The God of Possibilities: God, Human Freedom and the Obligation to Heal the World by Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller and Professor Leora F. Batnitzky as Respondent
Kaplan Hall 348This discussion constitutes a personal effort at articulating a meaningful notion of God that is spiritually fulfilling, intellectually uncompromising and morally compelling. The search ranges across the Jewish tradition from the fundamentals of Biblical monotheism to Maimonides’ rationalism and onto Hasidic mysticism. The result is a contemporary notion of God that can nurture personal humility...
Why Religion Matters for Educational Stratification
ZoomIt's well-known that Americans’ academic outcomes vary by race, class, and gender. But what about their religious upbringing? In this talk, Dr. Ilana Horwitz will discuss findings from her recent book, God, Grades, and Graduation: Religion’s Surprising Impact on Academic Success (January 2022, Oxford UniversityPress). Drawing on 10 years of survey data with over 3,000...
The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal
Haines 39/ZoomThroughout much of history, the Jewish way of life has been characterized by strict adherence to the practices and prohibitions legislated by the Torah: dietary laws, ritual purity, circumcision, Sabbath...
At the Origins of Monotheism: A Socio-economic Confrontation in Ancient Syro Mesoptamia
Presented by: Professor Giorgio Buccellati of UCLA's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Date/Time/Loc TBD
Mothers and Rituals of Child-Naming in Ancient Israel (Bible and the Ancient World series)
Presented by: Professor Susan Ackerman of Dartmouth University. This event will be recorded with no live audience and shared with community after.
At the Origins of Monotheism: A Socio-economic Confrontation in Ancient Syro Mesoptamia
Bunche Hall 2209A 11282 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, United StatesWhat is known as monotheism may be seen, in it earliest manifestation, in the light of an epistemic confrontation of the biblical tradition with the system of knowledge that had developed in the great cities of Mesopotamia. The paper presents a view that is at variance with the communis opinio, both in terms of...
Grupo Madera: 20th Century Afro-Venezuelan Religiosity, Rhythms, and Resistance
Kaplan 365Grupo Madera (Wood Group) was founded in 1977 in San Agustín del Sur – an Afro-Venezuelan working-class barrio – by Afro-Venezuelan youth committed to Third World liberation struggles, global Pan-Africanism, and Black consciousness. As a traditional Afro-Venezuelan musical ensemble and community organization, Grupo Madera responded to the people’s calls for economic justice and political...
A Royal Osirian Funerary Rite? The Awakening of Osiris Ritual in Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Kaplan 365Over 100 years after its discovery, the tomb of Tutankhamun continues to be the focus of numerous Egyptological studies and scholarly research. Due to Howard Carter’s meticulous documentation of the tomb, it’s possible to continue to “excavate” the tomb and make new discoveries about ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, kingship ideology, and funerary practices, including...
“Abba has begun to make money from the beer business”: Beer, Business, and Halakhah in Rabbinic Literature (Bible and the Ancient World series)
314 Royce HallPresented by: Professor Jordan D. Rosenblum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Where Was Adam Buried? Textual Communities and the Changing Location of a Sacred Site
Online on ZoomJoin Zoom: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/95410494359 Because neither the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, nor Qur’ān specify the place of Adam’s burial, its location became an object of contention over the ages among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The oldest Jewish traditions locate Adam’s tomb in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, thereby associating Adam with the biblical patriarchs...