New York, May 10, 2012 — Noted Bible scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman will give an interfaith lecture on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at Congregation Shalom in North Chelmsford, MA.

The 7:00pm lecture is jointly sponsored by Congregation Shalom; Trinity Lutheran Church, Chelmsford; the Merrimack Valley Jewish Federation; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Westford; First Parish Church United, Westford; Temple Shir Hadash, Westford; and St. Catherine of Alexandria Catholic Church, Westford.

Hoffman will address significant and widespread inaccuracies in English Bible translations and explain how readers can see past the mistakes to find what Hoffman calls “the undiscovered beauty of the Bible.” The lecture is based on his popular book And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning (St. Martin’s Press, 2010).

The lecture will take place at Congregation Shalom, 87 Richardson Road, North Chelmsford, MA 01863 (phone: 978/251-8091). Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Signed books will be available for purchase after the talk.

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman is a noted expert in translation, Hebrew, and the Bible. He holds a doctorate in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He is the chief translator for the 10-volume series My People’s Prayer Book (winner of the National Jewish Book Award) and My People’s Passover Haggadah, both from Jewish Lights Publishing. He is the author of the critically acclaimed In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language, from NYU Press and, most recently, And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning from St. Martin’s Press. He lives in Westchester, NY.

For more information about And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning, contact St. Martin’s Press Publicist Joseph Rinaldi: 646/307-5565 or Joseph.Rinaldi@stmartins.com.

Dr. Hoffman can be reached at 718/834-1080 or joel@lashon.net.

Vassar Temple Lecture with Dr. Joel M. Hoffman

All in all it was a lovely way to spend an evening.

New York, April 24, 2012 — Noted Bible scholar Dr. Joel M. Hoffman will give a lecture about Bible translation on Tuesday, May 1st, at 7:00 p.m. at Vassar Temple, 140 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY. His talk, which is open to the public free of charge, addresses the inaccuracies in English Bible translations and explains how readers can see past the mistakes to find what Hoffman calls the “undiscovered beauty of the Bible.” The lecture is based on his popular book, And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning.

Refreshments will be served after Dr. Hoffman’s presentation, and autographed copies of his book will be available for sale. Though Hoffman travels widely throughout Europe and North America, this is his only appearance this year in Dutchess County. For more information, contact the temple at 845-454-2570 or office@vassartemple.org.

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman is a noted expert in translation, Hebrew, and the Bible. He holds a doctorate in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He currently serves as the director of Vassar Temple’s Religious School, which provides a dynamic environment where students in grades K-12 discover and explore their own connection to Judaism.

Dr. Hoffman is the chief translator for the 10-volume series My People’s Prayer Book (winner of the National Jewish Book Award) and My People’s Passover Haggadah, both from Jewish Lights Publishing. He is the author of the critically acclaimed In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language from NYU Press and, most recently, And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning from St. Martin’s Press. Dr. Hoffman can be reached by phone at 718-834-1080, by e-mail at joel@lashon.net, and more information about him can be found on his website: www.lashon.net.

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman signing copies of "And God Said"

I also had a chance to stop by the fabulous Myakka River State Park, where I took a few pictures, including shots of boars, birds, and, of course, alligators.

[A glitch prevented this from appearing last week. Here it is now.]

I had the privilege and treat yesterday to take part in “Letting Us Pray: A Symposium on Language in Liturgy,” at Fordham University. With me were Julia Upton, Ph.D., R.S.M, who gave the keynote to which I responded, and two other respondents: Thomas Scirghi, Ph.D., S.J., and Rev. Matthew Ernest, S.T.D. The symposium was prompted by the new Roman Missal, and the discussion was loosely focused around that.

I found two issues particularly interesting. First, Dr. Upton spoke about her desire for a connection between liturgy and social action. And secondly, a notion that was downplayed in the original guidelines for the Missal came up repeatedly: a “sacral vernacular” for translation, which, as I understand it, is the goal that the translation should be recognizable as English, but also uniquely recognizable as liturgy. (There’s much more here.)

It was a particularly interesting and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

A standing-room only crowd of over 60 enthusiastic, joyous students and faculty members was waiting for me. And given what I know now about the program, it’s hardly surprising.

It turns out that the CCNY Jewish Studies Program is a rare jewel. Led by the contagiously exuberant Dr. Roy Mittelman, the program has offices teeming with diverse students (only a few of them Jewish) and abuzz with joy and academic curiosity. In short, it’s a model for what I think higher education should be.

If I were a student again, the CCNY Jewish Studies Program is where I’d want to be, and I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to stop by yesterday.

Dr. Hoffman, who spoke on the subject of “The Bible Didn’t Say That,” from his latest book And God Said, holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College. His mission is to find, through translation, what the writers of the Bible meant to convey.

“Everybody has the right to interpret the Bible differently,” Hoffman said. “I’m trying to get the original meaning of the words. I use the tools of modern linguistics and translation, much as an archaeologist uses the science tools of today to learn more about the past.”

Marlene Garnett, of Temple Israel, said, “The weekend was quite a success for Temple Israel… There was an outpouring of interest from the Christian community, as well as our own. On Friday night, we estimate that he spoke to 200, standing room only. And all of his books were sold, the majority to Christians. Many guests asked if they could return on Saturday, and they did. I consider this weekend an outreach to the citizens of Columbus, in addition to being an educational and entertaining experience for us.”

Ronnet Rice, Temple Israel education director, said, “Hoffman was great. Jerry Seinfeld was in town on Friday, and I swear Joel was funnier.”

Joel Hoffman has the “it” factor — the ability to address equally the most knowledgeable learner and the novice, with a great sense of humor, humility, and warmth. His love for both his subject matter and the learner helps make him one of the most engaging speakers today.

For more information on booking Dr. Hoffman or other ISJL presenters, contact ISJL Director of Programming Ann Zivitz Kimball at akimball@isjl.org or 601-362-6357.

[Read the PDF from the Jewish Georgian.]

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Teaching Sixth Graders

The trip got off to a shaky start when, because of timing constraints, I was forced to fly US Air instead of my usual Delta. The flight was delayed, though none of the passangers knew by how much or whether it would take off at all. US Air didn’t bother updating the flight-information displays. But it wouldn’t have helped even if they had, because their monitors apparently date from before I was born and what few out of focus dots of light remain just aren’t enough.

Virginia Beach as seen from the Wyndham

Now I’m back in New York, enjoying spring and the blossoming of wildlife that comes with it.

Dr. Joel M. Hoffman Signing Copies of AND GOD SAID

Hawks Celebrating the Arrival of Spring

I’ve mentioned before that the major New York City airports strike me as islands of the Third World right here in the middle of the First, so I took a chance and headed north instead of south to find an airport. I’ve previously had back luck with White Plains, which should be nice but isn’t, so I didn’t know what to expect here. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised.

The airport is clean, spacious, and relaxed. I would have been first in line at security, except that I was the only one at security, so there was no line to be first in. And the TSA workers were professional and friendly.

There’s no Delta frequent-flier club here, no yuppie food, and no one to give me an iced soy latte. But it’s worth it.

This trip is off to a great start.