Institute
for Jewish-Christian Understanding
Fall 2003
Mini-Course
The
Megillot:
Reading the
Bible’s Five Scrolls in Judaism and Christianity
led
by
The Rev. Dr. Walter Wagner
featuring
Five Lehigh Valley Rabbis and Jewish Educators
The five megillot
of the Hebrew Bible (megillah means “scroll”), have traveled through
Jewish history as a set, and found their way into Christian tradition
one-by-one. With themes of loyalty,
love jealousy, communal survival, passion,cynicism, suffering, and more all
plainly in view, they have traditionally been associated with five feasts and
fasts of the Jewish year. In
Christianity, they have yielded some of the most familiar and beloved images and
verses of all scripture.
Come
join Dr. Walter Wagner and five Jewish teachers – all of them gems in their own right – and explore these
exciting and intriguing books. Qohelet/Ecclesiastes,
Ruth, Esther, Eykha/Lamentations, and the Song of Songs have distinctive
and important testimonies for God’s people, and they are read by Jews in the
context of Sukkot/ Booths, Shavuot/Pentecost, Purim, the
Fast on the 9th of Av, and Passover, respectively.
This gives a particular slant to their interpretation that would not be
shared by Christians who read them apart from those communal observances.
What difference does it make? What
do these small gems have to offer each of ’s people?
How do they help us understand life’s joys and challenges?
In
each class, the Jewish teacher will take the lead, with Dr. Wagner responding
and offering the perspective of the Christian community on the scroll under
discussion. He will also sustain
the continuity from week to week as the “host” for the series.
Dr.
Walter Wagner is a pastor of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America who served formerly as Muhlenberg College chaplain
and subsequently as pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown.
In his “retirement,” he continues to teach as an adjunct professor at
Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem.
Dr.
Marjorie Hass is Associate Professor of
Philosophy at Muhlenberg College and an active leader in Allentown Congregation
Am Haskalah of the Reconstructionist movement.
Rabbi
Allen Juda serves as rabbi of Congregation Brith
Sholom of Bethlehem, in the Conservative movement.
Rabbi
Barbara Goldman-Wartell, ordained by the
Reform movement, is the Jewish Family Educator in the Lehigh Valley, based at
the Jewish Community Center.
Rabbi
Moshe Re’em returned recently from a pulpit in
Modi’in, Israel (August 2002) to serve as rabbi of Temple Beth El, Allentown,
in the Conservative movement.
Rabbi
Daniel Feder, a rabbi in the Reform movement,
serves Congregation Keneseth Israel in Allentown.
YU
All sessions are on Thursday evenings, 7-9 p.m., in Room 106 of Moyer Hall on the Muhlenberg College campus.
|
October 2
Dr. Wagner Introduction to the Scrolls |
October
9
Dr. Hass Qohelet/Ecclesiastes (“The Preacher”) Festival of Sukkot/Booths |
October
23
Rabbi Allen Juda Ruth Festival of Shavuot/Pentecost |
[no class October 16, in honor of the end of Sukkot]
| October
30 Rabbi Goldman-Wartell Esther Festival of Purim |
November
6
Rabbi Moshe Re’em Eykha/Lamentations Fast of the 9th of Av |
November
13 Rabbi Feder Song of Songs Passover |
The registration deadline is September
19, 2003. Mini-Course registration is $65, or $70 with Continuing Education credit (12
contact hours, or 1.2 CEU). This
will include all study materials, which will be supplied at the sessions.
Members of the
IJCU who have renewed their membership may use one of their Program Discount
Coupons for a $5 discount.
Registration Form
INSTITUTE FOR JEWISH-CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING
Muhlenberg College
2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18104
484-664-3470 (phone); 484-664-5627 (fax)
Name
__________________________________________________________________
Congregation
____________________________________________________________
Address
________________________________________________________________
E-mail
_________________________________ Telephone _______________________
o
Registration check enclosed: o
$65. or o
$60. with Program Discount Certificate (PDC).
o
CEU credit requested (twelve [12] contact hours); total of $70, or $65
with PDC enclosed.
Make
check payable to: Institute for
Jewish-Christian Understanding (IJCU)