Beth David Sisterhood will host a Zoom meeting from Israel, featuring Dr. Miryam Brand, on Wednesday January 11, at 1 pm. She will discuss “Sin in the Second Temple Period,” focusing on free will and determinism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The meeting is open to all members and friends of Beth David Sisterhood. Anyone in the community with an interest in the topic is also welcome to attend. 

Brand holds a Ph.D. in Bible and Second Temple literature from New York University. She has written a book on the portrayal of sin in the Second Temple period called “Evil Within and Without: The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature,” which was published in 2013. Her other publications include a commentary on the Book of Enoch, which was published as part of “Outside the Bible.”

Brand has taught at Brown University, New York University and Stern College. She has spoken at the Hebrew University, Cambridge University and the University of Kiel. She is currently an associate fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.

Information on how to obtain the Zoom link will be provided in the next edition of The Reporter and will also be available by contacting the Beth David Synagogue office at 722-1793 or bethdavid@stny.rr.com. 

“Please encourage your friends and family to join us for what should be a very special event,” organizers said.