OC’s Beam Library highlights its partnership with Museum of the Bible

The Sofer Collection is OC’s display of items connected to Judaism and Jewish history.

The Sofer Collection at Oklahoma Christian University includes historical items from the private library of Benjamin Sofer. This collection of literature and resources is related to Judaism and Jewish history, art and culture that is unique to OC. The collection was acquired by the Museum of Bible in 2015. After opening in 2017, the Museum of the Bible began looking for partnerships around the nation.

The Museum of the Bible wanted to place the Sofer Collection in a library open for students, to create unique learning opportunities. An example is the recent presentation held in OC’s Beam Library last month. Students and the community were invited to a talk about the Jewish folktale, “Mortal Bodies, Divine Lies: The Golem of Prague and Mimetic Violence.” Library staff discussed how the folktale addresses scapegoating, religiously sanctioned violence and discerning ethical responses to moments of crisis. 

OC Professor of Library Sciences Chris Rosser, who spoke at the talk, explained the benefits of the Sofer Collection for the campus in a video available here. 

“Students enrolled in certain Bible classes here will benefit from these resources for research purposes,” he said. 

It is owned by the museum but housed and displayed permanently at OC to be accessed by students, faculty, visiting scholars and the general public. Having the collection on campus creates an academic advantage for OC students who are interested in this type of literature to deepen their understanding of Jewish history. 

“By working to keep the collection intact and accessible, it is OC’s and Museum of the Bible’s hope that the Sofer Collection is of benefit to scholars in our community and those visiting from around the world,” said Oklahoma Christian University President John deSteiguier when the collection was announced a few years ago. “It’s also our hope that this collection will be an excellent vehicle to promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue via community outreach and use of the collection’s valuable content.”

According to the museum, the Sofer Collection was originally owned by Benjamin Sofer in the late 20th century. Born of a respected Slovakian Rabbinic family, Sofer had extensive knowledge in the areas of Italian books and culture, the Soncino Bible commentary, Hebrew bibliographies, Talmudic traditions, carpets and textiles, languages and Jewish art. He helped establish an Israeli office for the auction house Sotheby’s, through whom he also acquired many of the items in his collection. Museum of the Bible purchased the collection from Avi Sofer, Benjamin’s wife, in 2014.