educated_at james kugel
___MASK61___ is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts , established in 1636 , whose history , influence , and wealth have made it one of the world ' s most prestigious universities . The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States . The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group beyond the sports context . The eight institutions are ___MASK66___ , ___MASK35___ , Cornell University , Dartmouth College , ___MASK61___ , the ___MASK92___ , Princeton University , and ___MASK27___ . The term " Ivy League " has connotations of academic excellence , selectivity in admissions , and social elitism . James L . Kugel ( born 1945 ) is chair of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M . Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at ___MASK61___ . James Kugel is the author and editor of 16 books and numerous articles on the Bible and its early commentators , focusing on the Second Temple period . In 2001 , his book , the Bible As It Was won the University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Grawemeyer Award in religion . The prize `` recognizes outstanding and creative works that promote understanding of the relationship between human beings and the divine . '' The Bible As It Was was published in 1997 by ___MASK61___ . It is the annotated version of a lengthier work , entitled Traditions of the Bible . In 2007 How to Read the Bible was given the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year Award by the Jewish Book Council . James Kugel has published a new book , `` In The Valley of The Shadow '' . It was reviewed glowingly in the New York Times Book Review on Sunday February 13 , 2011 . He self - identifies as an Orthodox Jew . Moment Magazine published a long - form profile called , `` Professor of Disbelief , '' on James Kugel in their MARCH / APRIL 2014 Antisemitism issue .