Thursday's News & Ideas - 2/16/2023

Oldest complete Hebrew Bible expected to break auction records
The Guardian: Ninth-century Codex Sassoon, critical link between Dead Sea scrolls and today’s Bible, will have estimate of $30 million to $50 million.

Chaplains offer more than prayers: New study confirms impact on ICU families
Religion News Service: Thanks to a new study of ICU patients’ family members and loved ones, data now confirms what many chaplains already know: Proactive, enhanced spiritual care leads to better spiritual and psychological outcomes.

Sporadic and subjective: How Pennsylvania’s religious ‘garb ban’ has impacted teachers
WHYY: While about two dozen other states once had garb bans, Pennsylvania is the only one with a law still on the books.

For strictly observant Jews in Brooklyn, the Sabbath expands*
The New York Times: For the first time, an exception to the prohibition against “carrying” on the day of rest includes most of the borough, allowing, among other things, children to be pushed in strollers.

A prison cell transfigured*
The Christian Century: While teaching in a prison, I got to know a gardener.

The Spark

Rare Titanic underwater footage revealed
Rare video footage showing the wreck of the Titanic ocean liner on the floor of the Atlantic has been released more than a century after the ship hit an iceberg and sunk, says CNN.

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