Rabbi Fine talks about his Vatican trip

On Sunday, October 29 at 9:30 a.m., Rabbi David J. Fine PhD of Temple Israel in Ridgewood will speak on “Exploring the Vatican Archives of Hebrew Manuscripts.” He will discuss his trip to the Vatican in Rome in mid-July to begin a three-month course at the Vatican Library.

Rabbi Fine was one of 20 Jewish and Christian scholars who were invited to study at the Vatican. He then reviewed more than 1,000 years of teachings contained in more than 800 ancient Hebrew manuscripts from the 9th to 16th centuries housed in the Vatican’s collections.

This presentation is part of Temple Israel & JCC’s Temple Talk series. It is in person only and will not be online. Admission is free and everyone is invited.

According to Rabbi David Golinkin, president of The Schechter Institutes in Jerusalem, as quoted in a Catholic News Service article by Carol Glatz, “these Vatican archives include important commentaries on different parts of the Talmud; one of only two manuscripts in the world of the Jerusalem Talmud; and a 9th- or 10th-century manuscript of the Sifra, which is the oldest midrash that exists and might be the oldest Hebrew manuscript in existence, other than the Dead Sea Scrolls.” One reason these early manuscripts are so important is they reflect the rich variety in ancient Jewish traditions and teachings.