Psalm 40 and Messiness of Prayer

22 February, 2024

We are deeply honoured to welcome Professor Alan Cooper, the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, to lead a session of the Psalms in Interfaith Contexts Reading Group.

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Here are the details of this fascinating session.

Topic: Psalm 40 and Messiness of Prayer

Abstract: coming soon.

Speaker: Professor Alan Cooper, the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary, USA.

Speaker’s biography: Professor Alan Cooper is the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies. He joined the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997 as a professor of Bible. From 2007 to 2018, he served as a Provost of the seminary. In 1998, he was appointed professor of Bible at the Union Theological Seminary, a nondenominational Christian seminary, becoming the first person to hold concurrent professorships at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Union Theological Seminary. Previously, he was a professor of Bible at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, where for six years he was director of its School of Graduate Studies. He also taught religious studies for ten years at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Professor Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in Religion at Columbia University. He went on to do his graduate work at Yale University, earning a master of philosophy degree and doctorate in Religious Studies. His doctoral dissertation was on the linguistic structure of biblical poetry. He also spent a year in Jerusalem as a Hebrew University postdoctoral fellow.

Professor Cooper’s publications include a monograph on Canaanite divine names that appear in the Hebrew Bible, and many articles on biblical poetics and the history of interpretation. Recent articles include “Once Again Seething a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk” (in JSIJ [Jewish Studies, an Internet Journal]); “Some Aspects of Traditional Jewish Psalms Interpretation” (in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms); and “Introduction to Leviticus” (in Engaging Torah: Modern Perspectives on the Hebrew Bible). His work in progress includes a commentary on Psalms 31 through 60 for the Jewish Publication Society.

Chair: Professor Aaron Koller, Senior Fellow of the Oxford Interfaith Forum and Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Yeshiva University, USA

Time: 18:00-19:00 GMT | 19:00-20:00 CEST | 10:00-11:00 PT | 13:00-14:00 ET

Venue: online

PLEASE REGISTER HERE

If you would like to join the Psalms in Interfaith Contexts Reading Group, please sign up here.

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