SCRANTON — Dr. Azzan Yaden-Israel will give a free The University of Scranton Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute lecture titled “The Theologies of Bruce Springsteen” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in the Pearn Auditorium of Brennan Hall.
Yaden-Israel’s presentation will unearth Old Testament themes and reinterpretations of Bible passages from Springsteen’s song lyrics. He breaks down these common themes into four sections: early works, sin, grace and the struggle within, and Springsteen’s Midrash.
The author of three books that add depth to the understanding of midrash and the study of German as a foreign vocabulary, “Scripture as Logos: Rabbi Ishmael and the Origins of Midrash,” “Scripture and Tradition: Rabbi Akiva and the Triumph of Midrash,” and “Intuitive Vocabulary: German,” Dr. Yaden-Israel spent two years mining Bruce Springsteen’s songs for research in his latest book, “The Grace of God and the Grace of Man: The Theologies of Bruce Springsteen.”
Dr. Yaden-Israel earned his bachelor’s degree from the Hebrew University, and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley and Graduate Theological Union. A professor of Jewish studies and classics at Rutgers, Dr. Yadin-Israel teaches courses on rabbinic literature, classical Jewish philosophy, the history of Jewish mysticism and Plato.
For more information, call Marc Shapiro, professor of theology/religious studies, at 570-941-7956.
