International Conferences on Jewish Studies
International conferences on Jewish Studies organized by Sefer Center take place every year in Moscow since 1994. 26 annual international conferences have already been held (1994–2019). This is the only large-scale interdisciplinary conference on Jewish studies in the entire post-Soviet space. It is the unique academic meeting place for the researchers from around the world who work with different aspects of Jewish Studies – from Biblical Studies to the History of the State of Israel, from Jewish philosophy to Jewish-Christian relations, Jewish literature and art, history of the Jews in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, etc.
During 1994–2017 Sefer Center annually published proceedings of the International conferences on Jewish Studies. Since 2018, the Sefer Center seized to publish conference proceedings in favor of the publication of a new academic peer-reviewed "Judaic-Slavic Journal".
Recently Center "Sefer" in cooperation with the Center for Slavic-Jewish studies the Institute of Slavic studies organized the 27th International conference on Jewish studies (Moscow, July 11-13, 2021).
We plan to alternate winter and summer conferences, keeping the new frequency of the conference - once a year and a half.
The conference program usually includes sections reflecting traditional areas of Judaism (biblical and Talmudic studies, Jewish thought, Jewish history of different periods, Judeo-Christian relations, the Holocaust, Israeli studies, languages and literature, art, Ethnology, demography, genealogy, museums and archives, etc.). Topics that allow for an interdisciplinary approach to research are welcome. Reports of graduate students and young researchers, as shown by the positive experience of the past few years, are included in the youth panels of the conference with the participation of specially invited debaters.
More detailed information about the recent 27th Conference is presented at Conference website
Sincerely, organizing Committee.
21st Annual International Conference on Jewish Studies took place on 3rd – 5th of February 2014 in the hotel “Cosmos” in The conference was opened with greetings by Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar, chairperson of Sefer’s academic board and general secretary of EAJK Mikhail Chlenov, director Genesis’s programs Marina Suslova, president of After the official opening prof. Moshe Rosman ( 2014 year is a year of 100th Anniversary of Joint Committee so the first plenary section as well as separated sections were dedicated to this event. The full program is available here. Photos Album is here. Participant’s response: – I wanted to write to thank you so much for the wonderful experience of attending our Sefer conference. It is not often that one is permitted to look back 20 years and see the birth, growth, and maturation of a beloved child--and that is what I saw. Allow me to tell you how proud I feel of all that you and our colleagues have done. The conference recalled to me on the deepest levels how important our work has been, and what it has meant to so many. Toda! Toda! Yonatan Porath, Jerusalem
XXI Annual International Conference on Jewish Studies 2014
In the 21st Conference took part around 200 researchers from Russia, CIS and Baltic countries, Israel, Germany, USA, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland and Great Britain.
The program included the following sections: Biblical Studies, Sacral Texts and Treligious Tradition, Jewish Thought, Jewish Culture, Jewish Languages, Jews and Surrounding Nations, Jews in Eastern Europe, Non-Ashkenazic Jewish Communities, Jewish Art, Jewish Literature, Jews in the Russian Empire, Jews in the
