University of Minnesota

 

Classical and Near Eastern Studies

 

Center for Jewish Studies

Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Statement of Interests My research concentrates on the literary heritage of late Second Temple period and early rabbinic Judaism and the important role that this literature plays in reconstructing the history and development of classical Judaism. My work examines the specific literary techniques of early Jewish biblical interpretation as well as the ways that Jews in Late Antiquity adapted and reconfigured the legacy of the Hebrew Bible. I am also interested in literary and theological traditions among early Christian communities and their relationship to scriptural antecedents and contemporary Jewish models. The primary research prism in which I approach these questions is the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran community. I teach courses related to the history and literature of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism as well as the larger framework of Jewish history and thought. I am particularly interested in the ways that Jews in the Second Temple period continued to seek access to the divine word and will through means such as prophecy, divination, magic, mysticism, and biblical interpretation. My research also focuses on the development of post-biblical Jewish law, in particular how the formation of Jewish law is tied to prophetic and revelatory claims. My book Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism (E.J. Brill, 2007), examines how the Qumran community conceptualized the meaning of prophecy and divine revelation in dialogue and in contrast with received biblical models and the evidence for ongoing prophetic activity at Qumran and in Second Temple Judaism. Current Research Activity Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls I am currently working on two monograph projects. I recently completed a monograph entitled Scripture and Law in the Dead Sea Scrolls (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press). It is the first work of its kind to examine legal exegesis in the Dead Sea Scrolls from the perspective of both the history of Jewish law and early biblical interpretation. It is also the first systematic study of Qumran legal exegesis to take advantage of the wealth of Qumran legal texts published only in the last 15 years. The primary question I address in this monograph is the function of prophetic (non-Pentateuchal) scripture in Qumran legal hermeneutics. What authority did the community attach to prophetic scripture and what legal force did these passages possess? I examine all the examples of reliance upon prophetic sources in Qumran legal material. These texts are considered in dialogue with comparative Second Temple and rabbinic legal literature. Like my earlier work, this book is about the varieties of the reception of the Hebrew Bible in ancient Judaism and the diverse attempts to make biblical law a living institution. The particular focus on prophetic scripture highlights a second critical issue—the continued vitality of the prophetic word. Examination of the community’s legal hermeneutics in a comparative context generates a sharper understanding of the ongoing attempts to make biblical law portable to new sociological, theological, and geographic contexts. This monograph highlights the shared and divergent techniques employed by the varieties of Judaism in antiquity to achieve this goal. Violence, Religion, and the Dead Sea Scrolls My current major research project is a monograph entitled Violence, Religion, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Religious violence, both real and imagined, frames much of the Qumran community’s history and worldview. This monograph will be the first comprehensive study of (1) the role of violence in the formation of the sectarian Qumran community, (2) the function of violence in the ordering of communal life and legitimization of sectarian ideology, and (3) the rhetoric of imagined violence against other Jews and foreign powers (especially Rome) in the end of days. In fall 2007, I co-organized a conference at the University of Minnesota entitled “Sanctified Violence in Ancient Mediterranean Religions.” As I prepared my own paper for the conference, I was dismayed to find that nearly all treatments of violence in the scrolls followed more general trends in Qumran studies—philological and historical analysis of the relevant texts. The few discussions of violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls tend to generate a synthetic portrait of end-time violence in the scrolls and examine its possible biblical and apocalyptic background. There is virtually no engagement with important studies on religious violence undertaken in the Social Sciences or even the History of Religion. This disciplinary isolation of Dead Sea Scrolls is reflected throughout the field. As the work of deciphering the scrolls is only now coming to a close, scholars must now look outside the insular world of Qumran scholarship. The comprehensive treatment of violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran community that I seek to achieve in this study merges the historical-philological