Rabbi Reuven Firestone is the Regenstein Professor in medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles and professor of religion at the University of Southern California School of Religion. A scholar, author, and lecturer, he has served as a vice president of the Association for Jewish Studies and president of the International Qur’anic Studies Association.
Unforeseen events as a teen found me playing backgammon with two young Arab men in Jerusalem’s Old City. That evening led to my rabbinical studies and so much more.