Rebecca Lesses, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ithaca College, loves learning from other generations. From talking with students about slang, music and culture to learning about historical customs and beliefs in her research about early Jewish mysticism and magic, Lesses has spent much of her 25 years at IC thinking about personal experience and human connection.

Lesses earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and a Ph.D. in religion with a concentration in Judaism from Harvard University. Lesses completed fellowships at Columbia University and Hebrew University, and taught at Cornell University, Vassar College and Bucknell University before coming to IC in 2001. 

Lesses was the first full–time professor hired to teach in the Jewish Studies program. She started on a three-year contract before the college created a tenure track position for the Jewish Studies program, which she applied for and received.

“I was very glad to stay here,” Lesses said. “I think one of the things that kept me here, that I still find attractive about Ithaca College, is … both faculty and students, I don’t find a lot of pretentiousness and snobbishness. … Some of the people at Ivy League schools are not so easy to get along with.”

Lesses said she coordinated the Jewish Studies program first on an interim basis during the 2002-2003 academic year, and then again from 2007 to 2022. 

Lesses has taught courses about Jewish history, the Hebrew Bible, contemporary Jewish identities, gender and sexuality in Judaism, Jewish mysticism, Jewish magic and the history of God. Lesses has also taught slow reads, a class covering Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, and an Ithaca Seminar about the City of Jerusalem. 

Lesses said she tries to get students involved in class as much as possible, giving them chances to share their thinking and develop critical thinking skills. She said she loves working with students and watching their understanding of concepts evolve. 

“I see people’s development right in front of my eyes,” Lesses said. “One thing I always liked is if I had a student in my first year seminar, and they came in and their writing was sort of at high school level … and then I have them for a class a year or two later, I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re writing so much better. You’ve learned.’ That’s the pleasure of teaching.”

However, Lesses said she struggled to teach after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on a music festival in Israel. Lesses said she used to visit Israel every year and some of her best friends live there. She did not know anyone who died or was kidnapped during the attack, but all of her friends did.

“I had a few students in my class that fall who seemed to approve of what Hamas had done, which was very difficult for me,” Lesses said. “That was the hardest time I ever had at Ithaca College, or probably anywhere in terms of teaching. … I’ve always had this sense of goodwill [with students] on both sides, and something got broken that fall. … It can sometimes be really hard to be a teacher. I mean, it can be very rewarding, but sometimes it can break your heart.”

Lesses said she has regained some of the sense of goodwill within the last few years, but since the attack she has avoided teaching the Ithaca seminar course about Jerusalem.

Outside of teaching, Lesses has published multiple articles and books primarily focused on ancient Jewish people’s ideas about demons and angels, and how they used magic to protect themselves. She has especially focused on Hekhalot literature and incantation bowls from around the third through fifth centuries.

Lesses said she has served as the adviser for Ithacans for Israel and PRISM, and served on several college committees and Faculty Council. She has also led services and served on committees for Temple Beth-El synagogue, and plans to join the board in Fall 2026. Lesses also serves on a committee for Indivisible Tompkins to help coordinate voter registration and voter education. 

Lesses said there are so many little parts of campus that will be hard to leave — attending performances, seeing students hang out together, taking in the best view of Ithaca — but she is grateful for the opportunity to spend her career working with students. 

“[I] feel like I’ve been able to touch students’ lives, sometimes on the intellectual level, sometimes on the personal or emotional level,” Lesses said. “I’m definitely gonna miss teaching.”