Steven Fine, Ph.D., professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University in New York City, presented a lecture titled “The Menorah and the Cross: Jewish-Christian Relations in the Christian Roman Empire,” on Nov. 21 on campus. The lecture was sponsored by The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute of the University.
A cultural historian specializing in Jewish history in the Greco-Roman period, Dr. Fine focuses mainly on the literature, art and archaeology of ancient Judaism — and the ways that modern scholars have interpreted Jewish antiquity. The author of academic monographs, museum catalogs, more than 60 articles and even a book for children, his most recent monograph, “Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Toward a New Jewish Archaeology,” received the 2009 Jordan Schnitzer Book Award from the Association for Jewish Studies.
Dr. Fine delivered the first Cecil Roth Memorial Lecture at the Jewish Museum in London and was awarded this year’s Samaritan Medal for Peace and Human Achievement.
The Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute was created in 1979 through an endowment funded by the local Jewish community. The work of the institute was further enhanced by a $1 million gift from Harry Weinberg in 1990.
