|
Next Lecture in the Series 2025-2026
This lecture marks the special series commemorating 60 years of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel. In the Beginning There was the Covenant: A Jewish Covenantal Understanding of Christianity Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn, Jerusalem 18 March 2026, 20:00 IST (14:00 EST; 19:00 CET) via ZOOM You are warmly invited to our upcoming lecture, which will explore a question at the centre of Jewish–Christian dialogue: How do Christianity and Christians fit within the covenantal framework that shapes Jewish theology and law?
Dr. Korn will guide us through the covenantal categories that have long structured Jewish understandings of humanity. In the Middle Ages, rabbinic thinkers asked whether Christians belonged to the Covenant of Noah. Today, however, a more fitting and pressing question emerges: Might Christians be understood as part of the Covenant of Abraham? This presentation will examine both the promise and the complexity of Jews and Christians sharing the Abrahamic covenant—its theological advantages, its historical challenges, and its implications for interreligious understanding today. Rabbi Dr. Eugene B. Korn is a longtime friend of the Ecumenical Fraternity and has lectured for its members on many occasions, contributing generously to its mission of deepening mutual understanding. Dr. Korn is an Orthodox rabbi, a moral philosopher with a PhD in moral philosophy from Columbia University, and leading scholar in Jewish ethics and Jewish–Christian relations. He lives in Jerusalem and has devoted his career to advancing interfaith understanding, Jewish ethics, and contemporary Jewish thought. Known for his work in covenantal theology and interreligious dialogue Rabbi Korn has served in prominent academic and communal roles, including Academic Director of the Center for Jewish‑Christian Understanding and Cooperation in Israel and National Director of Interfaith Affairs at the Anti‑Defamation League. He is the Representative of the Israel Jewish Council for Interreligious Relations (IJCIR) to the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC). Read more >> To register for this lecture click HERE
|
Dr. Claire Pfann
In Memoriam 1953-2026 From the Board of Directors of UHL:
It is with great sadness that we bring the news that Dr. Claire Pfann has passed away at the age of 72. She died peacefully in her sleep after a prolonged fight with cancer. Both personally and academically she has had a lasting impact on the lives of all who knew her. Claire cofounded the University of the Holy Land with her late husband Stephen Sr. in 1986. Her compassion and wisdom served as the cornerstone on which UHL’s vision for international Christian higher education was built and continues to this day. As the Academic Dean, she helped develop and implement the school’s unique curriculum that immerses international Christian students in the original context of the Bible. A skilled teacher and scholar, she was well known for her insightful teaching of topics such as daily life in the Second Temple Period, as well as Johannine and Pauline literature. She was able to provide these insights in the classroom, on field trips, online and in countless documentaries and interviews that truly blessed the body of Christ around the world. 
|
