2024 Scholars in Residence Weekend

You MUST register by Friday, March 22.

DATES:
Friday, March 29
Saturday, March 30
Sunday, March 31

REGISTRATION:
You can register for any or all of the events here.

COSTS:
These events are free of charge for AJ members.
For non-members: Friday evening, $36; Saturday afternoon, $18; Sunday morning, $18.

OUR SCHOLARS:

Prof. Maureen O’Connell, of LaSalle University, is the author of Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness. 

Dr. Philip Cunningham is Professor of Theology and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph’s University. 

Susannah Heschel is the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College where she focuses on the history of Jewish and Protestant thought in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the history of biblical scholarship, Jewish scholarship on Islam, and the history of antisemitism.

OUR SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 29 — Kabbalat Shabbat: 6:15 PM, followed by Shabbat Dinner
“Undoing the Knots,” with Prof. Maureen O’Connell
The Friday evening event includes Friday evening services and a Shabbat dinner. It features Prof. Maureen O’Connell, chair of the Department of Religion at La Salle University and professor of Christian Ethics. Prof. Maureen O’Connell’s most recent work, Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Anti-Blackness, is a personal and historical examination of White Catholic anti-Blackness in the U.S. told through five generations of her family, with a call for meaningful racial healing and justice within Catholicism. The evening’s program is based upon her book. It is free of charge for AJ members and $36 for nonmembers. 

Saturday, March 30 — Shabbat service: 9:30 AM; Lunch and Learn: 12:30 PM
“Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time” — Expressing in Art the New Jewish-Catholic Relationship, with Dr. Philip Cunningham 
Meaning “Synagogue” and “Church” in Greek, Synagoga and Ecclesia are a pair of female figures found in medieval Christian art that personified Judaism and the Church. Ecclesia was portrayed as a majestic, crowned, and triumphant figure, far superior to Synagoga who was depicted as defeated, uncrowned, her staff broken, and her vision blinded. This contemptuous contrast was repudiated by the Catholic Church in 1965 with the Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”). To mark that document’s 50th anniversary, Saint Joseph’s University commissioned a new artwork to reflect Catholic teaching that both communities can learn about God by exploring their sacred texts together, effectively studying as chavruta partners. Dr. Cunningham's presentation will narrate the development and meaning of this historic sculpture, created by local sculptor Joshua Koffman, and personally blessed by Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in 2015. Dr. Philip A. Cunningham is Professor of Theology and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. The Lunch and Learn is free of charge for AJ members and $18 for nonmembers. 

Sunday, March 31 — Brunch and Learn
Antisemitism x Racism: At the Intersection, with Prof. Susannah Heschel
Prof. Susannah Heschel will be discussing newer methods of analyzing antisemitism that include considerations of the emotional and spiritual consequences of anti-Jewish hatred and draw on recent scholarship concerning anti-Black racism and enslavement in the U.S. She is the daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century. The Brunch and Learn is free of charge for AJ members and $18 for nonmembers.  This speaker is generously sponsored by AJ congregant Violet Zeitlin, in memory of her husband, Richard z”l.