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The following syllabus was used for an Introduction Judaism taught at Lawrence University in Fall 2013. The class met twice a week, for a session of 110 mins. with a break in the middle. The course follows a historical paradigm, dividing the history of Judaism into three major periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages and Modern. Each period is characterized by major figures, texts, regions and languages used. The paradigm is appended at the end of the syllabus. Students are expected to know basic terms of Judaism, and can observe their progress through a check-off sheet that is distributed in the first class, and is used throughout the course. The final exam consists of providing definitions to terms from this sheet, choosing three from each period, and additional two terms related to Jewish practice. The check-off sheet is also appended to this document. Jewish practice is not taught in a critical-scholarly mode as the rest of the course. It is presented to students through a series of presentations, so that students are familiar with holidays, rituals and artifacts. In short, it was my intention to avoid a common result of academic study, in which students can talk about Franz Rosenzweigs philosophy, but have no idea what a shofar looks like, and what it is used for. The presentations on Jewish practice are divided into three categories: daily life, Jewish calendar, cycle of life. The four books of the course are not read in full, and are intended to provide students with stepping stones to topics that cannot be covered in class. Back to the Sources serves as the backbone of the course, but since it follows canonical/orthodox Judaism it omits reference to Second Temple Judaism and modern advances; Schiffmans Texts and Traditions includes more rabbinic texts than can be covered in a brief introduction, and provides students with a handy guide to further learn of rabbinic literature; Scheindlins Short History includes an episode on the Holocaust that is not studied, since it is part of Jewish history but not part of Jewish religion (I explain this point more elaborately on my blog); and Batnitzkys chapter on the revival of Hebrew
literature is a significant contribution that is not studied in the course, for similar reasons. My conclusion with Zionism and Kaplan in the final week suggests the modern secularization of Judaism, and its transformation into something that is more than a religion. Students are able to question my own hypothesis through Batnitzkys opposite view that it is only modernity that saw its transformation into a religion. Optional readings provide advanced students who are interested in learning more some suggestions from the classic studies of the field. They are purposefully not uploaded to Moodle but kept on the library reserves shelf. Students who are interested in the title therefore need to go to the library and acquaint themselves with the volume of the suggested optional reading. It is my expectation that most students will not consult the optional reading, and thus the Introduction is planned as a multi-layer course: a brief survey for the educated layperson who wishes to know more about Judaism; an introduction to department majors who will use this course as an initial building block in their study of Judaism, and an important stepping stone to someone who wishes to turn Judaism into his major focus of study.
Books Raymond P. Scheindlin. A Short History of the Jewish People. From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Lawrence H. Schiffman, ed. Texts and Traditions. A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Hoboken, NJ: Ktav, 1998. Barry Holtz, ed. Back to the Sources. Reading the Classic Jewish Texts. New York: Summit Books, 1984. Leora Batnitzky. How Judaism Became a Religion. An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2011. (henceforth, books are referred to by name of author only)
Instructions This course will provide a broad view of Judaism as a religion and an ethnic group, following a predominantly historical approach. As an attempt at being comprehensive, brief attention will be given to the Jewish life cycle and customs. Students will become familiar with the Jewish canon, major figures and basic terms necessary for the understanding of Judaism. Textbook readings are required before class unless marked with a star (*). Star (*): does not denote reading as optional, but rather that class will repeat things in the textbook. It is less urgent, but final exam will assume acquaintance with star-marked readings. Choose one: texts with choice are provided as a compromise between the breadth of material and the limited time. Obviously, anything beyond the choice is optional and if students have time, they are encouraged to read more. Students will be wise to choose based on interest and not according to number of pages.
Assignments - Students are expected to submit once a week a written response to the reading (9 responses in total). No research is required for the response. The response should articulate an understanding of a passage, and preferably offer a critique or raise a question which the reading does not satisfy (suggested size: 12 pages; required minimum: 300 words, excluding block quotes, titles, bibliography, etc.). Submissions will be accepted on any of the required (or optional) reading, either on Tuesdays or on Thursdays, as long as they are submitted before class. I would recommend students take advantage of the long break between Thursday and Tuesday to submit comments, but those who fail to do so, are urged to submit a response by 9:00am on Thursday, since otherwise that week will be lost, and affect their grade. Electronic submission is preferred (aryeh.amihay@lawrence.edu or through Moodle). Hard-copy submissions accepted, under following conditions: typed or legible handwriting, one sided, margins and double-spaced. - Final exam will be designed to test students on the list of terms (Check-Off Sheet). Students can make sure it is filled on the last week, but will be better prepared, if they refer to it every week. Grading: 10% each assignment (x8= 80%, lowest graded response discarded, unless 0) 20% final exam
Class 1 (Sep. 17) Introduction * Scheindlin, viii-xiii * Batnitzky, 1-7 Class 2 (Sep. 19) Hebrew Bible All biblical selections are either in Schiffman or on Moodle. Students are free to use other translations available to them (the entire HB is available in English online)
Creation and the Garden: Gn 1-3 (read all) Abraham: Gn 12, 22 (choose one. 12 is the first encounter of Abraham and God, 22 is the Binding of Isaac) Moses: Ex 2-4 (rise of Moses), 32 (Golden Calf); Num 12 (the distinctiveness of Moses) (choose one) The Law: Ex 20-23 (Read Ten Commandments in Ex 20, then choose one chapter of the Covenant Code) Deuteronomic reform: Dt 5, 30; 2 Sam 7; 1 Ki 11-12; 2 Ki 22-23 (choose one book) Monotheism and worship: Ex 34:1-8; Dt 4; (choose one) Hosea 6; Ezek 18; Isa 45; (choose one) Ps 29, 51, 82, 115 (choose one)
* Scheindlin, 1-23. Optional: - Machinist, The Question of Distinctiveness in Ancient Israel in Essential Papers on Israel and the Ancient Near East (reserves) 2
Amihay, Intro to Judaism-RLST 225
Class 3 (Sep. 24) Second Temple 1: Jews and Others Scheindlin, 25-49 (sidebars on Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls are not essential for class, will be helpful for your review towards the exam) Josephus, on Alexander and the Jews (Schiffman, 130-133) Letter of Aristeas (Schiffman, 211-218) The Maccabean Revolt (Schiffman, 151-163) Philo, Embassy to Gaius (Schiffman, 203-206) Class 4 (Sep. 26) Second Temple 2: Jews among themselves Choose Philo or Josephus: Philo (Schiffman, 220-230) / Josephus (Schiffman, 479-486, 206-211) Apocrypha (Choose one): Tobit, or Susannah, or Sirach (Ben Sira) Schiffman, 308-333 Pseudepigrapha (choose one): Enochs vision (Schiffman, 336-340) or Jubilees (342-352) or Testament of Levi (352-354) Dead Sea Scrolls: Josephus on the Essenes (Schiffman, 276-281) 1QS II, VI-VII (Schiffman, 286 from And the priests shall bless all the men of Gods lot until first line in 288; then 289, from they shall eat together to bottom of 291) 4QMMT (Schiffman, 363-365) Optional: Stone, Ancient Judaism: New Visions and Views, 59-89 (reserves). Class 5 (Oct. 1) Rabbinic Literature 1: Aggadah and Midrash - Holtz, 177-204 - Schiffman, 508-514, 523-528 Optional: Rubenstein, Stories of the Babylonian Talmud, 1-20 (reserves). Class 6 (Oct. 3) Rabbinic Literature 2: Halakhah, the Creation of Jewish Law - Holtz, 129-172 - Schiffman, 531-532, 544-545, 627-638, 690-698 - *Scheindlin, 51-69 3
Amihay, Intro to Judaism-RLST 225
