via Email |Enid Idelsohn | August 21, 2007
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Coming Up at Jewish Studies in August

• Reading Hebrew
  Instructors: Shula Holtz and David Fishelov
  Mondays: August 27 – December 3, 2007 5:25-6:40pm
  Levin Library & Arnold HallThis is an informal, weekly course to teach students how to read Hebrew. It is aimed at beginners and people who have rusty skills and are interested in developing more skills in reading Hebrew. The focus is reading, not language comprehension. There will be beginning and intermediate levels offered at the same time. Participants are requested to attend all class meetings. Registration is not required and the course is free of charge and open to the entire community. It cannot be taken for college credit.

• Jewish Choral Society
  Choir Director: Madeline Hershenson
  Mondays: August 27 – December 3, 2007 7:00-9:00pm Arnold HallRehearsals begin for another semester of the Jewish Choral Society. The Society reached new heights last year with performances at Marion Square, BSBI, and KKBE in another Piccolo Spoleto concert. Now in its ninth year, the Jewish Choral Society keeps growing. The repertoire now includes Sephardic music, cantorial chants, contemporary Israeli music, Israeli folk songs, traditional songs from Eastern Europe, and Yiddish and Ladino music. New singers are welcome. No experience necessary.

• Rabbi Hesh Epstein’s Class
  The Importance of the Land of Israel
  Mondays; August 27th, September 24th, October 29th, and November 26th
  7:00-8:15pm in Levin Library, Jewish Studies CenterMany Jews do not see the land of Israel as a defining aspect of their Jewish identities. This four-part seminar is designed to show that the land of Israel is a core aspect of being Jewish. The goal in the first half of the course is to connect students to the land of Israel by demonstrating that the land of Israel is part of the definition of what it means to be Jewish, thus laying the groundwork for the second half which addresses elements of the modern-day situation in Israel.Each lesson will focus on an aspect of Israel’s importance and feature a city or two which demonstrates that particular dimension.

• • Monday, August 27: The Promised Land: Be’er Sheva and Hebron
  • Monday, September 24: The Holy Land: Tiberias
  • Monday, October 29: Jewish claim to the Land: Shechem (now Nablus)
  • Monday, November 26: Israel and the Diaspora: Safed and Jerusalem

Rabbi Hesh Epstein has been the Executive Director of Chabad Lubavitch of South Carolina since 1987. Father of nine and a sought after teacher, Rabbi Hesh was assistant rabbi at Brith Sholom Beth Israel in Charleston from 2001-2004. Rabbi Epstein teaches regularly for Jewish Studies.

• Brown Bag SeriesAbraham’s Binding of Isaac: Comparative Perspectives
  Facilitator: John Huddlestun, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
  Wednesdays; August 29th, September 26th, October 31st, and November 28th from 12:00-1:00pm Arnold HallCoffee, soft drinks, and desserts provided. Bring your own lunch.In this brown bag series we will consider the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, known in Jewish tradition as the Aqedah, or “binding” (of Isaac). Few biblical narratives have occasioned more discussion and debate among biblical scholars and lay people alike. From the standpoint of biblical ethics, the story raises a host of unanswered questions, not only about Abraham, but also about the God who commands the sacrifice. Why child sacrifice, given its prohibition elsewhere in the biblical text? Why doesn’t Abraham object? Where is Sarah in all of this? Where is Isaac at the end of the story? In our quest for answers, we will draw upon the varying perspectives of the three monotheistic traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Judaism in particular is especially rich in post-biblical interpretations of this story, and a number of these may have influenced ideas of atonement in early Christian tradition. Reading materials for the sessions will be available at the Jewish Studies office prior to the first meeting.

  Sessions will be facilitated by Dr. John Huddlestun, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, who teaches classes in biblical and ancient Middle Eastern studies and in Jewish tradition at the College of Charleston.

• • Wednesday, August 29: Genesis 22 in its historical context
  • Wednesday, September 26: The Aqedah in Jewish Tradition
  • Wednesday, October 31: Genesis: A Living Conversation – The Test (film)
  • Wednesday, November 28: Christian and Islamic Readings of the Story