The Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was established in 2000 by Mr. Avraham Goldstein-Goren of Milan and the Cukier Goldstein-Goren Foundation. The current director of the center is Prof. Haim Kreisel.  The goal of the center is to promote the knowledge and research of Jewish thought both in Israel and around the world. To this end the center sponsors every year a number of activities:

International Conferences
The center organizes conferences on topics of central significance in Jewish Thought. Both Israeli and foreign scholars are invited to participate. Five highly successful conferences were held under the auspices of the center till now. Conferences held under the auspices of the center till now include:

• "Judaism and the World - Interaction, Influence, and Impact", May 29-31, 2000;

• "Shabbat - Idea, History, Reality" May 14-16, 2001; 

• "Study and Knowledge in Jewish Thought", June 6-9, 2004; and

• “Spiritual Authority – Struggles over Cultural Power in Jewish Thought”, May 28-30, 2007.

The center also participated as a co-sponsor of two conferences:

•  "Religious Cultures in the Early Modern Period: Texts and Contexts", May 23-25, 2005.  

• "Kabbalah and Contemporary Spiritual Revival: Historical, Sociological and Cultural Perspectives", May 20-22, 2008.

The next international conference will be on: "Jewish Thought and Jewish Belief", May 31-June 2, 2010.

The Goldstein-Goren Book Award
The center offers an award every three years to the best recent book in the field of Jewish thought published either in English or Hebrew. The amount of the award is $30,000.  Awards that were bestowed are as follows:

1. 2001 -- Moshe Halbertal, Between Torah and Wisdom [Hebrew] (Magnes Press, Jerusalem 2000) and  Dov Schwartz, Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Thought [Hebrew] (Bar-Ilan University Press, Ramat-Gan 1999).

2. 2004 -- Peter E. Gordon, Rosenzweig and Heidegger: Between Judaism and German Philosophy (University of California Press, Berkeley 2003), and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, Maimonides, the Yemenite Messiah and Apostasy [Hebrew] (Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem 2002).

3. 2007 -- Yair Lorberbaum, The Image of God: Halacha and Aggada [Hebrew] (Schoken Publishing House, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, 2004).

More than 80 titles have been submitted for the 2010 Award. The announcement of the winner will be in May 2010.

The center launched a new book series in 2004 under the general editorship of Haim Kreisel and has already published ten books:

• Sabbath – Idea, History, Reality (Hebrew and English) edited by Gerald J. Blidstein.

• Studies in Halakhic and Midrashic Thought (Hebrew), by Gerald J. Blidstein.

• Shefa Tal: Studies in Jewish Thought and Culture in Honor of Bracha Sack (Hebrew), edited by Zeev Gries, Haim Kreisel, Boaz Huss.

• Study and Knowledge in Jewish Thought (2 volumes, one in Hebrew and the other in English), edited by Haim Kreisel.

• Tradition, Heterodoxy and Religious Culture: Judaism and Christianity in the Early Modern Period (English), edited by Chanita Goodblatt and Haim Kreisel.

• Livyat Hen by Levi ben Avraham: The Quality of Prophecy and the Secrets of the Torah (Hebrew), by Haim Kreisel.

• By the Well (Al Pi Habeer), Studies in Jewish Philosophy and Halakhic Thought, Presented to Gerald J. Blidstein (Hebrew), edited by Uri Ehrlich, Howard Kreisel and Daniel J. Lasker.

• Ma'yan Ein Ya'acov, The Fourth Fountain of the Book 'Elimah, by R. Moshe Cordovero  (Hebrew), edited with notes by Bracha Sack, introductions by Shifra Asulin, Melila Hellner-Eshed, Bracha Sack, Esther Liebes and Lea Morris.

• Spiritual Authority: Struggles over Cultural Power in Jewish Thought (Hebrew and English), edited by Howard Kreisel, Boaz Huss and Uri Ehrlich.

The Internet Resource and Learning Center
The new home page of the center includes e-lectures in English and Hebrew on a range of topics related to Jewish thought together with a glossary of terms. The center also supports internet resource projects such as "Prayer in Rabbinic Literature" and Kabbalah books in print [Hebrew].  The site is managed by Asher Binyamin.

Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Fellowships
The center awards doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships to students who will be registered in the Department of Jewish Thought. The doctoral fellowships are generally renewable for four years; the post-doctoral fellowship for two. At least one new doctoral fellowship is offered each year, and one new post-doctoral fellowship every other year. All applicants must have an excellent knowledge of Hebrew. The yearly stipend of both awards is around $20,000 (the actual amount varies from year to year). At present there are 4 Goldstein-Goren doctoral fellows and one post-doctoral fellow. For further information about both types of fellowship please contact the center.

The center also sponsors seminars and symposia in conjunction with the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought.