Dr. Walter Ziffer

UNC Asheville's Center for Jewish Studies will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a special lecture and dessert reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at UNC Asheville's Reuter Center. Respected Jewish Studies scholar Walter Ziffer will discuss "In Search of God: From History to Metaphor." In addition, Ziffer's talk is the 2008 Phyllis Freed Sollod Memorial Lecture. The event is free and open to the public.

As a young man, Ziffer, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, converted to Christianity, became an ordained Christian pastor and a professor in Christian seminaries. He later returned to Judaism. Ziffer has taught at theological schools in the United States, France and Belgium. He is the author of "The Teaching of Disdain: An Examination of Christology and New Testament Attitudes Toward Jews" and many articles on Bible-related topics in various publications in France and the United States. After retiring from full-time work, Ziffer taught at the University of Maine and UNC Asheville. Currently, he serves as adjunct professor of philosophy and religion at Mars Hill College.

The Phyllis Freed Sollod Annual Memorial Lecture is made possible through an endowment established by Norman Sollod in memory of his wife, who was an active leader in the Asheville Jewish community.

Established in 1982, UNC Asheville's Center for Jewish Studies coordinates academic course offerings in Jewish Studies, hosts visiting lecturers and performing artists, and encourages and supports the activities of Jewish students and the local Jewish community.

For more information, call UNC Asheville's Center for Jewish Studies at 828/251-6576 or click on www.unca.edu/cjs.