As a secretary of the Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum Foundation, I co-organize the symposium “Understanding Judaism: New Approaches to Rabbinic Literature.” It will take place at Utrecht University (Drift 21, Sweelinckzaal) on March 20–21, 2023.
Invitation
On the occasion of the publication of the latest installment of the CRINT series, namely Christine Hayes, ed., The Literature of the Sages: A Re-Visioning (CRINT 16; Leiden: Brill, 2022), the board of the Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum Foundation warmly invites you to the symposium “Understanding Judaism: New Approaches to Rabbinic Literature.” Presenting the major works of classical rabbinic Judaism from the perspectives of intertextuality, East and West, and halakhah and aggadah, Hayes’ volume engages with cutting-edge methodological developments in the field of rabbinic studies and adjacent disciplines.
The symposium aims to create an interdisciplinary exchange on the volume’s insights and methodological advancements in the study of rabbinic texts, non-rabbinic sources, and surrounding cultures in dialogue with each other. The main participant of the symposium is Prof. Christine Hayes, the editor of the volume. She will open the symposium with an introductory lecture in which she will highlight the most relevant developments in the study of rabbinic texts in relation to material contexts and non-rabbinic cultures. Prof. Martin Goodman, Prof. Annette Merz, and Prof. Lutz Doering will provide responses in which they will discuss the volume’s merits from the perspective of their respective disciplines and reflect on possible avenues for future research. The symposium will include a Masterclass featuring up-and-coming students and their work.
The two-day program of the symposium:
Day 1
09:30 Entrance
10:00 Eric Ottenheijm, Opening
10:10 Introduction by Peter J. Tomson
10:45 Coffee/Tea Break
11:00 Christine Hayes, Introductory Lecture
11:45 Questions from the audience
12:15 Lunch
13:30 Responses by three external specialists: Martin Goodman; Annette Merz; Lutz Doering
15:00 Tea Break
15:30 Response of Prof. Hayes, followed by a general discussion on the volume’s merits and final words by Eric Ottenheijm
16:00 Reception
18:00 Dinner (invited guests only)
Day 2
09:30 Entrance
10:00 Eric Ottenheijm, Opening
10:15 Masterclass (part I)
11:30 Coffee/Tea break
11:45 Masterclass (part II)
13:00 Lunch
Registration
You can sign up with this sign-up link to register for the symposium or receive more information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeqcJ4MQm2xbnH5mrHEvGW7YLW0JFPmS5kRr6yHe7nYshg-Kw/viewform?usp=sf_link. For internationally based scholars, there are possibilities to attend the symposium virtually.
Follow-up
With about 45 people attending the first day of the symposium, the event was a huge success. In the online newspaper De Vrijdagavond, two articles (in Dutch) have been published on the symposium: https://devrijdagavond.com/2023/03/09/nieuws/christine-hayes-over-de-veelkleurige-vroeg-joodse-geschiedenis-op-symposium-over-rabbijnse-literatuur/ and https://devrijdagavond.com/ 2023/03/28/nieuws/wie-kan-de-draagtijd-van-slangen-beter-beantwoorden-vragen-over-antiek-joodse-en-vroegchristelijke-bewegingen/ The contributions to the symposium, in revised form, will be published in a special issue of the NTT/Journal for Theology and the Study of Religion, co-edited by Dr. Eric Ottenheijm and myself.