Again, I haven't blogged in a long time. School and my life are one and the same. At least I'm not going a whole quarter without communicating -- to myself, it seems. I haven't figured out how people can get access to my musings yet. But, mirabile dictu, I have reconnected with my undergraduate classics professor, Moshe Bernstein (not such a narrative leap as he attempted to access my blog and was unsuccessful). Moshe and I are about the same age. He was the bright spot of my undergraduate career. I took Latin and Greek from him and plenty of Greek in translation: a Euripides course was the best. I remember fondly that Moshe and I used to roll our eyes at each other (as discreetly as possible) when a student said something irreparably ignorant. We were young and cruel. What can I say? I especially remember my first quarter of Greek. I expected to see five or six students the first day of class. Instead the room was filled to capacity, somewhere between 20 and 25 I imagine. And just about everyone had a Greek surname (and a Greek forename too -- lots of Dimitri's). They had taken the course because they all spoke Modern Greek and it never occured to them that the language might have changed a bit in 2000 years. Needless to say, it was more difficult for them to learn classical Greek than it was for me: too many pronunciation, grammar, syntax, and semantic changes for modern Greek speakers. The next quarter there were only five of us.
So, to make this long story shorter, I started to think about Moshe as we began to study New Testament this quarter because, of course, we had used a Koine New Testament for class those many years ago. I googled Moshe and there was a bible professor at Yeshiva with that name. Now, I know that there are a lot of Moshe Bernsteins out there, but I knew it was my Moshe. He is amazed I thought that, but, as I told him, I always thought his heart was with bible and that was what he was supposed to be teaching. And so he is -- for the last 25 years or so. And he's on the editorial board of the Dead Sea Scrolls and hangs around with Christian OT scholars, including one at Garrett, Julie Duncan, whom I need to look up.
So that's my story. School is intense and I'm looking forward to THE END, but I'm loving theology ( a major surprise as I have theologiphobia ) and I'm enjoying all my other classes too.
I'm adding this wonderful Max Ernst portrait of the Virgin Spanking Jesus.
So, to make this long story shorter, I started to think about Moshe as we began to study New Testament this quarter because, of course, we had used a Koine New Testament for class those many years ago. I googled Moshe and there was a bible professor at Yeshiva with that name. Now, I know that there are a lot of Moshe Bernsteins out there, but I knew it was my Moshe. He is amazed I thought that, but, as I told him, I always thought his heart was with bible and that was what he was supposed to be teaching. And so he is -- for the last 25 years or so. And he's on the editorial board of the Dead Sea Scrolls and hangs around with Christian OT scholars, including one at Garrett, Julie Duncan, whom I need to look up.
So that's my story. School is intense and I'm looking forward to THE END, but I'm loving theology ( a major surprise as I have theologiphobia ) and I'm enjoying all my other classes too.
I'm adding this wonderful Max Ernst portrait of the Virgin Spanking Jesus.
