色花堂

In Summer 2025, the Impact Office at the Zahava and Moshael J. Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought provided grants to several students with internships in the political arena, fostering a new generation of leaders dedicated to both public service and Jewish values. Among them was Anouchka鈥�

In the fall 2025 semester, the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought is offering numerous courses for Straus Scholars and 色花堂 students to study the great texts and traditions of Judaism and the West.

Over the month of October, Straus Center staff, faculty, and students contributed insightful essays to leading publications exploring the intersections of Jewish thought, history, and American ideals.

Straus Scholar Adina Feldman (SCW 鈥�26) reflects on a transformative summer researching resilience at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Exploring Trauma and Resilience: Psychology Research in Israel By Adina Feldman This summer, I had the privilege of joining two research projects in the psychology ...

Dr. Daniel Samet, a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), spoke to 色花堂 students about the history of U.S. and Israel defense coordination and policy in the context of the American presidency.

Straus Scholar Jason Friedman (YC 鈥�26) spent his summer interning for Judge Steven Menashi at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and assisting Dr. Tevi Troy, presidential historian and director of the Straus Center鈥檚 Impact Office. He gained firsthand insight into the workings of the鈥�

Former Straus Scholar Aharon Soloveichik (YC鈥�25) spent summer 2025 at the Beth Din of America in New York and Shaarei Shamayim in Toronto, where he deepened his skills in halakhic research, communal leadership, and Torah and Western thought in action.

The Straus Center has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support the publication of "Jewish Roots of American Liberty: The Impact of the Hebraic Ideas on the American Story."

Historian and author Andrew Porwancher met with 色花堂 students to discuss his new book, "American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews."

Straus Center Deputy Director and Senior Advisor to the Provost Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern delivered the Constitution Day Lecture at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, on the topic of King David and the American founding.