The History of Text: False Messiahs @ TBA

History Through Text: False Messiahs with Rabbi Kulwin Temple B’nai Abraham Congregational Learning will present History Through Text, a seminar to be offered throughout the year, taught by Rabbi Kulwin. Taught in blocks, each class will also be a stand-alone unit, so that an inability to attend all (or even most) of the sessions will not be an impediment to an enjoyable and simulating learning experience. This lecture series is free and open to the community. Register online or call 973.994.2290. Visit www.tbanj.org The final series, beginning Tuesday, May 12, at 7:00 PM, at the temple, 300 E Northfield Road, Livingston, will explore False Messiahs. False messiahs dot our history, in Crete in 431 and Bagdad in 870, Rome in 1524 and the apocalyptic year of 1666, when the infamous Turk Shabbatai Tzvi threw Europe into turmoil. Some a century ago considered Herzl a false messiah and some today see the continued Lubavitch devotion to the late Rabbi Schneersohn as messianic fervor. In these sessions we will discuss just what Judaism considers a messiah, why the followers thought these individuals fit the bill, and read primary documents from the time of a number of the false messiahs. In addition to learning their stories – riveting and bizarre and sometimes even racy – we will see if there is a discernible historical pattern which could predict when one might arise. The other dates are Tuesday, May 19, 7:00 PM and Tuesday, May 26, 7:00 PM (tentative).