Class 7 (Oct. 8) Medieval Philosophers 1: Rasag and Judah Halevi - Scheindlin, 71-95 (sidebars not essential for class, etc.) - Holtz, 261-272, 288-292 - Saadia Gaon, Book of Beliefs and Opinions Choose one: read either Roots of Knowledge or The Unity of the Creator (on Moodle) - Judah Halevi, The Kuzari Read the introduction, then choose one: read either Ten Axioms on God and Creation, or The Difference between Judaism and Other Abrahamic Religions (on Moodle) Class 8 (Oct. 10) Medieval Philosophers 2: Maimonides - Holtz, 272-285, 295-299 - Maimonides, 13 Principles of Faith (on Moodle) - Maimonides, selections from Guide of the Perplexed (on Moodle): Read Part I: The Negative Attributes of God Choose one of the following: Part I: Explanation of Gn 3:5; Part II: Creation and Eternity; Part III: Four Theories of Divine Providence Class 9 (Oct. 15) The Medieval Exegetes - Scheindlin, 112-121 (skip sidebar) - Holtz, 212-259 Class 10 (Oct. 17) Jewish Mysticism in the 13th century: The Zohar + Ashkenaz - Schiffman, 735-737 (optional: 738-748) - Holtz, 305-340 (cont. on next page) - Read one article on Sefer Hasidim, either Alexander, Folktales in Sefer Hasidim or Baskin, The Problem of Women in Sefer Hasidim * (revisit Scheindlin, 112-121, with sidebar) Zohar, Selections (on Moodle): Read: The Conduct of the World through the Sefirot + Soul and Body Choose one: En sof and Ayin (eternity and nothingness); Sefirot; The Other Side (source of evil); The Three Parts of the Soul; Sexual Intercourse in the Zohar 4
Amihay, Intro to Judaism-RLST 225
Class 11 (Oct. 22) 16th Century Safed: Mysticism and Law (Lurianic Kabbalah + Karo) - Scheindlin, 123-138 (pay special attention to sidebar on Safed) - Holtz, 340-352 - Satlow, Creating Judaism, 229-232, 243-249 (on Moodle) Optional: Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 244-286 (reserves)
Reading Period, no class (Oct. 24) Class 12 (Oct. 29) Hasidism: Historical aspects - Scheindlin, 173-184 (up until new paragraph, Zionism, or a combination etc.; read sidebars this time!) - Holtz, 361-362, 386-399 Optional: Ettinger, The Hasidic Movement Reality and Ideals, in Essential Papers on Hasidism (reserves)
Class 13 (Oct. 31) Hasidism: Literary aspects
- *Holtz, 363-386 - Selections of the Shivhei ha-Besht (In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov) (on Moodle) - Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, The Seven Beggars (on Moodle) - Selection of Tales (on Moodle)
Class 14 (Nov. 5) Early Modern Judaism: Moses Mendelssohn and the Enlightenment
- Scheindlin, 149-169 (sidebars are not essential) - Batnitzky, 13-28 - Mendelssohn, Jerusalem, 97-102 (on Moodle) Optional: Katz, Tradition and Crisis, 260-274 (reserves)
- Batnitzky, 52-59, 73-87 - Rosenzweig, Star of Redemption, 380-386, 395-397 (on Moodle) - Cohen, Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, read either Revelation or Attributes of Action (on Moodle)
Class 16 (Nov. 12) German Jewry: Reform Movement and the Rise of Denominations
- Batnitzky, 32-49 -Geiger, Judaism and Its History, 24-38 - Selections of Freehof, Reform Responsa (on Moodle)
Class 17 (Nov. 14) Orthodoxy: (Non)-Traditional Responses to Modernity
- Batnitzky, 40-43, 59-64, 122-127 - Luzatto, Mesillat Yesharim, choose one: The Manner of Acquiring Fear of Sin; The Trait of Zeal or Particulars of the Trait of Cleanliness (on Moodle) Class 18 (Nov. 19) Zionism: Breaking away from Judaism as Religion * Scheindlin, 217-233 (obligatory if you lack historical knowledge of the formation of the State of Israel) - Batnitzky, 147-162, 64-68, 95-100 - Herzl, Jewish State, 85-91 (The Jewish Question), then read either 95-107 (The Jewish Company) or 141-147 (Society of Jews and Jewish State). Choose two of the following Zionist thinkers: Ben-Yehudah; Ahad Ha-Am; Klatzkin; Gordon, Katzenelson; Kook; Buber; Jabotinsky (on Moodle) Class 19 (Nov. 21) Judaism in the United States and Contemporary Judaism
- Batnitzky, 166-173, 183-191 - Esther Schor, Freedom Riders and Leonard Getz, Curating Assimilation, Jewish Review of Books Optional: Sarna, American Judaism, 356-375 6
Amihay, Intro to Judaism-RLST 225
Introduction to Judaism
Modern Period Hasidism The Enlightenment Orthodoxy Reform Judaism Zionism Conservative Judaism
Period
Passages
People Ancient Period Abraham Moses Aaron David Solomon Josiah Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Ezra
Judas Maccabeus (2 c. BCE) Herod (73 BCE 4 BCE)
Teacher of Righteousness Alexander Jannaeus (103 BCE 76 BCE) [Jesus of Nazareth]
Place
Parlance
Mostly Hebrew, a bit of Aramaic (Gn 31:47; Jer 10:11; Dan 2:4-7:28; Ez 4:8-6:18, 7:12-26) Hebrew (Jub, Sirach; 1 Macc) Aramaic (Tobit, 1 Enoch) Greek (2 Macc; Letter of Aristeas; all writings by Philo and Josephus)
Apocrypha (e.g.
Judea (incl.
