October 25, 2011
Tuesday
Lecture 1: 4pm
Lecture 2: 7pm

Prosser Auditorium, HUB
Moravian College
Locust & Monocacy Streets

Program Fee: Free

Streaming video available

An ancient tradition holds that the original Torah was written in black and white fire – the black letters being fixed for all time, and the white space in between being “rekindled” in new ways in every encounter with the text.  This understanding has produced a rich tradition of Jewish folklore involving biblical characters and themes.  In these lectures, prominent folklorist Howard Schwartz will introduce us to this fascinating body of interpretive material, inviting us to let it broaden and deepen our own readings of the Bible.

Divine Tests in Jewish Tradition

Professor Schwartz will present an example of a Jewish folktale, "The Cottage of Candles," probably inspired by the examples of divine tests found in the Bible in the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Job and others. This will be followed by a group discussion of the concept of divine tests and the meaning of the tale.

The Role of Mythology in Jewish Folklore
Professor Schwartz will present his theory that there is a Jewish mythology, and that extensive elements of this mythology can be found in many, if not all, Jewish folktales. He will discuss the categories of Jewish mythology and then present a story, "A Vision at the Wailing Wall," and open it to a group discussion of how it reflects these categories. 

Streaming video for this event is available via a high-speed Internet connection. Watch the lectures live from your own computer, and interact with the speaker by email, IM or text message. Details

Howard Schwartz, PhD, a three-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, is Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is the editor of four important collections of Jewish folklore: Elijah’s Violin & Other Jewish Fairy Tales, Miriam’s Tambourine: Jewish Folktales from Around the World, Lilith’s Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural and Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales.  He is also the author of Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, which won the National Jewish Book Award in 2005. His most recent book, Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales, was published by Oxford University Press in 2008.