Deborah Barer

Deborah Barer is an Assistant Professor of Judaism at Towson University's Department of Religious Studies. She holds a PhD in Religious Studies (2016) from the University of Virginia, an MA in Religious Studies (2013) from the same institution, a certificate from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (2011-2012), and a BA in Religious Studies from Oberlin College (2006). Her research focuses on rabbinic ethics, law, and modern Jewish thought, particularly exploring the intersection of legal systems and moral reasoning through the concept of lifnim mi-shurat ha-din ('within the line of the law').

Her academic contributions include conference presentations on topics such as rabbinic legal theories, midrash as theological discourse, and the ethics of institutional memory. She has received prestigious fellowships including the Mellon Teaching Seminar and Rachel Winer Manin Fellowship. Her teaching experience includes graduate-level courses at the University of Virginia, covering religious texts and modern fiction.

Barer’s work bridges historical and contemporary debates about law, ethics, and identity formation. She has engaged with interdisciplinary themes through her research on narrative in legal contexts and virtue ethics in ancient and modern frameworks.