Rachel Slutsky

Rachel Slutsky, Ph.D., holds the Monsignor John Oesterreicher Visiting Assistant Professorship in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations in Antiquity at Seton Hall University's Department of Religion. She completed her doctorate in ancient Judaism at Harvard University in 2022, where she also served as assistant director of undergraduate studies in the Committee on the Study of Religion (2020-2021).

Her research focuses on how ancient and modern discourses use Jewish law to shape communal identity in contrast to other Jewish groups and non-Jewish societies. She is currently writing a monograph titled The Gentile Enigma: Divine Law and Identity in Early Judaism, based on her dissertation.

• Awards:
• Isadore Twersky Fellowship (Harvard, 2021–2022)
• Summer Fellowship (UPenn Katz Center)
• FLAS Fellowship in Yiddish (UChicago)
• Pedagogy Fellowship (USHMM)

Her academic work bridges ancient Jewish legal traditions with modern identity studies, emphasizing interfaith dynamics and historical contextualization.