I met Kryzstof a few years ago during a strangely formal dinner at the home of Peter Berger. But he was an utterly informal individual. We sat on a PhD defense together, where he showed how one could be kind to a candidate and at the same time uncompromisingly incisive. I asked him to be a reader on another student’s dissertation prospectus and he agreed without fuss. He was a good colleague and a lovely man.

To gauge the loss we incur with his sudden passing, you can peruse the many obituaries that have appeared, some of which are listed on the website of the Institut für die Wissenschaft vom Menschen in Vienna that he founded and directed for many years. This was first and foremost a meeting point for intellectuals from both sides of the Iron Curtain to discuss the common heritage and common themes that prevailed beyond the ideological divisions then still prevailing. Many of our students were able to get a taste of the Institut’s atmosphere and the opportunities for intellectual exchange it afforded. We hope this relationship between Boston and Vienna will continue, even though an essential personal ingredient will be missing.

In other news, I am looking forward to taking on the directorship of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies in July, for a three-year term.

A few highlights from last year:

Dana Hollander and her colleagues hosted me as the Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Religion, McMaster University, Hamilton/Ontario, October 22-25, 2012, where I lectured on the state of the field of philosophy of religion and gave a public talk on how Jerusalem obtained the status of an extraordinary holy city. The highlight was a guest lecture, in one of Dana’s seminars, on the Rosenzweig-Rosenstock correspondence of 1916, about which I had written my Examensarbeit in Heidelberg in 1986. (Thanks, Dana! It was fun.)

At the International Rosenzweig Society Congress, University of Toronto, Sept 3, 2012, I spoke on “Is Cohen the Enemy? Reflections Apropos Mark Lilla’s A Stillborn God.”

Last summer I had the pleasure of lecturing in Frankfurt and Halle, namely.

“Zwischen Religionswissenschaft und »Aufbau im Untergang« – Martin Buber vor und nach der unbefristeten Beurlaubung 1933” at International Conference on “Scholarship in Times of Political Radicalisation: Jews, Nationalists, and Others at the University of Frankfurt in the First Part of the 20th Century,” Goethe University Frankfurt, June 27, 2012.

“Wissenschaft als Widerstand: Martin Buber über Bildung und die Bibel” Seminar and guest lecture in series on Jüdisches Denken in Frankfurt: Das Freie Jüdische Lehrhaus 1920-1938, under the auspices of the Martin Buber Professorship for Jewish Philosophy of Religion at Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main (Germany), May 9, 2012. Also at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Seminar für Jüdische Studien, Halle (Germany), May 7, 2012.

Articles and book chapters that came out last year:

“Justice” in The Cambridge History of Jewish Philosophy: The Modern Era, edited by Martin Kavka, Zachary Braiterman, and David Novak (Cambridge, New York, etc.: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 704-738.

“Strauss, Schmitt, and Peterson: Comparative Contours of the ‘Theological Political Predicament’” in German-Jewish Thought Between Religion and Politics. FS Mendes Flohr, ed. Martina Urban and Christian Wiese (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2012), pp. 317-333.

“Jasper’s Achsenzeit Hypothesis: A Critical Reappraisal” 30^th-Anniversary Festschrift for the Karl Jaspers Society of North America, Philosophical Faith and the Future of Humanity, ed. Alan Olson, Greg Walters, and Helmut Wautischer (Amsterdam: Springer Verlag, 2012), pp. 189-202.

(With Thomas Meyer), “More Early Writings by Leo Strauss from the Jüdische Wochenzeitung für Cassel, Hessen und Waldeck (1925–1928)” in Interpretation 39/11, Spring-Summer 2012, pp. 109-137.

(With Hartwig Wiedebach), “The Kant-Maimonides Constellation” JJTP 20.2 (2012), 135-145.

“The Heteronomy of Modern Jewish Philosophy” in JJTP 20.1 (2012), 99-134.

In the meantime, classes (CASRN101 The Bible; KHCRN101 Moses) are off to a very good start. Students are great!

Graduate student news: Theresa Cooney (DRTS, Cand PhD) is working on a dissertation on the Weimar jurist and constitutional theorist  Carl Schmitt’s early writings. Mireille Bishay (DRTS, Cand PhD) has begun her work on Augustine and Sartre.

Look out for events offered by the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies: http://www.bu.edu/judaicstudies, especially a series of workshops at the end of this month, in connection with alumni weekend and the university’s kick-off of its first major capital campaign. (See HERE)

Futures: I need to make some choices about classes to offer next year. Any requests?

Featuring Linda Roberts, voice; Molly Flannery, piano; Jon Simmons, trombone; Steve Elliott, sax, voice; Susan Thompson, voice; Bill McCormack, bass; Michael Zank, drums, voice; Will Schultz, voice.

This is a festive tradition where we entertain you with jazzy holiday tunes -a  bit of Vince Guaraldi, some carols, a reggae Hannukah number, even some Elvis – while you drink a cup o’ cheer, have a bite, and feel good that you’ve just donated to a very worthy local cause (see www.devenspantry.org/) that especially need your support at this time.

Donations of canned foods, sundries, winter clothing and/or $10  (or more!) gratefully accepted.

A raffle too!

Please make reservations by emailing gwenn@actonjazzcafe.com with “Extravaganza Reservations” as your subject.   Or call 978-263-6161.

This event often sells out so please put your reservation in soon to be assured of a seat!  thanks so much!