LITERATURE + LECTURES

The Jewish Community Center of Houston Presents the 23rd Annual Bunny and Leo Horvitz Scholar-in-Residence Program, January 23 through February 9, 2011. Featuring Dr. Oded Irshai (pictured), Department of Jewish History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Topic:  Contesting the Land: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity.

Dr. Oded Irshai is the Academic Chair of the Ben-Zion Dinur Research Center for Jewish History and has served as the Chair of the University's Department of Jewish History and as a fellow at Scholion, the Interdisciplinary Center for Judaic Studies. In addition, he has been a visiting scholar at Harvard University, Penn State, Williams College and the University of Moscow. His primary interests include Palestine in the Second Temple period, Jews and Judaism in early Christian historiography and the social and cultural dimensions of Jewish life in Late Antiquity.

Schedule of Lectures:

Opening Night Lecture
Late Antiquity – Chronology, Sources, and Thematic Issues
Sunday, Jan 23 • 7:30 PM
This lecture will outline the main issues of the residency, the encounter between the Jewish understanding of the Land of Israel and the Christian concept of the Holy Land. Dr. Irshai will offer the historical political, cultural and religious context of this encounter, as well as some of the methodological problems facing us in our analysis.

Special Programs
Bagel Breakfast Beit Midrash
Between Eretz Israel and Babylonia: Changes in the Notion of Center and Periphery
Sunday, Jan 30 • 10:00 AM
This discussion will focus on one of the most important and long-lasting changes that took place in the Jewish community of late antiquity – the major shift of cultural and spiritual authority from Eretz Israel to Babylon. This program will follow the format of traditional Jewish learning, allowing the participant to directly engage with the source texts.

Mid-Residency Lecture
King David and Jesus, the Jewish Patriarch and Jesus: Contesting Lineage
Sunday, Feb 6 • 10:00 AM
This lecture will deal with one of the most heated debates between the Church Fathers and the Jews in the 4th and early 5th centuries, the credentials of the Jewish Patriarch and his claim to be a descendent of King David.

Closing Lecture
The Past and the Future of the Past: Eretz Israel and the Christian Holy Land in Ancient and Modern Perspectives
Wednesday, Feb 9 • 8:00 PM
This final lecture will tie together and re-contextualize some of the major themes discussed during the residency and offer some later historical perspectives as well as pointers for further thought.

Mini-Courses:
Holy Space and Holy Land: Early Christianity’s Attitude toward the Jews and their Land
Three Mondays: Jan 24, 31 and Feb 7 • 8:00 PM
Utilizing the writings of Origen, Eusebius, and Early Christian Pilgrims, this mini-series will present Early Christianity’s fluctuating theological and historical attitudes regarding appropriating Palestine from the Jews.

The Land of Israel and Jerusalem in Late Antiquity Jewish Thought
Two Wednesdays: Jan 26 and Feb 2 • 8:00 PM
This mini-series explores the evolving Jewish attitude towards the Land of Israel and the centrality of Jerusalem in Late Antiquity. It also explores Jewish responses to Christian appropriation of the land.

Contesting the Land and the End of Days
Two Thursdays: Jan 27 and Feb 3 • 8:00 PM
This mini-series will analyze the centrality of Jerusalem and the Jews in the Christian understanding of the “End of Days.” It will also conduct an in-depth survey of the “End of Days” time tables in the Jewish and Christian world of Late Antiquity.

Community Presentations:
Congregation Sha'ar HaShalom
Jews in the Service of Christians: Jews as the Carriers of Authentic Christian traditions of the Land and its Past
Tuesday, Jan 25 • 7:30 PM

Houston Rabbinic Council
The Sons of Aaron: The Resurgence of the Priesthood in Late Antiquity
Thursday, Jan 27
By invitation for Rabbis only

Bureau of Jewish Education
Synagogue Art and Polemics
Wednesday, Feb 2 • 12:00 PM at the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston
Open to all school educators

Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Lunch and Learn
Jerusalem and Constantinople: Between the Re-Building of the Temple and the Renovation of Hagia Sophia Church
Thursday, Feb 3 • 12:30 PM at the Merfish Teen Center
Pre-Lecture Lunch ($10) at 12:00 PM
Reservations required 713-729-3200 ext. 3288.
Open to public

Hebrew Speakers Professional Organization
Rabbis and Church Fathers: Biblical Exegesis and Polemics
Sunday, Feb 6 • 8:00 PM at the Jewish Community Center
In Hebrew

Rice University Jewish Studies Program
Jewish - Christian Violence in Alexandria in the Early 5th Century and its Representation in Early Christian Historiography
Tuesday, Feb 8 • 4:00 PM at Rice University
Please call for details regarding the location.
Open to public

Program Fees
The Opening and Closing Lectures of the program are free and open to the entire community. Participating in the additional lectures and mini-courses requires a $25 pass. Selected programs have additional fees. Higher contributions to the program are greatly appreciated.

For more information, contact Naomi Barancik at 713-729-3200 ext. 3288.