Current Biblical Studies - Washington, D.C. - 2003

March 2003

Marc Brettler and Rifat Sonsino
Current Biblical Studies

At the 2003 CCAR Convention is Washington, D.C., Marc Brettler and Rifat Sonsino presented the following limudim on Biblical Studies:

Session	Title
1	The Bible and History - Marc Brettler We will discuss the texts of 1 Samuel 16-18 and 2 Samuel 21:18-22. Key Questions: How should we understand these texts, both individually and in relation to each other? Who might have written them for what reason(s)? What implication might this have for understanding these texts, as well as other biblical texts, as history, and on the nature of biblical (and Jewish) religion as a "historical" religion? Background reading: Thomas L. Thompson, The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel, 3-33 versus William G. Dever, What did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did they Know It? What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel, 245-298. For Further Reading: Marc Z. Brettler, The Creation of history in Ancient Israel. (This book also contains an extensive bibliography.)
2	Psalms: Collection or Book? - Marc Brettler Read Psalms 1-6, and 150, as well as the following verses: 41:14; 72:18-20; 89:53; 106:48. Key Questions: Is there any structure to the Book of Psalms? Should it be read as a compilation of individual poems, or is there some structure, integrity, or meaning to the book as a whole? Background reading: The first position is well-known; for one exposition of the second, see Gerald H. Wilson, "Shaping the Psalter: A Consideration of Editorial Linkage in the book of Psalms," in J. Clinton McCann, The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter (JSOTSup 159), 72-82. For Further Reading: J. Clinton McCann, The Shape and Shaping of the Psalter (JSOTSup 159) Gerald Henry Wilson, The Editing of the Hebrew Psalter (SBLDS 76). In addition to the commentaries, see Alastair G. Hunter, Psalms (Routledge) and On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel (earlier published as Songs of the Heart: An Introduction to the Book of Psalms).
3	Recent Studies in Bible - Rifat Sonsino

Scholars' Bios

Marc Brettler, the Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Studies and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, has written extensively on the Bible and history and on religious metaphors in the Bible. His most recent books are Biblical Hebrew for Students of Modern Hebrew (Yale University Press, 2001) and the Book of Judges (Routledge, 2001) (Click to view Marc's books at Amazon.com.)

He is on the editorial board of The Journal of Biblical Literature. Professor Brettler teaches survey courses, such as Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Women and the Hebrew Bible, as well as Hebrew text courses such as Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Song of Songs, Biblical Historical Texts, Dead Sea Scrolls, Medieval Jewish Bible Commentaries, and Biblical Hebrew Composition. He has been awarded the Michael L. Walzer Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Brettler's personal homepage contains links for "...the student of the Hebrew Bible."

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Rabbi Rifat Sonsino is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom of Needham, Ma. (since 1980). He is also an adjunct professor at Boston College's Theology Department. Born in l938, Rabbi Sonsino attended the University of Istanbul, Turkey and graduated in 1959 with a degree in law. After serving in the Turkish army as a tank commander, he went to Paris, France to study at the Institut International d'Etudes Hebraiques. In 1961 he entered the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati from which he received his rabbinic ordination in 1966 with a Masters degree in Hebrew literature. In the meantime, he held student pulpits in McGehee, Ark., Jonesboro, Ark. and Kokomo, Ind.

After ordination, the World Union for Progressive Judaism sent Rabbi Sonsino to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to become the Rabbi of the only Reform Temple in the country, Temple Emanu-El (1966-1969). From 1969 to 1975, Rabbi Sonsino served at Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, Pa. (a suburb of Philadelphia) and from 1975 to 1980 at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Ill. (a suburb of Chicago).

Rabbi Sonsino holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (1975) in the field of Bible and ancient Near Eastern studies. His articles on Bible and Judaica have appeared in a number of scholarly journals. His book, Motive Clauses in Hebrew Law, was published in 1980 by Scholars Press for the Society of Biblical Literature. He is the co-author of Finding God: Ten Jewish Responses (with Daniel B. Syme)(NY: UAHC, 1986; revised edition, 2002), What Happens After I Die? Jewish Views of Life After Death (with Daniel B. Syme) (NY: UAHC, 1990), and Six Jewish Spiritual Paths (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, Nov. 2000). From 1997 to 2001, Rabbi Sonsino was the editor of the CCAR Journal.

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, a past president of the Boston Area Reform Rabbis (BARR), has taken an active role in a number of community programs. He chaired the North Shore Interfaith Housing Council (Chicago), the North Shore Fellowship of Rabbis (Chicago), the Program Committee of the UAHC Eisner camp, the Needham Clergy Association, the Joint Committee on Reform Jewish Education (Chicago and Boston) and the North East Region of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (NER/CCAR). He has also served on the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) and the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR).

In 1991 the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion bestowed upon Rabbi Sonsino an honorary doctorate in recognition of his 25 years in the Rabbinate. Rabbi and Ines Sonsino live in Needham, MA., and have two children, Daniel and Gabriela Sonsino, and Deborah and Ran Seri, and a grand-daughter, Ariella Sonsino.

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