Then and Now
Last week in my course at Brown, "How the Bible Became Holy," students read the book of Ecclesiastes and portions of Sirach. At the beginning of class I tried a new warm-up exercise, in groups: Imagine that you are the publicist team for … [Continue reading] about Blurbing Ecclesiastes
The New York Times has recently been running a series of articles marking the 400th anniversary of the arrival of African slaves in the New World that they are calling the 1619 Project. The approach that they took on these essays is original and … [Continue reading] about The 1619 Project, and a Quibble
I have taught an introductory level undergraduate course, "How the Bible Became Holy," several times at Brown and will be doing so again this fall. The course gives (but does not insist on) a loose narrative to the history of the biblical text, but … [Continue reading] about Course: How the Bible Became Holy (Again)
Last month there was a workshop in Jerusalem on charity in rabbinic literature that I was sorry to miss. There has been a great deal of scholarly interest lately on the topic of charity generally in antiquity, among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. … [Continue reading] about The Poor and Their Relief in the Mishnah
I have been teaching for many years in the Me'ah adult learning program run by Hebrew College in Newton, Massachusetts. I've always enjoyed teaching in this program and having the opportunity to interact with the wider Jewish community. Such … [Continue reading] about The Geonim: An Introduction