approach—the backbone of Qumran scholarship—with social-scientific approaches. It integrates close analysis of the textual data with important theoretical models drawn from sociology, anthropology, social-psychology, and related fields. I have completed a chapter that examines the origins and rhetorical function of violence in the scrolls through the theoretical lenses of some recent social-scientific approaches to religious violence and more general sociological approaches to sectarianism. This chapter appeared in a collection of papers from the conference that I co-edited in a special volume of the journal Biblical Interpretation (January 2009). Text Editions and Commentaries I am also contributing four editions and commentaries on Dead Sea Scrolls fragments. I am preparing critical editions of the following texts for the revised version of Discoveries in the Judean Desert 5 (Clarendon Press at Oxford University Press): 4Q160 - “Samuel Apocryphon”; “4Q161 - Pesher Isaiaha ; “4Q165 - Pesher Isaiahe. I am also writing a commentary on 4QAdmonition Based on the Flood (4Q370), which will appear in The Lost Jewish Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Outside of Scripture (Jewish Publication Society). Curriculum Vitae Academic Appointments 2006-present Assistant Professor University of Minnesota Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies Center for Jewish Studies (core faculty) Program in Religious Studies (core faculty) 2007 (Summer) Visiting Lecturer University of Washington Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (Comparative Religion Program) 2004-2005 Instructor New York University Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies 2004-2006 Adjunct Professor New School for General Studies, The New School University Department of Humanities Education 2001-2006: New York University. Ph.D. Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. Dissertation: “Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism” Major Field: Jewish History and Literature of Late Antiquity. Minor Field: Hebrew Bible. 1997-2001: University of Washington. B.A. Jewish Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Cum Laude. Dean's List 1997-2001. Academic Honors and Fellowships 2009: John Templeton Award for Theological Promise ($20,000), Templeton Foundation and the University of Heidelberg 2009: Imagine Fund: Arts, Design, and Humanities ($3,000), University of Minnesota 2008-10: Grant-in-Aid of Research, Artistry, and Scholarship ($35,562), University of Minnesota 2008: Faculty Summer Research Fellowship ($6,000), University of Minnesota 2008: McKnight Arts and Humanities Summer Fellowship ($6,000), University of Minnesota 2007: Travel Grant ($1000) – Office of International Programs, University of Minnesota 2005-2006: Research Travel Grant – Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem 2005: Fellow, American Academy of Jewish Research Summer Graduate Seminar. Yale University, New Haven, CT. 2005: Student Travel Grant (for travel to Association for Jewish Studies Annual Meeting) – Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York University 2005: Antonina S. Ranieri International Scholars Fund Travel Grant – Center for Ancient Studies, New York University 2004: Student Travel Grant (for travel to Association for Jewish Studies Annual Meeting) – Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University 2004: Student Travel Grant (for travel to Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting) – Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York University 2004: Graduate School of Arts and Science Summer Predoctoral Fellowship – New York University 2004: Antonina S. Ranieri International Scholars Fund Travel Grant – Center for Ancient Studies, New York University 2002-2006: Jacob K. Javits Graduate Fellowship – United States Department of Education 2002: Floyd L. Moreland Scholarship – City University of New York Latin/Greek Institute 2001-2006: MacCracken Graduate Fellowship – New York University 2000-2001: Annual Dean’s List – University of Washington 2001: Mary Gates Fellowship for Undergraduate Research – University of Washington 2000-2001: Sandler-Shurman Scholarship for Jewish Studies – University of Washington 1999: Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle Grant for Study and Travel in Israel 1999: Dorot Travel Grant for Study and Travel in Israel 1997-1999, 2000: Windermere Real Estate College Scholarship 1997: National Council of Jewish Women/Seattle Chapter Scholarship – University of Washington 1997: Mercer Island Community Award for Excellence in the Humanities Service to the Profession 2009-10: Academic Advisor, The Dead Sea Scrolls. Exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. St. Paul, MN 2009-present: Chair, Early Judaism and Jewish Studies Section, Upper Midwest Region of the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Conferences and Panels Organized Organizer, two sessions: “Priests, Prophets and Poetics in the Dead Sea Scrolls” and “Dead Sea Scrolls in Context” for the Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. December 2009. Organizer, lecture series: “Religion and Law in the Ancient World: An Interdisciplinary Lecture Series.” University of Minnesota. February-April 2009. Organizer, two sessions: “The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ancient Judaism” and “New Directions in Dead Sea Scrolls Research” for the Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. December 2008. Co-Coordinator: “Sanctified Violence in Ancient Mediterranean Religions: Discourse, Ritual, Community.” October 6-8, 2007. