Sergei Lefert

Sergei Lefert

Biblical Hebrew Teacher

A Few Words About Me:

“Between truth and whole truth” (Meir Sternberg, “Poetics of Biblical Narrative”)

Sergei Lefert teaches the Biblical Hebrew courses: “Introduction to the Torah”, “Introduction to the Prophets”, “The Jewish Context of the New Testament”, “Hebrew Book of Revelation”, and “Exploring the Land of the Bible”. What he prefers is to explain the texts in as much detail as possible, combining different approaches: the traditional rabbinic approach with the modern historical-critical approach, with particular emphasis on the literary value of Biblical texts.

Education:

Sergei was born in Russia in the city of Yekaterinburg, where he graduated from Fine Arts College. He made his Alyah to Israel in 1990, beginning a long period of Biblical and Rabbinic studies, first in Jerusalem (the Hebrew University and Ratisbonne Center for Jewish Studies), then in Brussels at the Institute for Theological Studies where he received degrees in philosophy and theology. He has specialized in the “deciphering” of the New Testament from Jewish sources, in the narrative approach to the Bible, and in phenomenological philosophy.

Professional Experience:

Sergei has taught extensively in Israel, France, Russia, Lithuania, and elsewhere. In particular, in long “slow reading” courses given in Moscow (the first two chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew) and Israel (the first five verses of the Epistle to the Hebrews). Another of his teaching themes is the Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Lévinas. He has also published on Master Eckhart and Jacques Derrida. Alongside his teaching, he pursues his career as an artist.