Drs. Noam Zion and Eugene Korn, fellows of the Shalom Hart-man Institute in Jerusalem, and Dr. Susan Handelman, Professor of English at the University of Maryland, led three exciting study sessions for ICJS scholars in January, March, and May.

Noam Zion, who has conducted a series of seminars for the Institute, once again engaged participants in a beit midrash (small group study) about the role of the fanatic in a religious community. Seminar participants addressed a potential problem for every religious community: the danger of a passionate commitment that turns fanatical. The group probed biblical and rabbinic texts on the zealot Phineas (Numbers 25:7-8). Zion asked, "Does the zealot exemplify fanaticism or idealism? Under what circumstances is the zealot permitted to take over?" Guided by Zion's leadership and skilled teaching, participants developed a heightened awareness of the ambiguity of reli-gious allegiances in our society.

Eugene Korn explored Jewish views of faith and salvation for Gentiles. He reviewed the seven Noahide commandments, which rabbinic tradition holds to be the first covenant to which all humanity after Noah is bound. Korn raised questions about traditional Jewish writings on salvation for Gentiles. Partici-pants were interested in Christian parallels, e.g., "no salvation outside of the church," and explored difficult questions: To what extent has the issue of exclusive salvation affected the relationship between Christians and Jews over the centuries? Can one learn how to be more faithful by confronting the elements of one's own tradition in dialogue with the other?

Messiah and Redemption in the Talmud was the subject of a beit midrash led by Susan Handelman. Handelman explored the work of Emmanuel Levinas on the Messianic idea: How is spiritual life related to economic and political life? The impor-tance of the "other" in Levinas' philosophy elicits an imperative to alleviate economic and political injustice not only for Jews but also for Christians and all the world.

Handelman summed up the session with Levinas; insight that a fragment of the Messianic Age is revealed when we take re-sponsibility for the other: "Messianism in this sense . . . would be 'my power to bear the suffering of all. It is the instant where I recognize this power and my universal responsibility.'"