The John A. Widtsoe Foundation is deeply committed to elevating dialogue between members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other religious communities. This year's Church-wide study of the Old Testament presents a unique opportunity for members to better understand and learn from our Jewish neighbors, who have engaged with these scriptures for thousands of years. Each month, Widtsoe Foundation Director Dr. Jacob Rennaker will host a live online conversation and Q&A with a leader or scholar from the Jewish community about an upcoming topic from the Church's Come, Follow Me curriculum. . This series will serve to educate Latter-day Saints about the rich history of Jewish scriptural interpretation and application, while at the same time modeling meaningful interfaith conversations and empowering Latter-day Saints to do the same in their own communities. These events will be made available on The Widtsoe Foundation RU-vid Channel and podcast soon after the live event.
For this live event, we talked about the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3) from a Jewish perspective with special guest Dr. Tamar Frankiel, former provost of the Academy for Jewish Religion, California. Dr. Frankiel has authored several important books on Jewish spiritual life, including Loving Prayer: A Study Guide to Everyday Jewish Prayer and The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional Judaism. Tamar and her husband Hershel have lived in California for more than three decades, mostly in Los Angeles. Hershel was born in Poland and survived the Holocaust as a child, hidden by a Polish family. They have 5 children and 12 grandchildren, who live in Los Angeles, Chicago, Jerusalem, London, and Cincinnati.
26 окт 2024
