St. Thomas Newsroom | September 28, 2007 University News

A noted rabbi who is a New Testament scholar with extensive experience in Jewish- Christian relations will discuss “Jewish Views of Jesus: Yesterday to Today and Tomorrow” in an upcoming program co-sponsored by Luther Seminary and the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning of St. John’s University and the University of St. Thomas.

Rabbi Michael Cook, who holds the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judaeo- Christian Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, will give the talk at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, in the Luther Seminary Chapel at 2481 Como Ave., St. Paul.

The only rabbi in America to hold a full professorial chair in New Testament, Cook will present his personal position on Jesus, how the Jewish tradition has viewed Jesus over 20 centuries, and the problem of how Jesus is viewed by Jewish laity today.

Cook serves on many advisory boards related to Jewish-Christian relations and recently finished a major book, Modern Jews Engage the New Testament: Enhancing Jewish Well-Being in a Christian Environment, which will be released next year.

The Rev. Marilyn Salmon, an Episcopal priest and associate professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, will give a Christian response to Cook’s remarks. She is the author of the recently published Preaching Without Contempt: Overcoming Unintended Anti-Judaism.

The program is free and open to the public; no reservations are required. More information is available from Luther Seminary at (651) 641-3456 or from the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at (651) 962-5780.

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.

St. Thomas Newsroom | April 20, 2007 University News

“Is God Your Physician? Curing and Healing in Biblical Texts” is the title of the 22nd annual Christian-Jewish Seminar that will be held from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 23, in the auditorium of Northwestern Hall at Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

The seminar is co-sponsored by Luther Seminary and the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning, which is a partnership of the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University.

Growing out of God’s announcement in Exodus, “I the Lord am your healer,” both Jews and Christians have developed healing traditions. The seminar speakers, Amy Eilberg and Fred Gaiser, will examine the concept and practice of healing as it has been interpreted in the two faiths.

Eilberg, the first woman ordained as a Conservative rabbi, directs dialogue programs at the Jay Phillips Center. She co-founded the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center where she directed its Jewish Hospice Care Program.

Faiser is professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. He is the editor of the journal World & World and The Quest for Jesus and the Christian Faith, and is the author of David: God’s Shepherd, Warrior and King.

The registration fee for the seminar is $35 for the general public and $15 for students. Call (651) 641-3416 to register. A kosher dinner will be served.

St. Thomas Newsroom | October 10, 2006 University News

Dr. Steven Haynes, a member of the Religious Studies Department at Rhodes College in Tennessee, will discuss “Bonhoeffer and the Jews” in a talk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the auditorium of Northwestern Hall at Luther Seminary.

The talk, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University. Luther Seminary is a co-sponsor of the talk, which is being held in connection with the 100th anniversary of Bonhoeffer’s birth.

Bonhoeffer was a renowned German Lutheran pastor and theologian who was executed by the Nazis shortly before the end of World War II for his involvement in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

In the wake of the Holocaust, he has become a bridge between Jews and Christians. But while his actions on behalf of Jews were bold, his theology contains some mixed messages about Jews that make his post-Holocaust legacy ambiguous. In his talk, Haynes will discuss this legacy and its significance for today’s Jewish-Christian relations.

Haynes teaches courses on the Bible, theology, religion and racism, and the Holocaust. His 10 books include Prospects for Post-Holocaust Theology and The Bonhoeffer Legacy: Post-Holocaust Perspectives. He holds a doctorate in religion and literature from Emory University, as well as degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary, Florida State University and Vanderbilt University.

Haynes also will give this talk at 9:40 and again at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Room AV-1, Alcuin Library, St. John’s University, Collegeville.

For more information about the lectures, call the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish- Christian Learning at (651) 962- 5780.

St. Thomas Newsroom | May 8, 2006 University News

Abraham Foxman, since 1987 the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, will discuss “Jews, Christians and the State of Israel” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Temple Israel, 2324 Emerson Ave. S.

The talk, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University.

The talk is the annual Rabbi Max A. Shapiro Lecture, named in honor of Shapiro’s leadership in Jewish-Christian relations. Now retired, he was rabbi at Temple Israel and was a founder and director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Learning.

The establishment of Israel has affected the relationship between Jews and Christians worldwide. As director of the Anti-Defamation League, Foxman has been at the center of Jewish-Christian dialogue and debates about peace and justice for Israel and the Palestinians.

