Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, vice provost for undergraduate education
at Yeshiva University, will speak about the Dead Sea Scrolls,
which present us with varying approaches to the messianic
idea.
We encounter both the usual one-messiah of David concept as well
as a two-messiah scheme--messiahs of Aaron and Israel. In addition,
numerous texts put forward visions of the nature of the End of
Days. This illustrated lecture will explore these views and their
relevance to the messianic ideas of Christianity and Rabbinic
Judaism. There will be time after the lecture for
questions.
Professor Schiffman received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from
the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis
University. He is a specialist in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Judaism in
Late Antiquity, the history of Jewish law, and Talmudic literature.
Prof. Schiffman was featured in the PBS Nova series documentary,
“Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls,” as well as in four BBC
documentaries on the scrolls, the McNeil-Lehrer Report, and a
Discovery special. He appeared regularly in the popular educational
series, “Mysteries of the Bible,” that appeared on Arts and
Entertainment (A&E), and more recently, in the four-part series
“Kingdom of David” on PBS. He has also participated in
documentaries produced by CNN and National Geographic.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information,
call 845-569-3467 or email cdi@msmc.edu