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Judaic Studies Newsletter
Spring 2009 | No. 2
 Download the complete Spring 2009 newsletter as a PDF
Upcoming Lecture: Professor Judith Baskin
Dr. Judith Baskin, the former President of the Association for Jewish Studies as well as director of the Judaic Studies Program at the University of Oregon, will be coming to UCF during the Spring Semester as part of our ongoing Distinguished Lecturers Series. A Women's Studies expert, she will speak on a related topic. Previously, Dr, Baskin has also taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and at SUNY Albany. Dr. Baskin earned her PhD from Yale University and has published several books on women in Jewish History.
For more information regarding this lecture, contact Dr. Moshe Pelli, UCF
Judaic Studies Program Director at 407-823-5039.
Professor Pan Guang will Speak on "Jews in China" February 17th
Prof. Pan Guang, Dean of the Center for Jewish Studies Shanghai, will speak on "Jews in China" at the UCF Main Campus, Classroom Building 1, room 103, at 12:00 noon, on February 17, 2009, as part of the Judaic Studies Distinguished Lecturers Series. The Lecture is free and open to the public.
Contact Judaic Studies at (407) 823-5129 for more details.
Judaic Studies Faculty Going International Last Summer
UCF Judaic Studies faculty were active on the international scene this summer, presenting papers and chairing sessions at international and national academic conferences.
Prof. Moshe Pelli, director of the Judaic Studies at UCF and Abe and Tess Endowed Professor of Judaic Studies, was invited to deliver a keynote lecture at the Rosenthaliana Library at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands which was cosponsored by the library and the Menasseh ben Israel Institute for Jewish Social and Cultural Studies in Amsterdam. The hosts were Dr. Emile G.L. Schrijver, Curator Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana Special Collections, University of Amsterdam Library, and Dr. David J. Wertheim, Director, Menasseh ben Israel Institute for Jewish Social and Cultural Studies.
It was a special event as the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana Special Collections of Judaica celebrated a groundbreaking achievement of placing its total Judaica catalogue online. Prof. Pelli's lecture was titled "From Biku-rei Ha'itim to Kerem Hemed: The Development of Hebrew Periodicals upon the Emergenceof 'Hochmat Israel' [theStudy of Judaism] in Galicia."
Prof. Pelli noted the "festive occasion, as the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana is marking a significant milestone, namely, the completion of cataloguing its collection online." He said that he was going "to explore the results of a continuous research project which brought me to this magnificent library over 35 years ago. It is not that long ago considering the long history of the library, which was founded in 1880. It is here that I found ‘relics of the past' as living testimonies to how books, manuscripts and parchments of olden day scan enlighten us today."
While in Amsterdam, Prof. Pelli conducted research for his forthcoming book on the 19th-century Hebrew periodicals of the Haskalah[Enlightenment], exploring rare books.
International Conference in Canada
Prof. Pelli presented a scholarly paper at the National Association of Professors of Hebrew 2008 International Conference of Hebrew Language, Literature and Culture in Montreal, Canada, on June 29-July 2, 2008, hosted by McGill University.
His paper was a study and progress report on the computerized and annotated Index Project of Kerem Hemed, the third major Hebrew journal published in Vienna and Prague from 1833 to 1856, undertaken by Prof. Pelli at the Judaic Studies Program in UCF.
The paper delineated the events that lead to the founding of the third journal in the wake of the demise of the second Hebrew journal, Biku rei Ha'itim, and an analysis of its editorial policy as based on the first volume of the new journal.
As President of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew in the USA (NAPH), Prof. Pelli delivered the opening remarks at the Conference in Montreal.
Dr. Ken Hanson presented a paper on the Dead Sea Scrolls at the same conference. His
paper was titled "Narrowing the Covenant: The Implication of Redefining the Word Brit in Qumranic and Early Christian Literature."
Publications
Dr. Hanson's book Secrets from the Lost Bible was recently released in Italian translation, by Armenia Publishers, Milano. The book was previously released in Portuguese in 2006. It is the second of Dr. Hanson's books to be translated
into Italian, the first being Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story, which was also published in Russian in 2007.
The Judaic Studies Distinguished Lecturers Series Presents Eliezer Rivlin
On Thursday, November 13, 2008, Eliezer Rivlin spoke to a group of about 100 students and community members on the current state of affairs in Israel and the Middle East, as well as on the upcoming Israeli elections in February. Rivlin gave facts and history to help attendees understand the issues regarding the election, as well as personal stories about meetings with past leaders. A question and answer session followed.
The lecture was the fall 2008 lecture of the UCF Judaic Studies Program Distinguished Lecturers Series. The Judaic Studies Program, now in its 24th year at UCF, offered this lecture in conjunction with Central Florida Hillel and the Israeli Consulate of Miami.
Rivlin came as a last minute substitute for Paul Hirschson, the Israeli Consul of Political and Economic Affairs to Florida and Puerto Rico. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Hirschson had to remain in Miami, and sent Rivlin instead.
Rivlin is currently the Special Israeli Programs coordinator at the University of Miami and the Development Director and International Liaison with Israel for the American Friends of the Magen David Adom, as well as a speaker for Israel Bonds and the Israeli Consulate. He served in the Israeli Army from 1961 to 1964, attaining a rank of Lieutenant, and served in the Israeli Army Reserves until 1990, attaining a rank of Major. He is the seventh generation of his family to be born in Jerusalem, and his great-grandfather was one of the first seven Jewish people to build homes outside of the Old City of Jerusalem, in a neighborhood known as Nachlat Shivah.
Mazal Tov to Jeff Golub on Ten Years with the Judaic Studies Program
This year marks Jeff Golub's 10th year as Program Assistant to the Judaic Studies Program. As the assistant, Golub is responsible for facilitating the program's activities, ordering textbooks, overseeing the student assistants, and assisting Professor Pelli in executing his responsibilities in as Program Director.
Golub was named the UCF Employee of the Year for the 2007 Year and has worked with various programs and organizations across UCF such as Homecoming and Family Weekend. He was recently elected into a seat on the USPS Staff Council to represent UCF Staff employees. The council strives to achieve unity throughout the UCF staff and serve as a voice for the staff in all areas of the University.
Outside of the program, Golub teaches courses at Beit Hamidrash (Judaica High School), serves on the board of directors for Hillel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, is chair of the commission for youth programs with the Orlando Federation, and many other organizations within the Orlando community. Thank you for all your hard work, and we hope you will be with us for many more years to come.
Five Judaic Studies Minors Graduate this Semester
Mazal Tov to the following Judaic Studies Students graduating this fall semester:
- Adam Cohen
- Nava Cohen
- Linda Heindl
- Jenessa Lanes
- Berk Yilmaz
Congratulations! We wish you the very best in the future.
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