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Scholar in Residence: Professor Gary Rendsburg
January 25, 2019 , 6:30 pm
Free
Dr. Gary A. Rendsburg holds the Blanche and Irving Laurie Chair in Jewish History in the Department of Jewish Studies at Rutgers University will lecture as Shabbat Scholar in Residence.
On Friday evening after 6:30 pm Kabbalat Shabbat services and dinner, Professor Rendsburg will discuss The Dead Sea Scrolls: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the discovery and publication of the first Dead Sea Scrolls. And yet, after seven decades of analysis and scholarship, the documents continue to enthrall. The net result is nothing less than a total rewriting of the history of early Judaism and the origins of Christianity.
On Shabbat morning, Professor Rendsburg will lead weekly Torah Study at 8:30 and offer the sermon during services beginning at 9:30 am followed by Q&A at Kiddush lunch. This week’s Parashat Yitro includes the reading of the Ten Commandments, a foundational text of the Torah. What makes these verses so special? Why did these commandments become so central to Jewish religion? Why do they continue to speak to so many people at a distance of three-thousand-plus years? Join us as we explore these and other questions.