Brit Zak ’21 was recently awarded the third annual Ingeborg, Tamara, and Yonina Rennert Prize in Jewish Women’s Studies. The $5,000 prize recognizes graduating seniors for theses that display the highest standards of scholarship in Jewish studies. The award is funded by the Ingeborg, Tamara, and Yonina Rennert Forum Fund at Barnard, which was originally established by Ira and Ingeborg Rennert.
“I was thrilled to share this prize with Jenna because each of us cover such different and meaningful areas within Jewish studies,” Zak said. “Jewish studies is such an expansive and interdisciplinary field, and I’m glad other people understood and appreciated my Hebrew/Latin grammar neurosis. I think winning this really helped validate for me that this work is important, if very particular.”
Zak’s thesis, “Exegesis in Translation: Sicubi dubitas, Hebraeos interroga,” explores how differences in grammatical gender systems gave St. Jerome, the fourth-century Christian scholar, opportunities to incorporate or reject the Jewish scriptural interpretations he encountered in his interactions with prominent rabbis of the time. “I started wondering how many other Jewish interpretations would be irreconcilable with translated versions of Hebrew texts and how Christian interpreters and theologians were influenced by translations that were incompatible with rabbinic literature,” Zak said. “I was able to lay out a roadmap of subtleties that must be considered before making broader claims about the text and its meaning.”
Zak, who majored in Latin classics and Jewish studies and currently works for a nonprofit that focuses on the rights of immigrants, workers, and voters, plans to attend New York University School of Law next semester, with a goal of pursuing a career in medical malpractice law.
The award committee included professors Beth Berkowitz, Clémence Boulouque, Elisheva Carlebach, Elizabeth Castelli, Achsah Guibbory, Janet Jakobsen, Rebecca Kobrin, and Agnieszka Legutko.
