CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Adath Jeshurun (Elkins Park, PA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B'nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B'nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth David (Westminster, CA),Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Shalom (Santa Fe, New Mexico), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), The Boston Synagogue (Boston, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)
To learn about upcoming events this month, visit www.occsp.net. To view past CSP events, check out our YouTube channel as well as our podcast and enjoy many sessions at your leisure
In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the “Sea Peoples” invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen? Join us for a compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship that sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age—and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.
Dr. Eric H. Cline is Professor of Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology, the former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the current Director of the GWU Capitol Archaeological Institute. He is a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright scholar, an NEH Public Scholar, a Getty scholar, and an award-winning teacher and author. Dr. Cline is currently Co-Director of the renewed series of archaeological excavations at the site of Tel Kabri, also located in Israel, which began in 2005. The project is run by the University of Haifa and The George Washington University (Assaf Yasur-Landau and Eric H. Cline). He was also a member of the Megiddo Expedition, in Israel, excavating at biblical Armageddon for ten seasons over a twenty-year period, from 1994 to 2014. He began as a volunteer and rose up through the ranks, ultimately serving as Co-Director with Israel Finkelstein and Director of the Consortium until stepping down in 2015. Winner of the 2014 "Nancy Lapp Award for Best Popular Book" from the American Schools of Oriental Research for his book "1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed," which was also considered for a Pulitzer Prize, and winner of the same award again in 2018 for his book "Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology," he is also a three-time winner of the Biblical Archaeology Society's "Best Popular Book on Archaeology" Award (2001, 2009, and 2011). He is the author or editor of 20 books, which have been translated into sixteen languages, as well as nearly 100 articles, and several recorded lecture courses.
Celebrating our 22nd year, the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program shares the joy of Judaism, builds community, and celebrates our Jewish heritage with a rich adult education program and unique family experiences. Whether we are picking apples for Rosh Hashana, celebrating Shabbat while camping, clapping along with Jewish Blues or Rock musicians, hosting a community-wide Shabbat Alive outdoors, learning with internationally-known scholars, making life-long Jewish friends at family and adult retreats, or providing distance learning programs during a pandemic, CSP has programs to offer for all ages. We ignite passion for Judaism! CSP live-streams programs on our CSP Facebook site and shares recordings on our new CSP YouTube Channel (please visit and subscribe!). If you are interested in our I-tunes archive of over 200 programs, you can listen at this LINK. You can reach us on the web at www.occsp.org and by phone at (949) 682-4040.
CSP participates in the community-wide Create a Jewish Legacy initiative, in partnership with the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Contact CSP at (949) 682-4040 to explore the many ways you can leave a legacy to CSP.
Inspire future generations with your generosity by creating a Jewish legacy today!
