In mainstream Jewish and Christian tradition, God is portrayed as omnipotent, invisible and remote. But is this the true, biblical nature of God? Inviting audiences to experience the very different, more intimate theistic conception that was held by the ancient Israelites, leading scholar and award-winning author Dr. James L. Kugel will strip away centuries of rationalistic interpretation to reveal the visceral essence of the divine in a new lecture series at Hebrew College.

The three-part series, God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible, to be held January 28, February 4 and February 11, takes its title from Kugel's acclaimed new book, which has been described as "a masterful survey of the way ancient Israelites understood God." Illuminating the "God of Old" as a surprising and unpredictable God who sometimes chose to assume earthly form and interact with humans, Kugel will explore the mysteries of that earlier time, when the boundaries between the material and the spiritual seemed eerily fluid, and examine topics such as the "moment of confusion" before biblical figures realized that the stranger in their midst was God himself. Associate of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University and Professor in the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, Kugel will also address the Bible's seemingly contradictory prohibition against divine images, the assertion that the cry of the oppressed rouses God to action and the starkness of God's good-and-evil moral world.

Sponsored by the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Hebrew College, all three Wednesday evenings begin at 7:30 p.m. and cost $10 with advance paid registration or $15 at the door. Early registration for all three events is $25. For information or to register, call the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at 617-559-8709 or email cajl@hebrewcollege.edu.

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