The Jewish Federation Connecting with Community presents "Decoding the Bible for Modern Readers: The Mystery of the Arar" with agronomist Dr. Jon Greenberg, who will explore how the language of ancient Near East agriculture informed the words and ideas of the Bible.

Dr. Greenberg will discuss how biblical language relies heavily on metaphors from nature and ancient agriculture.  This helped to make the words of the prophets understandable to their contemporaries, but leaves the modern urban reader confused or disinterested.

Dr. Greenberg is devoted to biblical ethnobotony to better understand the Torah.  He received his doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University, and has studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel's Yeshivat Hamivtar and conducted research on corn, alfalfa, and soybeans at Cornell, the US Dept of Agricuture, and University of PA Institute for Cancer Research.

This free program is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community Series and will be followed by a kosher hot lunch. Lunch is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age or $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.