野狼社区 University鈥檚 annual Neustadt Lecture series will feature presentations by a renowned Bible scholar on topics including beliefs around divine punishment, the ways that Biblical traditions depict ancient Israelites as outsiders and the latest in Bible commentary.
Elsie Stern, professor of Bible at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Pennsylvania, will give two afternoon presentations in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel on the OCU campus and one evening presentation at Temple B鈥橬ai Israel, 4901 N. Penn. Ave., all on Feb. 13. Times and presentation titles are:
- 1 p.m.: 鈥淟earning from Difficult Texts: A Trauma-informed Approach to Divine Punishment in the Hebrew Bible鈥�
- 2:30 p.m.: 鈥淩emember What?: Traditions of Slavery and Foreignness in Egypt鈥�
- 7 p.m.: 鈥淲ho Needs Bible Commentary (and Why Create a New One)?鈥�
Lisa Wolfe, professor of Hebrew Bible at OCU, said Stern鈥檚 visit will provide the community with fresh, engaging perspectives on biblical traditions.
鈥淒r. Stern鈥檚 Torah Commentary project is greatly anticipated by Jewish communities and biblical scholars,鈥� Wolfe said. 鈥淲e are especially eager to learn from her interpretative insights about trauma-informed biblical theology.鈥�
Stern earned her B.A. at Yale University and her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is the author of 鈥淔rom Rebuke to Consolation: Exegesis and Theology in the Liturgical Anthology of the Ninth of Av Season鈥� and is a co-editor of the Dictionary of the Bible in Ancient Media. She has also contributed to the Jewish Study Bible, 鈥淭orah: A Women鈥檚 Commentary鈥� and the new Westminster Study Bible as well as other essay collections for scholars, clergy and lay readers.
She is currently the general editor for the New CCAR Torah Commentary, which will serve as the main Torah commentary for the Reform movement of Judaism. In her teaching and research, Stern explores how Jews and Jewish communities have engaged with scripture over the centuries.
All three presentations are free to the public. For more information, visit the lecture web page or contact Wolfe at [email protected].
The lecture series was established in 1983 by Walter and Dolores Neustadt for the purpose of strengthening understanding of the contributions of the Judaic religious tradition to Western civilization and thought. Scholars are invited to the campus to speak on informative themes in the areas of Hebrew scriptures, Judaic thought, and Jewish ethics and art.