Jerusalem, Modiin, Cesarea, Qumran; Sepphoris, Massada)
Bar Kokhba (2 c. CE) Hillel and Shammay R. Yohanan b. Zakai R. Aqiba and Rabbi Ishmael R. Shimon b. Yohay R. Judah ha-Nasi R. Yohanan and Resh Laqish Rava and Abaye R. Ashi and Ravina
Rabbinic Judaism
3
Period / Project Passages People Middle Ages (+ renaissance) Beliefs & Opinons Kuzari Duties of the Heart Guide of the Perplexed Epistle to Yemen Mishneh Torah Saadiah Gaon (882-942) Judah Halevi (1075-1141) Bahya ibn Paquda (1080-1120) Maimonides (1135-1204) Egypt, Babylon, Palestine, Spain, Germany Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew Place Parlance
Sefer Hasidim
Judah the Hasid (of Regensburg) (1140-1217) Joseph Karo (1488-1575) Rashi
(1040-1105)
Shulan Arukh
Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic
(1080-1160)
Commentators
(1089-1164)
Radak \ Kimchi
(1160-1235)
Nahmanides
(1194-1270)
Gersonides
(1288-1344)
(1437-1508) Joseph Gikatilla (1248-1305) Moses de Len (1250-1305) Elijah de Vidas (1518-1592) Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) Isaac Luria/Ha-Ari (1534-1572) Hayyim Vital (1543-1620) Maharal of Prague (1520-1609) [Shabbatai Zvi (1626-1676)]
Into to Judaism - Overview
Aramaic, Hebrew
Mystics
Reshit Hokhma Pardes Rimonim Etz Chayim
4
Period / Project Passages People Modern Period Tractatus TheologicoPoliticus Words of Peace and Truth [Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)] Naphtali Herz Wessely (1725-1805) Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) Salomon Maimon (1753-1800) Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) Dov Ber of Mezeritch (1700-1772) [The Vilna Gaon The Tanya
(1720-1797) opponent]
Place
Parlance
[Netherlands,] Germany
Enlightenment
(and its Children)
Jerusalem The Autobiography of Salomon Maimon Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism The Star of Redemption Shivhei ha-Besht Maggid Debarav leYa'akov
Eastern Europe
Yiddish, Hebrew
Hasidism
Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812) Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859)
5
Period / Project Passages People Modern Period (cont.) Mesillat Yesharim Guide for the Perplexed of the Time [Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) Nachman Krochmal (1785-1840)] Chatam Sofer (1762-1839) Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) Yisroel Salanter (1810-1883) Azriel Hildesheimer (1820-1899) Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) Chazon Ish (1878-1953) Joseph Ber Soloveitchik (1903-1993) Samuel Holdheim (1806-1860) Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) Hungary, Germany, United States, Palestine/ Israel Hebrew, German, Yiddish, English Place Parlance
Orthodoxy
German, English
Reform Judaism
6
Period / Project Passages People Modern Period (cont.) Rome and Jerusalem Auto-Emancipation Moshe Hess (1812-1875) Leon Pinsker (1821-1891) Edmond James de Rothschild (1845-1934) Ahad Haam (1856-1927) A. D. Gordon (1856-1922) Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858-1922) Theodor Herzl (1860-1904) Martin Buber (1878-1965) Ze'ev Jabotinsky (1880-1940) David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) Zecharias Frankel (1801-1875) Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) Eastern Europe, Germany, Palestine / Israel German, Yiddish, Russian, Hebrew Place Parlance
Zionism
English, Hebrew
Conservative Judaism
Judaism as a Civilization
Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983) [founder of Reconstructionist Judaism] Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972)
Instructions Make three copies of this list. Mark the first two in full. Submit one copy for next class (1-5-12). Keep another copy for yourself, so you will be able to assess your achievement from the first day in class, to the last. The third copy should be brought to each and every class, and marked know it whenever you have learned a term from the list (in class, or during reading in preparation for class). The course is completed when the chart is full. If you have reached the last day of class without marking all terms, you should notify the instructor at the beginning of the last class session, so that all may complete it. This sheet will also serve you in preparation for the final exam. It will be available on the courses website on Moodle, so you can make as many copies as you wish while you prepare for the exam. Legend (N) = Never Heard of it: A self-explanatory category. (H) = Heard of it: The term does not sound unfamiliar. Youve encountered it somewhere, but would not want to be asked to provide a definition for it. You have heard of the term, and are able to describe it in two or three sentences.
N
Aaron Abraham Abravanel, Don Isaac Ahad Ha-Am Amoraic Antiquities of the Jews Apocrypha R. Aqiba R. Ashi
H K
Chabad Circumcision Cohen, Hermann Conservative Judaism
H K
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Geiger, Abraham ___ ___ ___ Gershom b. Judah Gersonides Guide of the Perplexed Halakhah Halevi, Judah
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Hannukah Hasmonean Hasidism Havdalah Herod the Great Herzl, Theodor Hillel Hirsch, Samson Raphael
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Pseudepigrapha Purim
Qaddish Qumran
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Jerusalem Jewish Wars (Book) The Jewish State (Book) Josephus Josiahs reform Judah he-Hasid
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Second Temple Sefirot Shabbat Shofar Sholem Aleichem (pen-name) Shulhan Arukh
Maimonides Maccabeess Mendelssohn, Moses Mezuzah Midrash Mishnah Mishneh Torah Mitzvah Moses
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Synagogue
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Passover Philo
Zionism Zohar