Conservative Judaism/The Old Testament

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Expert: - 7/26/2003


Question
I am 22 yrs old and have been raised a Catholic, but I never had a chance to learn about other faiths.  This past semester I took an Old Testament class and I can honestly say that I learned more in that class than in any other before.  I have always been interested in other religions and plan to study many.
My questions are:
1) What is the significance of the trans-generationsl nature of the prophetic guild?
2) How does the excavation of ancient Tirzeh illustrate the message of Amos?
3) Did Jeremiah agree with Isaiah about the inviolability of Jerusalem?
4) Did Jonah and Nahum view Nineveh (Assyria) differently?
5) What are the five meanings of the Hebrew word "torah"?
6) What are some of the differences between typical biblical narratives and wisdom literature?

Answer
Dear Quincy,

Thank you for writing, but the questions you have posed apear to be a final for a course.

They are far too complicated and would require a semester or a year to truly cover in depth. I apreciate the effort you are making to deal with these issues, and I would urge that you check out each of the topics in the Encyclopedia Judaica for a beginning.

I can only help with a question unrelated to schooling - sorry.

Rabbi Dov

Conservative Judaism

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Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner

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Write to me with questions about Jewish customs and law, history, philosophy and tradition for answers from a Conservative perspective or conversion. I am a graduate of The Jewish Theological Seminary and a member of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. Having served in congregational pulpits since 1970, I now am President of the Foundation For Family Education, Inc. a non-profit educational endeavor. I established it to create new formats of hands-on programs and provide free educational downloads at www.jewishfreeware.org. In addition to general informational questions I welcome your questions about programs for social action, outreach to dual-faith families, inter-faith clergy projects, healing services, education for conversion, adult education for the congregation and the community. If you have questions about Informal and Formal Education I am ready to share my extensive experience with Youth Activities, Camping and Religious School/Hebrew High School on a congregational, community and national/international level.

Experience

I have served on the National Youth Commission for more than 25 years and serve on the Boards of the Conservative Zionist movement MERCAZ and the World Council of Synagogues. I have always dual-families and taught candidates for conversion with a great sense of fulfillment. I am very proud of 25 years on the Jewish camping staff of Camps Ramah. My greatest source of pride is my family! Ask me about them, please!:-)

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