Photo: Dr. Lawrence Fine
ALBANY–The 2023 Colonie annual lecture has been slated for Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. at Temple Israel, 600 New Scotland Ave., Albany. Dr. Lawrence Fine (Mount Holyoke College, professor emeritus) will discuss early modern Kabbalah focusing on the mysterious and influential figure Isaac Luria and the shaping of the religious community of Safed as well as its influence on Judaism and spirituality.
The event has been organized by the Judaic studies program directed by Dr. Federica Francesconi at the University at Albany and the congregation of Temple Israel of Albany.
The program is free and open to the community.
Fine (is a leading scholar of medieval Judaism and Jewish mysticism. His interests include medieval Jewry in Islamic lands and contemporary Jewish spirituality. His scholarly research centers on the Jewish mystical tradition, with a focus on religious communities and mystical experience. Among his publications are Safed Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1984), Essential Papers on Kabbalah (NYU, 1995), Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages through the Early Modern Period (Princeton, 2001), Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and his Kabbalistic Fellowship (Stanford, 2003), and Friendship in Jewish History, Religion, and Culture (Penn State UP, 2021).
Pre-registration may be obtained at https://www.tialbany.org/event/larry-fine–the-colonie-lecture-series.html. Live stream will be available at www.tialbany.org/livestream. Information about the lecture, funded by the Colonie Jewish Community Association, may be obtained at www.albany.edu/judaic_studies, 518- 442-4130, [email protected].
