Psalms: Praying to God, Praying to Ourselves

Psalms are prayers, and prayers are usually addressed to God. But, in a real sense, prayers are directed to the community that prays them. What did ancient Israel hear in the psalms? This lecture will give some general answers and will then examine the specific case of Psalm 114.
Adele Berlin is the Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies Emerita at the University of Maryland. Her main interests are biblical narrative and poetry, and the ancient and modern interpretation of the Bible. She has written seven books and numerous articles and is now at work on commentaries on the book of Psalms and on Song of Songs. She co-edited, with Marc Brettler, The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford University Press, 2004).
Professor Berlin is a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research and past President of the Society of Biblical Literature. She has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. At Maryland, Professor Berlin served as Director of the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, as Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, and as Chair of the University Senate.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Stefan Beyerle