Rabbi Norman Cohen to Speak at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Rabbi Norman M. Cohen will deliver a lecture on Thursday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 304 of the Hogan Campus Center. Cohen's lecture, entitled "What's a Nice Jewish Boy Doing at Holy Cross?" is free and open to the public.

A 1972 graduate of Holy Cross, Cohen is currently the spiritual leader of Bet Shalom Congregation in Hopkins, Minn. Prior to this position, Cohen served Rockdale Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Cohen received a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1975 and Rabbinic Ordination in 1977. He has taught at numerous colleges, including Xavier University (Ohio), Macalester College (Minn.) and the United Theological Seminary (Ohio).

He is the author of "Jewish Bible Personages in the New Testament" (University Press of America). The past president of the Midwest Association of Reform Rabbis, he has served on a number of boards of Jewish and inter-religious organizations.

The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture and the Kraft-Hiatt Fund.

The Kraft-Hiatt Fund is endowed through gifts to Holy Cross and Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) from Worcester philanthropist Jacob Hiatt and his daughter and son-in-law, Myra and Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. The goal of the fund is to encourage greater understanding between Christians and Jews.