The First Annual Rabbi Tann Memorial Lecture
The late Rabbi Leonard Tann with Professor Garcia Martinez from the University of
Leuven during a visit to Singers Hill Synagogue at an International Conference on
the Dead Sea Scrolls hosted at the University in the autumn of 2007.
On Thursday 25th of June the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion of the
University of Birmingham hosted the First Annual Rabbi Tann Memorial Lecture.
The event was supported by The Birmingham Hebrew Congregation Est. 1730 and
held in association with Mosaic, Birmingham Society for Jewish Studies. Prof. Martin
Stringer, Professor of Liturgical and Congregational Studies, introduced the lecture by
paying tribute to the late Rabbi Tann who had a close relationship to the University of
Birmingham, and the Department of Theology and Religion in particular, for many
years. Prof. Stringer particularly remembered Rabbi Tann’s extraordinary passion for
learning, knowledge, and the importance of fostering inter-religious dialogue.
The first of what is hoped to become a series of annual lectures was delivered by
Professor Michael E. Stone, Professor of Armenian Studies and Gail Levin de Nur
Professor of Religious Studies at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The title of
Professor Stone’s lecture was “Our Perception of Origins: New Perspectives on
Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins.” He began by noting a small number of
crucial periods in history that have had a formative impact on the development of our
culture such as 5th century Athens, Renaissance Italy, and the Eastern Mediterranean
in the two centuries before the Common Era and the first century CE. The latter was
the focus of his lecture. With an uncommon ability to deliver questions from his own
cutting edge research on Ancient Judaism of the highest calibre in an extremely
accessible manner, and frequently speaking off script, Professor Stone’s lecture was
innovative as well as captivating. The main issue he invited his audience to reflect
upon was the ways in which both Christians and Jews tend to look at ancient Judaism
through the prisms of how both traditions subsequently developed. As examples he
noted the strong interest of Christian scholars in ancient Jewish messianism and the
equally powerful search among many Jewish scholars for forerunners of halakhic
issues that became crucial in rabbinic literature. While noting the intrinsic value of
both areas of investigation, Professor Stone stressed the need to look beyond such
prisms to try and mine all the available evidence for this exceedingly important period
in the history of western civilization. The lecture was followed by a lively discussion
where members of the audience had the chance to address their own questions to this
distinguished scholar.
The audience was made up of a balanced mixture of members of the Birmingham
Hebrew Congregation, academic staff and students from the University of
Birmingham and other local institutions of learning as well as members of the general
public. A particularly warm welcome was extended to Mrs. Irene Tann.
After the formal proceedings everyone gathered to enjoy an excellent kosher buffet
courtesy of Gee’s Kosher Deli to chat and meet in a very congenial atmosphere. The
author would like to express her thanks to Rabbi Yossi Jacobs and Prof. Jonathan
Webber for their advice on the kosher arrangements for this event.
I would like to close by noting a very fitting final conversation between the security
guard who came to lock the doors after the event and myself. On overhearing me
calling to Mrs. Tann he asked whether this was the widow of Rabbi Tann. He then
told us both how much he used to enjoy listening to Rabbi Tann’s broadcasts on the
local radio. This to me perfectly rounded off what was an extremely successful
inauguration of this series of lectures and a fitting tribute to the values treasured by
the honoree: a learned and passionate dialogue between scholars and members of
different religious faiths and all walks of life. Rabbi Tann reached out to bridge all
these boundaries, and his legacy lives on.
Dr. Charlotte Hempel
School of Philosophy, Theology, and Religion
University of Birmingham