Top scholar in the field of German-Jewish thought and culture to deliver B. G. Rudolph Lecture on March 6

Top scholar in the field of German-Jewish thought and culture to deliver B. G. Rudolph Lecture on March 6February 23, 2005Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Paul Mendes-Flohr, one of the leading scholars in the field of modern Jewish thought and culture, will deliver the B. G. Rudolph Lecture in Judaic Studies on March 6 at 2 p.m. at the Winnick Hillel Center for Jewish Life, 102 Walnut Pl.

Mendes-Flohr will speak on “Reflections on Neighborly Love-Leviticus 19:18” and examine the classical and modern Jewish commentaries on the Biblical commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Mendes-Flohr will also address a question that has vexed commentators throughout the generations: Can love be commanded?

Mendes?Flohr teaches modern Jewish thought at the Divinity School, The University of Chicago, and is the director of the Franz Rosenzweig Research Center for German-Jewish Literature and Cultural History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His most recent book is entitled, “Judische Identitat.Die zwei Seelen der deutschen Juden” (Fink Verlag, 2004). He is also, together with Peter Schafer, the editor in chief of the 22-volume critical German edition of Martin Buber’s writings, sponsored by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Brandenburg-Berlin Academy of Sciences.

The lecture will be followed by a reception; both the lecture and the reception are free and open to the public. Parking is available on the street. For further information, visit http://jsp.syr.edu or contact Pamela Paul at (315) 443-5671 or papaul@syr.edu.

The B. G. Rudolph Lecture in Judaic Studies was inaugurated by B. G. Rudolph in 1962. Since then, his son Jay Rudolph, along with others, have helped to build the University’s Judaic Studies Program at Syracuse University.