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.