Join us for a reception honoring our graduating CJS Students before the official GTU Commencement. Graduating students will have a chance to present their research as we wish them a hearty "mazel tov" for all their hard work.
Carey Averbook (MA): “Crisis Reframed: Rabbinic Relational Ethics in Ecological Response”
Carey Averbook is a Master’s student in Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, where their work explores the intersections of religion, ecology, and technology with a focus on human flourishing. Their capstone research examines how Jewish thought and rabbinic responses to drought can contribute to a relational ethic in the context of contemporary ecological challenges. With a background in spiritual care, emotional hygiene coaching, and community building, Carey brings an interdisciplinary and practice-based approach to questions of relationality and meaning. Their work is rooted in a commitment to justice, collective well-being, and the renewal of spiritual life in contemporary contexts. Carey has an M.A. in New Media Photojournalism and B.A. in Anthropology. She will be entering the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Fall 2025.
Hadar Aviram (MA): “Behind Ancient Bars: Illuminating the Biblical Incarceration Experience"
Hadar Aviram (Ph.D. [JSP], M.A. [Crim.], LL.B. [Law] M.A. [Jewish Studies]) is the Thomas E. Miller '73 Professor of Law at University of California Law, San Francisco, and a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College. The author of four award-winning books, the former President of the Western Society of Criminology, and an experienced pro-bono litigator in the areas of prison conditions and civil rights, Prof. Aviram is expanding her research and teaching expertise to Jewish Studies. She is a member of the Western Jewish Studies Association Board of Trustees and hosts a daily Talmud study newsletter at hadaraviram.substack.com.
Natalie Boskin (MA): “In or Out: Exploring the Boundaries of Rabbinic Pluralism”
Natalie Boskin is an emerging Hebrew Bible and Talmud scholar who comes to academia with a decade of experience as a Jewish educator. They are passionate about weaving together historical criticism and rabbinic hermeneutics to participate in diasporic Jewish thought and life. Natalie's scholarship strives to unlock pathways towards a liberatory Jewish future by naming and dreaming beyond the systems of domination that have shaped and shine through Torah, while refusing to abandon her.