Gathering held Thursday October 3, 2019

Dr. Trevan G. Hatch
The Talmudic Rabbi Jesus:
Making Sense of the Striking Similarities between Jesus and Rabbinic Sages

A Wonderful Evening for the Understanding of Latter-day Saints and Jews

We enjoyed the conversations and meeting of brothers who work to further understanding between the Jewish background and the restored Gospel of the Latter Day Saints.

Our presenter Dr. Hatch, of course, came from BYU. Board member Bradley J Krammer came from North Carolina, being in Salt Lake to release his latest book which is very synergistic with tonight's presentation. Kahlile Bliss Mehr, a previous presenter at B'nai Shalom, was present with his wife. We enjoyed meeting USN Chaplain Jason Olson, who is a long time associate associate of B'nai Shalom. The other bro Hatch and Robert Starling, who seek to develop a full movie about Jews and Latter Day saints, were with us.

See Dr. Trevan Hatch's presentation on our youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/BnaiShalomLatterDaySaintsandJews/videos. It was very informative, created better understanding, and drew many comments and questions.

Much food, much visiting, lots of love.

Revan came from Kansas City again.
We couldn't have done it with out our reliable helper.
And old timers will recognize this relatively younger Gardner. We thrilled to his solo.

>>> About Trevan Hatch; basic Bio and Writing, and Brad Krammer. >>>

Dr. Trevan G. Hatch is the Ancient Scripture and Religious Studies specialist at the Lee Library at Brigham Young University, and he is also an adjunct instructor in the Department of Ancient Scripture.

Trevan earned a B.A. in History at BYU; an M.A. in Jewish Studies with an emphasis in Rabbinic Literature at Baltimore Hebrew University / Towson University; an MLIS (Master of Library & Information Science) at the University of Kentucky; a PhD in Sociology of Religion at Louisiana State University where he wrote his dissertation on Jewish families.

He is currently finishing a second doctoral degree in Jewish Studies with an emphasis in Bible and Early Judaism at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago. He also studied at two universities in Israel: Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of the Holy Land.

His books are particularly interesting to our members and friends:

• A Stranger in Jerusalem: Seeing Jesus as a Jew (available at wipfandstock.com and Amazon )
• When the Lights Came On: Joseph Smith and the Return of Heavenly Manifestations (Cedar Fort, 2016)
• The Learning of the Jews: What Judaism can teach Latter-day Saints (not yet available)
• Remembering the Chosen: Judaism in the Latter-day Saint Experience 1820–2020 (not yet available ☹ )

In "A Stranger in Jerusalem: Seeing Jesus as a Jew" Dr. Hatch illustrates that Jesus does not seem to have rejected Judaism or acted as a radical outsider in relation to his Jewish peers, but rather he worked within a Jewish framework.

The overarching questions addressed are (1) how can an understanding of early Judaism illuminate our understanding of the Jesus traditions, (2) how did Jesus relate to his Jewish world and vice versa, (3) why did the Gospel writers portray Jesus and his Jewish peers the way they did, and (4) how would Jews in the first and second centuries have interpreted the Jesus traditions upon hearing or reading them?

Several topics are explored, including childhood and family life in first-century Galilee; Jewish notions of baptism and purity; Jewish prophets and miracle workers; Jewish ideas about the messiah; and Jesus’ relationship with Judas, the Pharisees, the priestly establishment in Jerusalem, the Jewish populace, and his own disciples.

Bradley J Krammer's new book is: "Gathered in One: How the Book of Mormon Counters Anti-Semitism in the New Testament". (See more at Amazon. )