TEACHING

“Teaching has been a life-long passion for me. I began teaching as a graduate student at Indiana and have never stopped. My students have ranged from tots through seniors, and thousands of undergraduates in between. Teaching continues to inspire and fulfill me.”
Bruce Ruben              

Hunter College of the City University of New York

Taught Jewish history at Hunter College of the City University of New York since the early 1990s (with a hiatus during the years he served as director of the Cantorial School.) 

Among the courses he frequently offered:

• History 208: History of the Jews (a one semester survey of Jewish history.)
• History 210: History of Judaism (a one semester survey of Jewish intellectual history with a focus on texts.)
• History 309: Ancient Jewish History: (Bible to Destruction of Second Temple)
• History 319: Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History (Destruction of Second Temple to French Revolution)
• History 320: Modern Jewish History (French Revolution to Present)
• History 357: American Jewish History (Colonial to Current periods)
• History 3412C: History of Antisemitism (Bible to Present)
• History 3411T: History of Jewish Music
• History 25082: History of Jewish Mysticism
• History 300/400: Supervision of research projects for history majors

Hebrew Union College

While serving as director of the cantorial school Bruce taught:

• Survey of Modern Jewish History
• History of the Holocaust
• Jewish History to 1492
• Survey of Jewish History
• Sabbath Liturgy and Modes

The Juilliard School: Evening Division

• History of Jewish Music

Jewish Theological Seminary

• Nusach Coach

Guest Teaching/Lectures

• “Max Lilienthal and the Americanization of Hanukkah” 
  Bene Israel Rockdale Temple, Cincinnati, 2023
• “History of Antisemitism” – four sessions               
   Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, 2023
• “The Viennese Rite and American Moderate Reform”         
  Association for Jewish Studies Convention, 2018
• “Trade School or Academic Program: Priorities for Cantorial Education” 
  Abraham Geiger College Conference, Weimar, Germany. 2014
• History of Cantillation      
  Music Department of Cambridge University (UK) – guest teacher, 2004
• Music and Reform in Mid-Nineteenth Century America: Rabbinic Perspectives           
  American Conference of Cantors Convention, 2003
• Scholar in Residence
  Bene Israel Rockdale Temple, 2003
• “Three Hundred Years of Jewish Music”                                        
   University of Virginia – lecture, 2002
• “Max Lilienthal and Isaac M. Wise: Creators of Moderate American Reform” 
  Association for Jewish Studies Convention – lecture, 2000
• History of the Hebrew Union College – School of Sacred Music
  Symposium marking its 50^th anniversary, 1998
• “The Bible as Libretto,”    
  Carnegie Hall – Weill Recital Hall – panelist, 1997
• Chanukah – Historical Discussion  
  NBC Television – “Sunday Morning,” 1995

Adult Education Lectures (Selected)

• “Cultural Pathways into American Society,” 2000
• “Liturgy and Nusach,” 1999
• “A House Divided: Nineteenth-Century Origins of American Jewish Movements,” 1998
• “Max Lilienthal: A Founder of American Reform Judaism,” 1997
• “Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah,” 1984-1998
• “The Marranos,” 1988
• “Sabbatai Sevi,” 1988
• “Early Chassidic Tales,” 1987
• “The Impact of the Reform Movement on Jewish Music,” 1986
• “The Golden Age of Cantorial Music, “1986
• “Psychology of Religion,” 1985
• “Jewish Magic and Superstition,” 1984
• “Historical Survey of Jewish Music,” 1983
• “Jewish Mysticism,” 1983

“Bruce Ruben delivers deeply informative lectures in an exceptionally friendly and engaging manner, which never fail to draw the students in and hold their attention – and leave them knowing a lot more than they did when they came in.”
Ben Hett, Hunter College, City University of New York