May 4, 2021 By: lberlinger
On Monday, April 12, 2021, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College hosted Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill ’87YC, ’87BR, ’90R, the Cooperman/Ross Endowed Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University, to speak at its weekly Honors Luncheon series.
Dr. Brill, who previously taught at Yeshiva College, presented his lecture in conjunction with his book, Rabbi on the Ganges: A Jewish-Hindu Encounter, and discussed his sabbatical year at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, where he had a Fulbright fellowship.
His time in India alerted him to the striking resonances between Judaism and Hinduism, and he shared several anecdotes that illustrated similar structures of belief in both religions.
The students were fascinated by the connections Dr. Brill made in this talk. “I especially enjoyed his comparisons of events in Jewish religious history that would have had a different outcome if they had occurred with Hindus,” said Yonatan Sragow ’23YC.
Dr. Eliezer Schnall, director of the Honors Program, was pleased to include Dr. Brill among this year’s diverse slate of invited speakers. “Dr. Brill presented our students an eye-opening discussion, and we appreciate him giving us the opportunity to expose our students to presentations that broaden their global perspective.”