David Orenstein
Student
David Solomon Orenstein
17205 Rose Garden Ln.
Durham, NC 27707
(616) 644-0091
david.orenstein@duke.edu
EDUCATION
Duke University, Durham, NC Sept. 2014-Present
Doctor of Philosophy: Religion; Field of Study: History of Judaism; Minors: American Religion, Political Science
Certificates: Middle East Studies, College Teaching, Writing in the Disciplines
Dissertation: A Contemporary Analysis of Shifting Contours of Jewish and Christian Identities
Master of Arts: Religious Studies Apr. 2017
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA Sept. 2009-May 2011
Master of Arts: Jewish Professional Leadership, Near Eastern and Judaic Studies
Thesis: The Views of Rabbi Moses Feinstein, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on
Interfaith Dialogue
Indiana University Hutton Honors College (with highest distinction), Bloomington, IN Sept. 2006-May 2009
Bachelor of Arts: Majors: Jewish Studies, Psychology; Minors: Hebrew, Religious Studies
GPA: 4.0
Dean’s List: Fall 2006-Spring 2009
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RELEVANT EMPLOYMENT
Duke University, Preceptor/Teaching Assistant Durham, NC Sept. 2015-Present
- Lead discussion sections and assess students
Duke University, Cataloguer for Judaica and Hebraica Collections Durham, NC May 2016-May 2017
- Catalogued books and other pieces of writing
Duke University, Research Assistant Durham, NC Sept. 2014-May 2015
- Helped a professor with her research
Jewish Religious School, Course Instructor/Substitute Teacher West Lafayette, IN Oct. 2011-May 2014
- Developed curriculum and taught high school, middle school, and elementary school students _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- American Academy of Religion (AAR)
- Association for Jewish Studies (AJS)
- The Society of Jewish Ethics (SJE)
- Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA)
- North American Levinas Society (NALS) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PUBLICATIONS
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Rooting Christian Zionism in Scriptural and Scholarly Soil: An American Christian Response to Christian Anti-Zionism. To be included in projected volume of Indiana University’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism’s Antisemitism in Today’s America: Manifestations, Causes, and Consequences Conference proceedings.
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Jesus as Mussar Teacher: The Refiguration of Messiah as Moralist among Jews. Under consideration for inclusion in The Journal of Jewish Ethics.
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PRESENTATIONS
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Rooting Christian Zionism in Scriptural and Scholarly Soil: An American Christian Response to Christian Anti-Zionism. To be presented at Indiana University’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism’s Antisemitism in Today’s America: Manifestations, Causes, and Consequences Conference, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Mainline Mimesis, Evangelical Emulation, & Shabbat. To be presented at The Kenan Institute for Ethics North Carolina Jewish Studies Seminar at Duke University, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Psalm 89 and Descriptions of the King in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Presented at The South Philadelphia Shtiebel, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Invited to deliver response to panel on Jewish Barthianism as Dialectic Ethics in Modern Jewish Neo-Orthodox Thought and A Chosen Love: Troubling Kierkegaard’s Neighbor Love with Wyschogrod’s Theology of Election. Presented at The Society of Jewish Ethics Annual Meeting, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2021) Psalm 80 and Biblical Metaphors. Presented at The South Philadelphia Shtiebel, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2020) Psalm 73 and Jewish-Christian Relations: Divine Personhood, Final Destinies, and Eschatological Redemption. Presented at The South Philadelphia Shtiebel, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2020) Reclaiming and Appropriating the Figure of Jesus in Contemporary Israeli Cinema. Presented at the annual Association for Jewish Studies Conference, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2020) Psalm 58 and Popular Culture: Avengers, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. Presented at The South Philadelphia Shtiebel, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2020) Hillsong Church and Jewish Biblical Exegesis. Presented at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah-Yeshivat Maharat Mind the Gap Program Session, Virtual.
- Orenstein, D. (2019) Christian Zionism. Presented in “Religion, Restrictions, Violence” course taught at Duke University, Durham, NC.
- Orenstein, D. (2015) Reflection on Ethnographic Research on CUFI Conference. Presented at Jewish Studies Perilman Symposium at Duke University, Durham, NC.
