About Mandel Scholion Center
The Mandel Scholion Center was founded in 2002, on the initiative of the former president of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menachem Magidor, and with the generous support of the Mandel Foundation. Its original aim was to encourage interdisciplinary research paths that will place Jewish studies at the heart of cultural discourse in Israel and abroad and also secure the Hebrew University’s position as the leading institution in the field; with the beginning of its second decade its mandate was expanded to the full gamut of the humanities. Having now settled into our new home, the second floor of the Mandel Building, we look forward to creating, together with our partners in the Mandel School, a new kind of academic community in the humanities: one that is multi-aged, interdisciplinary, lively and vibrant, and which fosters productive and friendly discourse.
The center supports two main projects: Three concurrent research groups, each dealing with a particular topic in the fields of Humanities and Jewish Studies. A new research group is selected once a year for a three-year term at the center, and comprises four senior members from the Hebrew University faculty, as well as four doctoral students . Scholars from outside the Hebrew University are also invited to participate. The group as a whole explores its topic, making the most of the diverse methodologies and perspectives that each member brings from his/her discipline. Each group is entitled to a generous budget, scholarships for the students and partial exemption from study duties for the senior members. The Mandel Scholars program offers two post-doctoral positions per annum to young, outstanding Ph.D.s in the Humanities and Jewish Studies. The positions are offered to researchers from Israel and abroad who have recently received their doctorates after having conducted distinctive and extraordinary research. The Mandel scholars are then afforded a three-year term in the Hebrew University for research and teaching at the various departments, along with a research budget.
About the Name 'Scholion'
Scholion, which sounds very much like the Hebrew askola and the English school, is the Greek term for a gloss on a text. In Jewish culture, it was applied to a commentary on Megillat Ta’anit, a short work from the late Second Temple period that lists the joyous days during the course of the year on which it is forbidden to fast. That tractate is quite obscure and would be impossible to understand without its "scholion.”
Our Center selected this name in order to express the view that all scholarly work in the humanities is a sort of new Midrash on the works of the past. Research should not only return to the original meaning of texts, but should also expound them in new senses.
Another explanation has to do with the meaning of the Greek word skholé: “leisure.” One of the advantages enjoyed by the scholars at Scholion is exemption from teaching duties. Other benefits and support of every possible type are intended to free them to engage in their research. According to the Talmud, a town without at least ten “idlers” is not a town. But the term does not mean people who do nothing, but rather those whose economic situation means they do not have to work and can spend all their time in study.
About the new logo
A recent change, reflecting seismic shifts in society at large and at HUJI in particular, is our newly redesigned logo. The original logo of Mandel Scholion was from the 15th century Rothschild Miscellany. The image from this beautiful early modern haggadah featured five rabbinic-looking men in conversation and perfectly captured the spirit of conversation and engagement that remains an ideal at Scholion. With our new logo, however, we sought to remove the all-male presentation and to broaden the lens to include all religions and cultures. Designed as three gates, paving the way to new knowledge and reflecting different cultures, we hope it will be a harbinger of what we seek to achieve in the years to come. Gender equality continues to be a challenge, as pools of postdoctoral applicants are still two-thirds male and one-third female. As such, a balanced gendered community remains a desideratum, although we are making progress. In addition, over time, we support more and more of our members in their focus on Islam, Christianity, Asian, and African culture alongside the important emphasis on Jewish studies and Western civilization. There is still progress to be made here as well.
Finally, the bridges of the logo do not only reflect these broader focus areas, but also our goal to disseminate our research, both within Israel and internationally, beyond the current scholarly articles and conferences. It is my hope that at our next milestone celebration we will have made progress with this as well.