B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation kicks off its 2019-20 “Synagogue Scholars” series with a Dec. 13 discussion, led by Professor Emerita Martha Rozett, of “Judas,” the acclaimed novel by Israeli author Amos Oz.

The program will begin immediately following the congregation’s 8 p.m. Shabbat service. B’nai Sholom is located at 420 Whitehall Road in Albany. The service and program are open to all who wish to worship and learn.

“Judas” tells the story of a young  scholar, probing the mysteries surrounding the biblical traitor. In the opening sentences, Oz writes that this is a story, set in Jerusalem in 1959 and 1960, “of error and desire, of unrequited love, and of a religious question that remains unresolved” — the question of Judas Iscariot’s relationship to Jesus.

A Shakespeare scholar, Rozett is the author of “When People Wrote Letters: A Family Chronicle” (The Troy Book Makers, 2011), a story told through family letters and autobiographies about the travels and careers of her mother and great aunt and about a romance threatened by the differences between New England Episcopalians and New York Jews.

Rozett teaches adult education courses at the Bethlehem Institute for Lifelong Learning and offers lectures at the Albany Public Library. She holds a doctorate in English from the University of Michigan.

Rozett’s presentation concludes a three-part series of events celebrating the life and brilliance of Oz, who died in December 2018.

Begun in 2004, the “Synagogue Scholars” series spotlights individuals in the Capital Region Jewish community who are recognized authorities in their fields.

For more information, visit www.bnaisholomalbany.org or contact the B’nai Sholom office:  or 518-482-5283.