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Judaic Studies Faculty
Dr. Kenneth Hanson is an assistant professor in the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program. He earned a Ph.D. in Judaic Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1991. He has since published four books, which are in their second printings, including: Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story (San Francisco, Council Oak Books, 1997), Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition (San Francisco, Council Oak Books, 1998), Words of Light: Spiritual Wisdom from the Dead Sea Scrolls (San Francisco, Council Oak Books, 2000), and Secrets from the Lost Bible (San Francisco, Council Oak Books, 2005). His research was featured in the 2007 History Channel documentary, "Banned from the Bible II." His article, "The Law of Reproof" was published in the 2006 edition of Hebrew Studies. His fifth book, James and the Lost Heirs, covering the ancient rift between nascent Christianity and early rabbinic Judaism, is scheduled to be released in May 2008. Dr. Hanson also continues to give public lectures in multiple venues. He teaches Jewish history, culture, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew Bible.
Rick Sherwin received a B.A. in Sociology from UCLA and a B.H.L. degree from the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He holds an M.A. in Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was also ordained. Rabbi Sherwin currently serves as spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Am in Longwood, Florida. He has been with the UCF Judaic Studies Program since 1998 and teaches Jewish Ethics and Morality, American Jewish History, and 20th Century Jewish Thinkers. He is married to Elissa Abelson. Two of their four children are graduates of UCF, and one is currently a student at the university.
Ms. Dora Avni is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies program. Ms. Avni has been teaching the Hebrew language and the history and culture of the Jewish people and the State of Israel at The Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Dept. in Ohio State University and in Jewish Youth summer camps in the US. In 1985, she was a member of a board in Ohio that organized an exhibition of Anne Frank's diaries and photographs. For ten years Ms. Avni served as a board member of the Israeli Forum which facilitated connections and activities with Jewish youth and Jewish communities in the Diaspora. Holding a Master degree in Information and Public Relations from Ohio State University, Ms. Avni worked with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli Parliament members, organizing conferences for Israeli impaired groups in Israel and in Germany and locating donors in Switzerland, the US and Germany for the AIDS Treatment Center in "Kaplan" Medical Center in Rehovot, Israel.
Ms. Julia Phillips Berger has taught as an adjunct instructor in the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program since 2006. Ms. Berger received an M.A. in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Los Angeles, CA., in 2000, an M.A. in History Museum Studies from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1992, and a B.A. in Historic Preservation from Goucher College. Following graduation from HUC-JIR, Ms. Berger moved to Orlando to become the Director of Education at the Congregation of Reform Judaism, a position which she held until 2006. She has taught Judaic subjects to adults and to school students. In addition, she presented workshops on the subject of teaching Jewish history at educational conferences and is the co-author of the book Teaching Jewish History, published in 2006, by Behrman House, Inc.
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