on the eve of modernity. Pp. 438-514 In: Frank, D. and O. Leaman eds., History of Jewish Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN: 978-0415324694.
1996
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1996. Dare to know – feminism and Jewish philosophy. In: Davidman, L. and S. Tenenbaum eds., Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies. Yale University Press. ISBN: 978-0300068672.
1990
Tirosh-Rothschild, H. 1990. Medieval Judaism: The state of the field: Response. Pp. 132-148 In: Cohen, S. J. and E. L. Greenstein eds., The State of Jewish Studies. Wayne State University Press. ISBN: 978-0814321959.