Haredi Jews Hold Conference on “Torah Archaeology”
Bible and archaeology news
Leading Haredi Jews from Israel and abroad recently held a conference to discuss the light archaeology can shed on Jewish religious texts. Known for their conservative religious outlook, Haredi Jewish groups have often been skeptical and even hostile towards archaeology, particularly regarding the excavation of human remains.* The Jerusalem conference, however, aimed to lessen such anxieties and demonstrate to ultra-Orthodox Jews that archaeology has much to offer those who study the Torah and other religious texts. According to Rabbi Eliyahu Soloveitchik, one of the conference organizers, “We’re all Haredim who are guided by the fear of heaven, but that’s not a reason to be afraid of science. The message [of the conference] is that we aren’t afraid of science and can digest it.”
Leading Haredi Jews from Israel and abroad recently held a conference to discuss the light archaeology can shed on Jewish religious texts.
* See Hershel Shanks, “Death Knell for Israel Archaeology,” BAR, September/October 1996.
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