Talk:2020 Aramaic Enoch Conference
It is always difficult to find the right words to conclude a conference and in particular, suc a Successful conference as the one we have experienced in these last thrte days.
Our conference was planned originally as a conference at the University of Lublin, Poland. COVID-19 forced us to go online. We have entered a new era in which this kind of meetings will become more and more frequent. I think we have proven, once again, that it can be done, and can be done successful . We have brought together specialists for all around the world. The current crisis will not end soon. Our next colloquium in November on the Gospel of Matthew will be online, and so will be our on John the Baptist in January, the next Enoch Graduate Seminar at the end of April, and the international Conference on Apocalypticism in late May, celebrating the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of the first English translation of 1 Enoch in English
Even when we are able to resume our meetings in person, it will never be the same again. From now on, residential conferences will also have a larger online component. We have entered the cyberspace.
At the end of these three days of conference, I would like to thank all the organizers: first of all, Henryk Drawnel who unfortunately could not be with usa after all the work he did in organizing the event. I also would like to thank Lawrence Schiffman, Matthew Goff, Myriam Brand, James VanderKam, Gerbern Oegema, who have attended all three days of the conference and contributed to the daily opening sessions, as well as Rodney Caruthers and Deborah Forger who facilitated the meeting of the graduate students.
I would like to thank all the speakers, the chairs and all the many participants who with an average of 80-100 have attended each session. Many participants sometimes heroically joined the sessions very late in the evening or very early in the morning and in some cases during the night.
Special thanks go to our wonderful secretary (Joshua Scott), he made everything look so easy, while every day and every minute he was adjusting the program to our specific needs. Our thanks go to the University of Lublin and the Enoch Seminar for organizing the event and to the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, the Michigan Center for Early Christian Studies, and the Alessandro Nangeroni International Endowment for their continued support. And a special thanks to all those who have contributed with a donation
This year the Enoch Seminar celebrates 20 years of activity. It was born in the year 2000 as an attempt to bring together all the major international specialists of Second Temple Judaism and in particular of Jewish Apocalypticism. Our first meeting in Florence in 2001 was on the origins of Enochic Judaism. Our second meeting in 2003 was in Venice on "Enoch and Qumran Origins". Many of us were there: foem Lawrence Schiffam, to Jim Vanderkam, Torleif Elgvin, Ida Froelich, Corrado martone, Loren Stuckenbruck, Eibert Tigchelaar, Liliana Rosso Ubibli, and myself
Among the speakers of the Venice conference in 2003 were also George Nickelsburg, Paolo Sacchi. Florentino garcia martinez, Helge Kvanvig, Shemariahu Talmon, Michael Knibb, Hanan Eshel, Klaus Koch, Emile Puech, who so much have contributed to the study of Aramaic Enoch.
We as scholars, and the Enoch Seminar as an organization, would not even exist without the memory of the past and the commitment to building the new generation of specialists in Second Temple Judaism. We are all closely related to each other. Being part of this collective history is a privilege and a responsibility. As scholars, we do not live isolated from the world and untouched by the evil of this world. But we will all be measured by the courage and determination with which we adapt to even the most difficult challenges and promote a climate of inclusiveness and friendship. Stay tuned, my friends: the best is yet to come.