In his lecture, Foxman will discuss how different religious views on Israel affect Jewish-Christian relations and the search for peace in the Middle East.

Born in Poland in 1940, Foxman is a Holocaust survivor who speaks out against hatred and violence and confers with elected and community leaders worldwide. He was appointed to the President’s U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council by presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He has participated in several official presidential delegations to events in Europe and Israel, and had six audiences with Pope John Paul II.

Foxman is the author of Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism; he appears frequently on national news programs and is quoted often in newspapers and magazines.

Tickets or reservations are not required for the lecture. Parking is available in the Temple Israel lot and on surrounding streets. For more information about the lecture, call the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning, (651) 962-5780.

St. Thomas Newsroom | October 26, 2005 University News

A prominent scholar of religion in popular culture will explore “How Christmas Got to be This Way – For Christians and Jews” in a program that will be held at Luther Seminary in St. Paul and at St. John’s University in Collegeville.

Dr. Bruce Forbes, who holds the Arthur L. Bunch Chair in Religious Studies at Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the chapel of Olson Campus Center at Luther Seminary. He will present the talk a second time at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Centenary Room, Quadrangle 264, at St. John’s.

St. Thomas Newsroom | October 24, 2005 University News

A series of three award-winning films that focus on Christian-Jewish relations will be shown on three Monday evenings in November at Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Ave.

Each film begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by a discussion of the issues raised by that evening’s film. The dates and films are: Nov. 7, “I am Joseph Your Brother”; Nov. 14, “John Paul II: The Millennial Pope (Part II: The Pope and the Jews)”; and Nov. 21, “Sister Rose’s Passion.”

The films, free and open to the public, are co-sponsored by Mount Zion Temple, the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University, and six Catholic churches in the Twin Cities.

The churches are the Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Cecilia and St. Pascal Baylon, of St. Paul; Corpus Christi and St. Rose of Lima, Roseville; and Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Maplewood.

The films are being shown in connection with the 40th anniversary this fall of Nostra Aetate: The Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. After centuries of virtual isolationism on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, this document from the Second Vatican Council paved the way for an era of interfaith dialogue.

For more information about Center for Jewish-Christian Learning programs call (651) 962-5788 or visit the center’s Web site.

St. Thomas Newsroom | September 29, 2005 University News

St. Paul author Felicia Karo Weingarten, who survived four Nazi concentration camps during World War II, will read from her new book, Ave Maria in Auschwitz: The True Story of a Jewish Girl From Poland (DeForest Press, July 2005), at noon Thursday, Oct. 6, in 3M Auditorium of Owens Science Hall at the University of St. Thomas.

The reading, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the St. Thomas History Department and the UST History Club.

Weingarten also will read and discuss the book at 11:15 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31, in Alumnae Hall of Haehn Campus Center at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph. Her presentation there is co-sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Jewish-Christian Learning and the Theology Department at St. Benedict and St. John’s University.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of the camps, where millions of imprisoned Jews were killed or died from starvation or disease as a part of Hitler’s “Final Solution.”

Weingarten was a teenager in 1939 when the Nazis walled Jews into a ghetto in her hometown of Lodz, Poland. She later was sent to four concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, from which she was rescued in 1945. When the camp was liberated, she was nearly dead and weighed only 65 pounds.

After the war she married Auschwitz survivor Leon Weingarten; the couple moved to St. Paul in 1950 and had two children. She has spoken on Jewish culture and on the historical, psychological and political factors of the Holocaust for more than 30 years. The author of three books and numerous articles, she has been a consultant for the University of Minnesota and has an honorary doctorate from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Ave Maria in Auschwitz is a collection of Weingarten’s short stories from her World War II experiences in Lodz and the concentration camps. Her stories also challenge readers to be people of integrity, hope and commitment. The book is titled after of one of its stories, in which a female S.S. commandant demands that a prisoner, a young woman in her 20s, sing for her. The young woman chooses “Ave Maria.”

“I talk about this so people will understand and remember,” Weingarten said. “We are all capable of good and evil, and I hope most of us choose to be good, not to be cruel to people because they are different.”

For more information about Weingarten’s reading at St. Thomas, call the History Department, (651) 962-5730.