TS Professor Benjamin Gampel returns to Bet Torah with a fascinating journeys into Jewish history and practice. Along the way, we will encounter rabbis, poets, miracle workers, messiahs, businesswomen, and rogues who will entertain us even as we wonder how to appreciate this provocative literary genre. Eight Sundays 10 am - 12:30 pm beginning October 15, 2023.

Dr. Benjamin Gampel, professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary, will be joining us again this fall for another one of his fascinating journeys into Jewish history and practice.

Today more than ever when we read a newspaper article or a non-fiction book we wonder if we are encountering a reliable source of information, and whether we would be able to distinguish between its factual and fictional elements.  Indeed, what someone might declare as undeniable truth is often derided by others as fake or contrived.

This semester we will attempt to discover whether writings about Jewish history over the course of the centuries are reliable repositories of facts or products of their authors’ overheated imagination.  To describe this inquiry in terms that might have made sense to these writers, were their creations histories or were they homilies intended for moral edification or perhaps entertainment.  Join us for eight sessions as we read works of Jewish history from 11th century southern Italy, from 12th century Spain, from the 16th century Mediterranean world, and from 17th and 18th century central and eastern Europe.  Along the way, we will encounter rabbis, poets, miracle workers, messiahs, businesswomen, and rogues who will entertain us even as we wonder how to appreciate this provocative literary genre.

Class Fee: $450.00

Registration: To register, contact Jerry Fensterstock (jerryf@pipeline.com)