Messianism is a cornerstone of Jewish thought. By focusing on the divergence with Christianity, the disappointed expectation of the 17th-century messiah Sabbatai Zvi, the rise of Hasidism, interpretations of Jewish Statehood as supernal redemption, and the influence of Chabad philosophy on contemporary American Jewry, we will explore how Jews have made sense of exile and suffering, hope and longing.

Paul E. Nahme is Associate Professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies at Brown University, where he is the incoming director of the Program in Judaic Studies. He taught “Modern Judaism” for Delve Deeper in Fall 2017.