Naomi seems like a typical 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl, but watching her lift almost three times her bodyweight tells a different story. SUPERGIRL tells an empowering story about one girl who is coming of age while testing the limits of strength and endurance -- both inside and out.. Nominated for the Best Documentary at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Nominated in the New Jersey Films Competition at the Montclair Film Festival (MFF)....

Alexander the Great’s legendary visit to Jerusalem and Judea had a profound influence on the development of ancient Jewish traditions. Could the ancient warrior also have served as a model for the mythical Jesus? Professor Magness illuminates possible narrative parallels between these two iconic figures of Western history..

Begin your fascinating historical adventure by developing a solid framework for your exploration of Jesus’s Jewish influences. What was it like to be a Jew in the ancient world? What do we mean when we talk about Jewish temples? And how similar was ancient Judaism to other ancient religions..

Close out this insightful course with a pointed consideration of how selected passages from the Gospels can be better understood within their Jewish context. The three passages you explore involve the concept of Hell, Jesus’s cleansing of the Temple, and John’s account of Jesus’s healing of a blind man..

From 1 and 2 Maccabees to the Books of Daniel and Enoch, get a close reading of apocalyptic literary works composed in the aftermath of the Maccabean Revolt. Afterwards, Professor Magness probes possible meanings of the term “son of man” in both the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels..

Investigate the strange episode known as the Heliodorus Affair. This power struggle between Jerusalem’s elite families during the time of the Ptolemies and Seleucids became a key turning point in the history of Jews in Judea. We also see echoes of this conflict in Gospel accounts of taxation..

What insights into the ancient Jewish diaspora communities can we glean from close readings of the Book of Tobit and the Book of Esther? What do these books say about holiness and the treatment of other people (the “golden rule” of Jesus’s time)? Join the fascinating historical-literary debate..

In this lecture, probe the rise of the Sadducees and Pharisees during the late Second Temple Period. You’ll learn how the Pharisaic approach became dominant in Judaism, and you’ll spend time investigating what the Gospels say about whether or not Jesus identified as a Pharisee..

After the end of the Babylonian exile in 539 B.C., returning exiles began to reestablish themselves in Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah. This return would lead to a dramatic schism between Jews and Samaritans—one which, as you’ll learn, would influence encounters with Samaritans in Jesus’s own time..

Sophia knits a special hat for her elderly neighbor and knitting teacher, Mrs. Goldman.