Interview with Dr. Gampel

As I sat down with Dr. Gampel to conduct an interview about his time at JTS, I was taken back to Prospective Students’ Weekend when I was a senior in high school. During this weekend I first encountered Dr. Gampel’s engaging teaching style at a lecture. As an unassuming student, I sat in the front row, and I yawned in the middle of his lecture. Dr. Gampel immediately called me out for it, and I quickly promised my yawn was a result of exhaustion and not a result of the lecture. While interviewing Dr. Gampel, I reminded him of that moment, and noted that that was also the moment I decided I wanted to be a Jewish history major at JTS. In response, Dr. Gampel emphasized the importance of watching for students’ reactions, such as yawning, to keep things exciting and to gauge where his students’ passions might lie. He claimed that as an educator, it is vital to adapt and react. While the facts he teaches might remain the same, how he teaches them has changed over time. As a professor, Dr. Gampel focuses on being the most effective educator he can be.

When reflecting on how he found his passion for teaching, Dr. Gampel said that when he was finishing his doctorate studies at Columbia University in 1982, Chancellor Emeritus Ismar Schorsch, who at the time was the provost, offered him a job at JTS as a Jewish history professor.

Dr. Gampel then continued pursuing a career in teaching. He said that it seemed like a good idea as he enjoyed talking and thinking about things, which are both aspects of teaching that came naturally to him. It was an honorable profession that he felt comfortable in. To him, teaching is a craft, and just like any craft, you must continuously work at it. In teaching, he always tries to think about what he is teaching and how to improve his “product” as a craftsman. 

When reflecting on how the students at JTS have changed over time, Dr. Gampel stated that past students had more knowledge in Hebrew and more Jewish knowledge in general. However, students today are more excited and passionate—and even more willing to work hard in order to learn. 

Dr. Gampel has always taught medieval Jewish history, but the cycles of electives have changed, showing how JTS and Dr. Gampel have reacted and responded to the times. Today there are more mixed Jewish and Christian families at JTS, and so he added a conversion course as an elective. Current topics in the news also affect what is taught so that students can bring their own personal experiences to the courses.

In reference to how Dr. Gampel continues to hone his craft as an educator, he claims that at JTS, he can pursue lifelong research that allows him to stay connected, and when pursuing research seriously, he is able to make his ideas sharper. Dr. Gampel’s research centers around medieval Jewish history. A few years ago, he published a book on riots that swept the Arabian peninsula in the 14th century, Anti-Jewish Riots in the Crown of Aragon and the Royal Response, 1391–1392. He is currently working on furthering his knowledge on the topic by collecting written legacies of people who were alive at the time.

When asked about the future of the history major at JTS, Dr. Gampel reflected on trends from the past and claimed that there had been waves in student interests throughout the years. Sometimes they prefer courses on a body of literature, such as Bible or Talmud, though Jewish humanities, such as ethics and history, have, at times, been more popular. When Dr. Gampel joined JTS, history was the language in which Judaism was expressed; history courses focused on balancing knowledge of classical Jewish materials with the exploration of the latest ideas in Jewish humanities. As students’ linguistic background has declined, literature courses have become fewer and fewer. Dr. Gampel dreams of a robust humanities curriculum alongside Bible and Talmud but recognizes that interest will continue to shift back and forth. 

My first encounter with Dr. Gampel as a prospective student, as intimidating as it was, also inspired me. It inspired me to see a professor who cared enough about what he taught to watch his students and take note of their reactions to ensure mutual interest in the subject. As the result of a short introduction to his course and largely because of his interactive teaching style, I chose to apply to JTS and pursue an education in Jewish history.