St. Thomas Newsroom | May 3, 2007 University News

Lawrence Schiffman, an author and expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls, will discuss them in a talk at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at Adath Jeshurun Congregation, 10500 Hillside Lane West, Minnetonka.

The talk is free and open to the public. Co-sponsors are the University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies and the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning, which is a partnership of the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University.

Schiffman’s talk is titled “Scholars, Scrolls and Scandals: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism.”

The discovery of the scrolls in the 1940s and 1950s in caves near a settlement at Qumran, near the Dead Sea, has revolutionized the picture of the early history of Judaism. Schiffman, who was part of the international team that published the scrolls, will discuss their discovery, the controversy regarding their publication, and their content and historical significance.

Schiffman is the Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University and a chair of the university’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. He is the author of Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls and other books and articles about the scrolls and Judaism in late antiquity.

A book-signing and reception will follow the talk. For more information, call the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning, (651) 962-5780.