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN. Co-Coordinator: “Jewish and Christian Scholars on the Origins of Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity.” May 21-24, 2006. Notre Dame, IN. New York University (Dept. of Hebrew and Judaic Studies) – University of Notre Dame (Dept. of Theology) Joint Conference (ongoing in 2007) Scholarly Presentations “Connecting the Dots in the History of Halakhah: The Restriction on Thinking about Labor on the Sabbath in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jubilees, and Rabbinic Literature.” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. Los Angeles, CA. December, 2009. “Rereading 4QpIsa A(4Q161) Forty Years after DJD 5.” Qumran Cave 4 Texts Reconsidered: International Symposium on Dead Sea Scrolls. Copenhagen, Denmark, June 17, 2009. “New Models for Understanding Violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” John Templeton Award for Theological Promise Colloquium. Heidelberg, Germany. May 25, 2009. “A New Suggestion for the Reconstruction of 4Q370 1 2 and Its Implications for the Blessing of the Divine Name in the Birkat Hammazon (Grace after Meals).” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. Washington, D.C. December 21, 2008. “What Word Exactly Cannot be Spoken? Isaiah 58:13 and the Sabbath Prohibition on Business Related Speech in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jubilees, and Rabbinic Literature.” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Biblical Law Section. Boston, MA. November 25, 2008. “Transformative Hermeneutics and Violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Qumran Section. Boston, MA. November 24, 2008. “Jewish Legal Exegesis in Comparative Context: The Case of the Dead Sea Scrolls Sabbath Law.” Midwest Jewish Studies Association Annual Conference with DePaul University College of Law Center for Jewish Law and Judaic Studies. Chicago, IL. October 29, 2008. “What’s in a Parallel? Comparative Midrash and the Origins of the Flood.” Annual Meeting of the Upper Midwest Regional Society of Biblical Literature. Early Judaism Section. St. Paul, MN. March 28, 2008. “The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Study of Prophecy in Ancient Judaism.” Dead Sea Scrolls at 60: The Scholarly Contributions of NYU Faculty and Alumni. New York, NY. March 7, 2008. “Prophecy after “The Prophets”: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Prophecy in Judaism.” The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context. Vienna, Austria. February 12, 2008. “Law and Exegesis at Qumran: The Sabbath Carrying Prohibition in Comparative Perspective.” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. Toronto, ON. December 17, 2007. “The Origins of the Flood in Second Temple and Rabbinic Traditions.” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Midrash Section. November 18, 2007. “Scripture, Tradition, and the Hermeneutics of Violence in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Sanctified Violence in Ancient Mediterranean Religions: Discourse, Ritual, Community. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN. October 7, 2007. “The Messianic Herald Once More: The Evidence from Qumran.” Annual Meeting of the Upper Midwest Regional Society of Biblical Literature. Gospels Section. St. Paul, MN. April 14, 2007. “Prophets and Prophecy in the Qumran Community.” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. San Diego, CA. December 17, 2006. “‘As it is Written in the Prophets’: The Use and Application of Prophetic Scripture in Qumran Legal Texts.” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Qumran Section. Washington, D.C. November 19, 2006. “Mediating the Divine: Prophets, Prophecy and Revelation at Qumran.” Coffee Hour Presentation. The Orion Center for Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, the Hebrew University. Jerusalem, Israel. January 10, 2006. “The ‘Re’-presentation of Prophecy in the Parabiblical Texts from Qumran.” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. Washington D.C. December 19, 2005. “Law and Prophecy at Qumran: The Conceptualization of the Classical Prophets as Lawgivers in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Qumran Section. Philadelphia, PA. November 20, 2005. “Prophets and Prophetic Traditions in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” American Academy of Jewish Research Summer Graduate Seminar. Yale University, New Haven, CT. June 28, 2005. “Literary and Historical Studies in the Samuel Apocryphon (4Q160).” Annual Meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies. Chicago, IL. December 20, 2004. “Modes of Biblical Interpretation in the Samuel Apocryphon (4Q160).” Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Qumran Section. San Antonio, TX. November 21, 2004. Invited Lectures at Academic Institutions “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Halakhah: The Prohibition against Business-Related Speech on the Sabbath in Comparative Perspective.” Hebrew Union College. Cincinnati, OH. March 22, 2010. “From Malachi to Matthew: What Happens to Prophecy between the Testaments?” St. Mary’s University. San Antonio, TX. October 19, 2009. “Deciphering a Dead Sea Scroll and Reconstructing the History of Jewish Liturgy.” Center for Jewish Studies Colloquium. University of Minnesota. April 22, 2009. “Reading the Binding of Isaac in the Classroom” (With Thomas Pepper—professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature). Religious Studies Teaching Colloquium. University of Minnesota. March 26, 2009. “Gender and Sexuality in Medieval Kabbalah.” Annual Goodman Lecture. The College of St. Catherine. St. Paul, MN. April 2, 2008. “Eschatology at Qumran,” “Mysticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls.” The Center for Jewish Studies. Queens College. Queens, NY. April 26, 2006. Invited Lectures and Community Outreach “Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed.” Center for Jewish Studies Community Lecture Series (University of Minnesota). B’nei Emet Congregation. St. Louis Park, MN. January 28, 2010. “The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered.” 5 session course. Compleat Scholar Program, College of Continuing Education, University of Minnesota. St Paul, MN. February-March 2009. “What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls – And Why Are They Important?” Adath Jeshurun Congregation. Minnetonka, MN. September 21, 2008. Scholar-in-Residence: “Vows, Violence, and Life in the Wilderness: Reading Parashat Matot through the Ages.” Temple Israel Study Shabbaton at Camp TEKO. Minnetonka, MN. July 25-26, 2008. “Mysteries of the Kabbalah Revealed.” 5 session course. Compleat Scholar Program, College of Continuing Education, University of Minnesota. St Paul, MN. April-May 2008. “Israel through Archaeology.” 6 session course. Sabes Jewish Community Center. Saint Louis Park, MN. March-April 2008. “Jewish Perspectives on War and Peace.” 3 session course. Temple Israel. Minneapolis, MN. March 2008. “What The Dead Sea Scrolls Teach Us: Prophecy and Judaism.” Center for Jewish Studies Community Lecture Series (University of Minnesota). Temple of Aaron Congregation. St. Paul, MN. February 5, 2008. “Reading the Bible with Ancient Jews: Early Jewish Biblical Interpretation in Context.” Adath Jeshurun Congregation. Minnetonka, MN. November 11, 2007. “Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights – Or is it?” Beth Jacob Congregation. Mendota Heights, MN. December 16, 2006. “The Acquisition of the Torah in Early Jewish Mysticism: Sar ha-Torah in the Hekhalot Literature.” Congregation Ezra Bessaroth. Seattle, WA. June 1, 2006. Scholar-in-Residence: “Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Temple Israel Men’s Club Weekend. Charlotte, NC. April 7-9, 2006. Scholar-in-Residence: “From Mobile to Charlotte: Prophets, Magicians, and Mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Anshei Darom Chapter Men’s Club Annual Retreat. Clayton, GA. February 24-26, 2006. ”The Origins and Development of Mourning Customs during Sefirat ha-Omer.” Congregation Sephardic Bikur Holim. Seattle, WA. May 14, 2005. “Models of Repentance in the Hebrew Bible.” Upper Westside Sephardic Minyan. New York, NY. September 11, 2004. “Deuteronomy and Ancient Near Eastern Suzerain Treaties.” Congregation Sephardic Bikur Holim. Seattle, WA. August 14, 2004. “Teshuba (Repentance) in Jewish Thought and Practice: From the Bible to Maimonides.” Congregation Shaare Zion. New York, NY. September 27, 2003. “Introduction and Overview of the Basic Jewish Dietary Laws.” Workshop conducted at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan. New York, NY. September 24, 2003; October 27, 2003. “Between Religion and Magic: Aramaic Incantation Bowls and Jewish Material Culture as a Case Study in the Shifting Meanings of Magic and Religion.” Annual Meeting of Undergraduate Research Organization. University of Washington. Seattle, WA. May 21, 2001. “Arcana Mundi: Pathways in the History and Study of Magic.” Poster and Paper Presentation at the 4th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. University of Washington. Seattle, WA. May 4, 2001. “Notes on Jewish Magic.” Visiting Committee of the Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington. Seattle, WA. April 24, 2001. “The Evil Eye in Jewish Tradition.” AMIT Women General Meeting. Seattle, WA. April 18, 2001. Web-Based Bibliographies Magic in Jewish History and Literature Bibliography A bibliography of primary and secondary documents relating to the study of magic in Jewish history and literature. Targum Bibliography (collaborative work) A bibliography for primary and secondary documents relating to the study of the Aramaic Bible. Languages Ancient: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ethiopic Modern: Hebrew, French, German Professional Memberships Phi Beta Kappa Association for Jewish Studies Society of Biblical Literature Catholic Biblical Association American Academy of Religion

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