The Temple Concord/Temple Israel Adult Education Committee will hold an in-person brunch and lecture on Sunday, April 3, at Temple Concord. Binghamton University Professor Nathanael Andrade will speak about “Jerusalem’s Second Temple from a Historical Perspective.” The brunch will begin at 10 am. The lecture will begin at 10:30 am and be held in person at the synagogue and live streamed on Zoom. The cost of the brunch is $7 per person. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to the Temple Concord office at 723-7355 or templeconcordaa@gmail.com by Wednesday, March 30. To attend virtually, visit this page, meeting ID 783 628 8415 and passcode 413692.

Based on a change in New York state’s COVID protocols, masks are not required for those attending in person. The wearing of masks, however, is recommended. For anyone who would like to wear a mask, but does not have one, free masks will be available in the temple office and lobby.

Andrade, who is a professor of ancient history, will explore the building of the Second Temple’s sanctuary in a broader context of monumental temple construction in the Roman Middle East. “The Second Temple site in Jerusalem is probably the holiest site in Judaism,” said organizers of the event. “Since its destruction by the Romans in 70 C.E., Jews have yearned and prayed for its rebuilding. The vast sanctuary complex was largely constructed by the dynasty of Herod, who reigned around 37-4 B.C.E., was a visually imposing feature of Jerusalem’s topography and has remained so to the present day. But how unique was it?”

Andrade has published on the Roman and later Roman Near East, along with other topics. His books include “Syrian Identity in the Greco-Roman World” (Cambridge University Press, 2013); “The Journey of Christianity to India in Late Antiquity: Networks and the Movement of Culture” (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and “Zenobia: Shooting Star of Palmyra” (Oxford University Press, 2018).