Harvard Divinity School Expands Jewish Studies with New Appointment

Harvard Divinity School (HDS) announces the appointment of Shaul Magid as Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence, effective July 1, 2025. This five-year appointment, which is renewable, marks a significant milestone for the School’s commitment to the field of Jewish studies.

"We are thrilled to have Shaul Magid as our first Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence,” said Dean Marla F. Frederick. “His appointment affirms our mission to engage critically and compassionately with the complexities of religious life today. Over the past two years, he has forged strong collaborations across Harvard, including with the Center for Jewish Studies, the Committee on the Study of Religion, and Harvard Law School. His teaching has been met with enthusiasm and acclaim from students, and he has played an important role in helping to shape scholarly programs at Harvard Divinity School."

Magid’s appointment reflects both his commitment to academic excellence and the strategic vision of HDS to deepen and expand its curriculum in modern Jewish studies. Since arriving at Harvard as a visiting professor in the summer of 2023, Magid has made an extraordinary impact—first as a visiting professor and now as a member of the faculty of divinity in this critical area of study.

A distinguished scholar with a career that spans the academy and rabbinical seminaries alike, Magid brings a blend of traditional Jewish learning and innovative critical scholarship to HDS. After spending time in various yeshivot in Israel, where he lived for a decade, and receiving rabbinical ordination in 1984, he went on to complete a master’s degree in Jewish thought from the Hebrew University and a PhD in near eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University.  

“It is an honor and privilege for me to join the faculty at HDS, where I feel I have found my true intellectual home,” Magid said. “I have often thought of myself as a scholar of religion whose datum is Judaism. Teaching Judaism in an institution devoted to the study of religion enables me to explore new ways to engage with my subject and learn from those who are both intimately familiar with it combined with those being exposed to it for the first time.”

Magid’s research bridges centuries and disciplines, exploring topics from sixteenth-century Kabbalistic mysticism and Hasidism, including its spiritual ties to Christianity, to contemporary American Judaism, Jewish identity, race, and critical theory. His groundbreaking work engages a broad spectrum of readers, combining deep textual analysis with theoretical sophistication.

Magid is the author of eight books and more than 75 scholarly articles. He has also written over 150 essays, offering insight into the cultural, political, and spiritual dimensions of modern Jewish life. His writing has contributed significantly to broader conversations on religion, culture, and justice. On July 1, 2025, he will join Harvard Theological Review, one of the oldest scholarly theological journals in the United States, as co-editor.  

The faculty search review committee—composed of Professors Terrence Johnson (chair), Ann Braude, and Charles Stang—lauded Magid’s scholarship, mentorship, and commitment to intellectual diversity. His appointment, they noted, will be pivotal in enriching Harvard’s strengths in Jewish studies. The HDS search office and the Office for Academic Affairs supported efforts in guiding this search committee and ensures successful outcomes across multiple academic appointments.

“Shaul Magid is an exceptionally gifted scholar,” Johnson said. “His disciplinary range stretches from Hasidic mysticism and American Judaism to critical Black studies and political theology. This extensive reach demonstrates his profound intellectual curiosity, creativity, and commitment to exploring what animates our collective and competing notions of meaning and existence.”

Magid’s expertise and teaching will add to HDS’s current faculty and offerings in Jewish studies. He is one of three elected members of the American Academy of Jewish Research at HDS, alongside Jon Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, and Annette Yoshiko Reed, Krister Stendahl Professor of Divinity and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity.

With this new faculty appointment, Magid’s leadership is poised to influence and inspire the next generation of scholars, students, and spiritual leaders.

“The classroom at HDS is an exciting experiment in multireligious discourse, dialogue, discord, and exploration as one tradition often reaches out and is put in conversation with others,” Magid said. “The rigor of Harvard, the devotion and seriousness of the student body, and the creative and experimental nature of HDS make for an optimal environment for my work as a scholar and teacher.”  

Banner photo: Shaul Magid has been appointed as Professor of Modern Jewish Studies in Residence at HDS, effective July 1, 2025. Photo by Annette Yoshiko Reed.