Hebrew scholar named to head Jewish Studies program

Dr. Ariel Feldman joins Brite Divinity School as director of its Jewish Studies program

Fort Worth, Texas

9/12/2011

Brite Divinity School’s commitment to theological and cultural diversity has grown with the recent appointment of Dr. Ariel Feldman as the Rosalyn and Manny Rosenthal assistant professor of Jewish studies and director of its Jewish Studies program.

A native of Moscow, Russia, Feldman moved with his family to Israel as a child. Having become interested in ancient Jewish history, he received a bachelor’s degree in Hebrew Bible and Jewish history from the University of Haifa and obtained master’s and doctoral degrees from Haifa University, specializing in Second Temple Jewish literature.

He continued his education in the highly prestigious post-doctoral research program at the University of Manchester in England, where he focused on interpretation of the Book of Joshua in the Qumran scrolls.

“Dr. Feldman will bring to his teaching not only his scholarly achievements in the study of Jewish history and Biblical literature, but also a contemporary Jewish experience of remarkable diversity and depth,” says Brite President Rev. Dr. Newell Williams.

Roz Rosenthal, who endowed the Jewish Studies chair with her late husband, Manny, says, “I understand that Dr. Feldman is among the most promising scholars in his field. His work interpreting the Dead Sea scrolls extends far beyond Jewish studies. The scrolls don’t belong to a single community; they are for the world. The legacy of the chair is in good hands, and we are fortunate to have him join the Brite faculty and our local community.”

“This position instantly appealed to me, even though we had moved to England to continue my post-doctoral research. It’s a perfect match for my research and teaching interests,” Feldman said. “Brite was looking for someone to teach at the graduate and doctoral levels in my exact field of study, i.e. Second Temple Jewish literature and particularly Qumran scrolls. The seminary also has a strong reputation as a home for several distinguished Bible scholars, and I look forward to learning from and collaborating with my colleagues who work in fields that are close to mine.”

Williams notes, “Our Jewish Studies program enriches the academic offerings of Brite and TCU and ensures that students on this campus have an opportunity to learn about Judaism from a person who stands within the tradition. In light of the deplorable history of Christian anti-Judaism, such a presence as Dr. Feldman brings to Brite and TCU is critical to preparing persons to lead in church and world.”

Feldman began teaching courses on the literature of the Second Temple Judaism this fall.

“I hope these courses will enrich Brite’s curriculum and provide the students with an opportunity to reflect on the significance of these sources for their studies (be it the Old Testament or the New Testament) and ministry,” he said.

Proficient in five modern languages – Hebrew, Russian and English, French and German – as well as several ancient languages, he plans to use his language skills to contribute to strengthening students’ ability to read and analyze ancient Hebrew and Aramaic sources in the original languages.

In addition to teaching, Feldman is working on a monograph on a group of scrolls from Qumran that retell the biblical Book of Joshua. “Hopefully, it will be the first comprehensive study of these texts in their Second Temple context,” he said.

In addition to his work at Brite, Feldman said he and his family – wife Faina and their two sons, Tal and Jonathan – are looking forward to joining Fort Worth’s Jewish community. “We have felt most welcomed here in Fort Worth and look forward to making it our home,” he says.