Last episode of the first season. We’ll be back just before Rosh Hashana.

Special episode in English, marking 121 Years Since Herzl's Death

Before he became the visionary leader of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl probably suffered what might have been a nervous breakdown. So how did this troubled playwright and journalist transform into a political prophet?

In this week's episode, I speak with historian Derek Penslar (Harvard University) about Herzl's inner world, the fine line between genius and madness, and why understanding Herzl's psychological state might change the way we view the origins of Zionism.

Professor Derek Penslar, Harvard University

Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor ofJewish History and directs Harvard’s Center for Jewish Studies. Penslar is a resident faculty member at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) and is also affiliated with Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Before coming to Harvard, Pensla taught at Indiana University Bloomington, the University of Toronto, and the University of Oxford, where he was the inaugural holder of the Stanley Lewis Chair in Israel Studies. He has taught as a visiting professor at ColumbiaUniversity, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). He has held research fellowships in Germany, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Penslar is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the American Academy for Jewish Research and is an honorary fellow of St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford.

Among his many books: Zionism and Technocracy: TheEngineering of the Jewish Settlement in Palestine 19870-1918 (Cambridge UP, 1991), Jews and the Military: A History (Princeton UP, 2013), Theodor Herzl: The Charismatic Leader (Yale UP, 2020), and Zionism: An Emotional State (RutgersUP, 2023).

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