Although the Bible does not express a doctrine of the afterlife, subsequent Jewish texts from the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods indicate not only a prevalent belief in the afterlife but its centrality for many Jews.
Candice Levy, a lecturer in Jewish Studies in UCLA's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, will explore the development of the belief in the afterlife and how it arose as a response to the problem of unjust suffering during a talk on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 4-5:30 p.m. Presented by UCLA Center for the Study of Religion, the event will take place in Room 348 of the Humanities Building.
Levy received her B.A. from Yeshiva University's Stern College for Women and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA. Her dissertation, “Arbiters of the Afterlife: Olam Haba, Torah and Rabbinic Authority,” examined rabbinic discourses of the afterlife as well as the complex interplay between rabbinic authority, Torah study and theodicy and the ancillary function of the afterlife for each of these. Levy teaches courses in Judaism and Rabbinic Literature at UCLA, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.
The event is free, and refreshments will be served. To RSVP or obtain more information, email Melissa Linn at csr@humnet.ucla.edu or call 310-206-8799.
