Christine Hayes Lecture at CNS: "We’re no Angels"

Profession Christine Hayes came to Congregation Neveh Shalom to give two lectures as part of Rabbi Joshua Stampfer's Bible class. In this lecture - ‘We’re no Angels:’ Holiness and Perfectionism in the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism - Professor Hayes asks, can humans achieve holiness and perfection? What is the nature of the perfection to which humans should aspire? Beginning with the Talmudic phrase "The Torah was not given to Ministering Angels" this lecture explores radically diverse ancient Jewish conceptions of the nature of human perfection and whether or not humans can be, or should aspire to be, like angels. Professor Christine Hayes of Yale University is the leading biblical scholar of our time. Her most recent book, "What’s Divine about Divine Law?", received the 2015 National Jewish book Award and the 2016 Jordan Schnitzer Award from the Association of Judaic Studies.