The Baltimore Hebrew Institute, the successor to Baltimore Hebrew University established this year at Towson University, is introducing itself to the greater community on Sunday with a lecture on the Dead Sea scrolls. Lawrence H. Schiffman, chairman of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, will present "Decoding Early Judaism: Reflections on the Contributions of Dr. Joseph Baumgarten" at 4 p.m. in Room 4110 of the new liberal arts building at Towson. The event is free and open to the public. Baumgarten, a scholar at Baltimore Hebrew College and rabbi at B'nai Jacob Congregation, wrote extensively on the Dead Sea scrolls. More than 800 texts were found in caves on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea during the 1940s and '50s. Dating from the second century B.C. through the first century A.D., the scrolls include the oldest known remnants of the Old Testament, along with previously unknown psalms, commentaries and other writings.

- Matthew Hay Brown