Union College Hillel will host a Talmud study session on Sunday, Nov. 7 to mark the Global Day of Jewish Learning, which celebrates the completion of first original Talmud commentary since the Middle Ages by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz – a monumental accomplishment 45 years in the making.
More than 250 Jewish communities from Miami to Mumbai are planning study programs on Sunday. Rabbi Steinsaltz will address participants in a live broadcast from Jerusalem.
Stephen Schmidt, professor of economics, and Joseph Shiang of GE Global Research in Niskayuna will lead a discussion from the tractate Ta’anit beginning at 1 p.m. in the Kosher Kitchen in West College. At 2 p.m., the group will watch Rabbi Steinsaltz complete his work. The event will begin with brunch at 12:30 p.m.
The brothers of AEPi will join Hillel members in the study session.
The Talmud is, after the Bible, the single most important body of literature in Judaism and the primary source for the study of Jewish religious obligations.
“I’m gratified that our Hillel students will be able to experience swimming in the sea of Talmud as part of their education,” said Bonnie Cramer, director of Union College Hillel. “Knowledge of the Talmud is part of basic Jewish literacy.”
A distinguished scholar, teacher, mystic, and social critic, Rabbi Steinsaltz has written some 60 books and hundreds of articles on the Talmud, Kabbalah and Chasidut. His works have been translated into English, Russian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.
For more information about Global Day events around the world, visit www.TheGlobalDay.com.