Breakfast & Lecture

On November 1, 2015 at 10 AM, the Jewish Experience Committee will be hosting the Rabbi Shapiro Memorial Lecture and Breakfast in memory of the rabbi\'s long support for adult education in our community. The memorial lecture will feature Professor Alan Cooper, the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies and Provost at the Jewish Theological Seminary. The topic of the professor\'s lecture will be \"Snippets From the Cutting Room Floor: Stories About Moses’ Sons\" Given Moses’ stature as lawgiver and foremost of the prophets, the Bible’s lack of interest in his lineage is remarkable. No ancient institution bears his name and no one nowadays can claim descent from him, in contrast to his brother Aaron. One wonders, therefore, about the selection and placement of the few fragments about Moses’s marriage (or marriages) and offspring that do turn up. The scattered fragments in Exodus chapters 2, 4, and 18 pose problems of chronology, consistency and coherence, and they raise obvious questions, including: How could Moses marry a non-Jewish woman—daughter of a Midianite priest, no less? And why does he fail to circumcise his son, leaving himself vulnerable to attack upon his departure from Midian? The lecture and breakfast will be held in Congregation Oheb Shalom\'s Murnick Hall in South Orange, NJ and all are welcome to attend. Open to the community. https://www.ohebshalom.org/?p=calendar&event_id=1236