e-TiM: Online Program
e-TiM: The Jews of Ancient Egypt

This four-part series will take place Thursdays at 10:30am Eastern (5:30pm in Israel) from January 27 to February 17

In the late Second Temple period, Egypt was home to hundreds of thousands of Jews. Many of these Jews observed Shabbat, practiced their dietary laws, and circumcised their sons. They also read their holy scriptures in synagogues and even produced biblical interpretations. These Jews drew the attention—and concern—of Jewish leaders in Judea, who wanted Jewish communities of Egypt to look to them for guidance and advice. This series will explore the little-known history of the Jews of Egypt in the Hellenistic era, and will consider why this history is crucial to our understanding of how Judaism was practiced in the pre-rabbinic period.

January 27
Introduction: The Jews of Egypt in the Hellenistic Age

February 3
The Judeans of Elephantine; The Jews of Leontopolis

February 10
The Jews of Alexandria

February 17
Relations Between Judean Jews and Egyptian Jews

Class Audio

Class Video

The Jews of Ancient Egypt (Part 1)

January 27, 2021

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich

The Jews of Ancient Egypt (Part 2)

February 3, 2022

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich

The Jews of Ancient Egypt (Part 3)

February 10, 2022

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich

The Jews of Ancient Egypt (Part 4)

February 17, 2022

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich

Source Material

Meet the speaker

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich is the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies and the director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She is the author of The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria (2016), and Discovering Second Temple Literature: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (2018), which received the 2019 AJL Judaica Reference Honor Award. Simkovich’s articles have been published in the Harvard Theological Review and the Journal for the Study of Judaism, as well as on online forums

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich bio & resources