Igniting Debate: Hanukkah as a Flashpoint in Ancient Jewish Society
with Malka Z. Simkovich
Wednesday, Dec. 13 @ 7:00-8:00 pm
in person or on Zoom

Can you imagine a time when Hanukkah was a symbol of intense debate among Jews? In the ancient world, the Festival of Lights was actually a flashpoint of debate among Jews in the Diaspora. Malka Z. Simkovich will share research on this topic from her forthcoming book, Letters From Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity. This study will help us appreciate the historical significance of Hanukkah and better understand its place in our own day and age.

 Malka Z. Simkovich is the Chair of Jewish Studies and the Director of Catholic-Jewish Studies at Chicago's Catholic Theological Union. She earned a doctoral degree in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism from Brandeis University and a Masters degree in Hebrew Bible from Harvard University, and she teaches widely on the history and significance of Hanukkah.