On Wednesday, February 12th at 7:00 PM, Dr. Tzvi Novick will offer an in-person presentation called “The Ancient Synagogue as Theater.” Dr. Novick is the Abrams Jewish Thought & Culture Professor in the Department of Theology, at the University of Notre Dame. The lecture will take place at the Jewish Federation and will include light refreshments and a musical prelude.

About the topic: Prayer is, in the first instance, speech to God. But prayer, especially public prayer, is also performance, and in the past, like today, the performance of prayer drew on broader cultural conventions governing performance. In this event we will explore elements of performance in ancient Jewish prayer, including ones familiar from ancient theater, such as speech in character and the use of choruses. By reflecting on what Jewish prayer was, we can think more creatively about what Jewish prayer can be.

About the speaker: Tzvi Novick is the Abrams Jewish Thought and Culture Professor of Theology. His research focuses on law and ethics, and conceptions of the community, in early rabbinic law and literature, and on the early history of Jewish prayer.