Levana
Chajes

Levana Chajes is a PhD candidate in the field of Jewish thought. Her research explores the material and intellectual transmission of Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut, an essential work of medieval Jewish mysticism. Through analyzing its commentaries and translations as well as its controversial journey into print, she reveals how this text became a crucial nexus for the transformation of kabbalistic thought in Early Modern Europe. Her work provides new insights into how ideas traverse cultures and how texts shape intellectual traditions across cultural boundaries.

Levana provides new insights into how ideas traverse cultures and how texts shape intellectual traditions across cultural boundaries.

Levana received a BA from Tel Aviv University and an MA from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she was a Mandel Fellow. She grew up in Zikhron Ya’akov and now lives in the Galilee region with her husband and children. She has volunteered with Holocaust survivors, playing violin in old age homes, and facilitated women’s empowerment workshops in remote Nepali villages. Levana also enjoys hiking in the mountains and baking.