- Orenstein, D. (2014) Jewish Theology and Noahides. Presented at Temple Israel, West Lafayette, IN.
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AWARDS
- Association for Jewish Studies Mentorship Program Sept. 2020-Present
- The Leonore and Louis Piser Prize in Jewish Studies May 2009
- Founder’s Scholar Spring 2009
- Indiana University Faculty Award Fall 2006-Spring 2009
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FELLOWSHIPS/STIPENDS/GRANT
- Duke University The Kenan Institute for Ethics Joseph Shatzmiller Fellowship in Jewish Studies Oct. 2020-Present
- Duke University Jewish Studies Perilman Fellowships May 2016-Present
- Yeshivat Chovevei Torah-Yeshivat Maharat Mind the Gap Program Fellowship Oct. 2020-Present
- Drisha Institute for Jewish Education Elul Fellowship Aug. 2020-Sept. 2020
- Association for Jewish Studies Grant Aug. 2020
- Duke University Jewish Studies Perilman Summer Research Stipends Summer 2015-Summer 2020
- Duke University Graduate School Instructor of Record and Teaching Assistant Fellowships Fall 2019-Spring 2020
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SCHOLARSHIPS
- Duke University Graduate School COVID Funding Extension Scholarships Fall 2020-Spring 2021
- Brandeis University Merit Scholarship Fall 2009-Spring 2010
- Percy Family Scholarship Fall 2008-Spring 2009
- Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Merit Scholarships Fall 2007-Spring 2009
- Robert A. and Sandra S. Borns Scholarship Fall 2006-Spring 2007
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HONORS MEMBERSHIPS
- Eta Beta Rho National Scholastic Honor Society for Students of Hebrew Language and Culture Nov. 2010-Present
- Phi Beta Kappa May 2009-Present
- Golden Key International Honour Society Dec. 2008-Present
- Phi Sigma Theta National Honor Society May 2008-Present
- Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society Sept. 2007-Present
- Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society Sept. 2007-Present
- National Scholars Honor Society Sept. 2007-Present
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars Sept. 2007-Present
- Honors Student Association Diversity Committee Sept. 2007-May 2008
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TIKVAH ADVANCED INSTITUTES ATTENDED
- The Jewish-Christian Alliance: Past, Present, and Future Dec. 2016
- What is Jewish Conservatism? Nov. 2015
Current Research Interests
My dissertation examines manifestations of Jewish-Christian hybridity and appropriation through analysis of these phenomena at the elite and popular level in terms of ritual practice, theological scholarship, institutional organization, and cinematic representation. I argue that the boundaries between ostensibly separable “Jewish” and “Christian” religious traditions were fluid in the past and remain so today through examination of four contemporary case studies evidencing two general phenomena. One phenomenon explored is how varieties of self-identified Christians have incorporated rituals and ideas that have traditionally been associated with Judaism into their contemporary religious practice and understanding of the New Testament. The other phenomenon explored is how varieties of self-identified Jews have incorporated practices and figures that have traditionally been associated with Christianity into features of the contemporary Jewish landscape. In exploring the first phenomenon, I examine the following two case studies: (1) attempts by Christians of varying denominational affiliations to incorporate Jewish rituals associated with Shabbat (Jewish Sabbath) observance into Christian practice and (2) attempts by self-identified Christians to underscore the continuing significance of the territoriality of the Land of Israel in the New Testament. In exploring the second phenomenon, I examine the following two cases studies: (1) attempts by Jews of varying denominational affiliations to incorporate a sense of mission traditionally associated with Christianity into Jewish practice for the purpose of Jewish outreach and advocacy in support or opposition to the State of Israel and (2) attempts by Jewish filmmakers, influenced by rabbinic and medieval Hebrew texts, to incorporate the figure of Jesus into Israeli films. In analyzing the aforementioned case studies relating to ritual observance, biblical exegesis, ideological identity, and visual arts, I demonstrate how the supposed boundaries between self-identified Christians and Jews remain, as in the past, fluid and contested.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
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