Lichter Lecture Aims New Light
on Ancient Dead Sea Scrolls

New tools and new interpretations take a fresh look at the Dead Sea Scrolls during this fall's Lichter Lecture Series at the University of Cincinnati.

The public is invited to continue its exploration of these ancient writings at the 2001 Lichter Lecture Series, presented by UC's new Department of Judaic Studies. New Judaic studies department head, Steven Fine, himself a scholar of ancient Jewish writings and ancient synagogues, organized the program.

Admission to the lectures is free and open to the public. They will begin at 7:30 p.m. on three Tuesdays in Room 112, Lindner Hall (CBA auditorium):

• Oct. 23 - "Photographing the Dead Sea Scrolls: New Technologies Reveal Ancient Jewish Texts," a slide lecture with Bruce Zuckerman, associate professor of religion at the University of Southern California. He has been featured on CBS "Sunday Morning" and will discuss the use of today's most advanced computer imaging technology to understand the scrolls. This segment is co-sponsored by the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.

• Nov. 6 - "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ancient Jewish Sectarianism: A Social Scientific Perspective," a presentation by Albert I. Baumgarten. The professor of Jewish history at Bar Ilan University in Israel is a pioneer in the use of social scientific methods in the interpretation of Jewish sects of the Second Temple period (516 B.C.-70 A.D.) He will suggest ways that the study of modern religious sects and "cults" can help us to understand the community that created the Dead Sea Scrolls.

• Nov. 13 - "The Inner Life of the Dead Sea Scrolls Community: What Do the Scrolls Reveal?" with Lawrence H. Schiffman, the Ethel and Irvin A. Edelman Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He will discuss how Judaism was lived by the Dead Sea Scrolls community.

The series is supported by the Jacob and Jennie L. Lichter Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Parking for a fee is available in the CBA Garage and Langsam Library Garage off Martin Luther King Drive. For information, call (513) 556- 2297.

Media contact: Steven Fine (513) 556-2297 (o) or (513) 351-5417 (h).