| Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice Michael L. Satlow |
Me’ah
Rabbinics Syllabus
You should purchase three books for this class:
1. Michael Satlow, Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice (Columbia University Press,
2006; ISBN: 0231134894)
2. Barry Holtz, ed., Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts (Simon and
Schuster reprint edition, 1986, ISBN: 0671605968)
3. Shalom Spiegel, The Last Trial (reprint Jewish Lights, 1993, ISBN: 187904529X)
4. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005; ISBN: 0374529752)
You should also purchase the Hoveret. All readings from the Hoveret are marked with a (H)
CLASS 1: Jewish History at the End of the Second Temple Period
Objectives:
1. Sketch the history of the Jews throughout the Second Temple period;
2. Discuss “Hellenism,” and its importance to Jewish history;
3. Demonstrate the emerging importance of the Torah and the canonization of the Hebrew
Bible to the Jews of the Second Temple period;
4. Discuss Jewish sectarianism, including the Dead Sea community
Reading:
Creating Judaism: The most direct and relevant reading is chapter 3, although you might want to
look over the introduction for an discussion of my approach and chapter 2 for a review of issues
relating to the Bible
CLASS 2: The Rabbis: Historical Introduction
Objectives:
1. Introduce the Rabbis: Who are they?
2. Survey contemporary non-rabbinic forms of authority and discuss the extent of rabbinic
authority
3. Discuss rabbinic self-conceptions
Reading:
Creating Judaism, chapter 4
CLASS 3: Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud
Objectives:
1. Define these three different genres of rabbinic literature;
2. Discuss the functions and authority of these texts;
3. To illustrate some of the distinctive characteristics of literary forms
Reading:
1. Robert Goldenberg, “Talmud,” in Back to the Sources, pp. 129-75
2. Barry Holtz, “Midrash,” in Back to the Sources, pp. 177-211 (optional)
CLASS 4: The Last Trial
Objectives:
1. To explore how the rabbis approached biblical narrative through one exemplary example
Reading:
S. Spiegel, The Last Trial
CLASS 5: Rabbinic Concepts: God and Torah
Objectives:
1. To introduce what “theology” means in the context of rabbinic literature;
2. To examine some rabbinic approaches to God and Torah
Reading:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 5
2. Sifre Deuteronomy, Pisqa 41 (H; pp. 1-3)
CLASS 6: Rabbinic Concepts: Theodicy and Afterlife
Objectives:
1. To explore rabbinic understandings of theodicy, messianism, and afterlife
Reading:
1. David Hartman, “Suffering,”, in Arthur A. Cohen and Paul Mendes Fohr, eds. Contemporary
Jewish Religious Thought, pp. 939-46 (H; pp. 5-8)
2. Gershom Scholem, “Toward an Understanding of the Messianic Idea in Judaism,” The Messianic
Idea in Judaism, pp. 1-36 (H; pp. 19-37)
CLASS 7: Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Objectives:
1. To examine rabbinic understandings of and attitudes toward women, gender, and sexuality
Readings:
To be announced and distributed
CLASS 8: Shabbat
Objectives:
1. To introduce the rabbinic notion of the commandments, or “mitzvot”;
2. To discuss the problems of the “meaning” of the commandments;
3. To read and discuss one modern attempt, based on rabbinic sources, to understand
Shabbat
Readings:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 6
2. Heschel, The Sabbath
CLASS 9: Lifecycle
Objectives:
1. To survey the lifecycle rituals known to and formed by the rabbis;
2. To discuss rabbinic understandings of marriage
Readings:
Judith Hauptman, “Marriage,” in Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman's Voice, pp. 60-76 (H; pp. 9-17);
with additional reading to be announced
CLASS 10: Toward the Middle Ages
Objectives:
1. To discuss some different modes of rabbinic piety: Talmud Torah; mitzvot; worship;
mysticism; “good deeds”
2. To discuss the piety of contemporary non-rabbinic Jews and their synagogues
Reading:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 7
Rabbinics Syllabus
You should purchase three books for this class:
1. Michael Satlow, Creating Judaism: History, Tradition, Practice (Columbia University Press,
2006; ISBN: 0231134894)
2. Barry Holtz, ed., Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts (Simon and
Schuster reprint edition, 1986, ISBN: 0671605968)
3. Shalom Spiegel, The Last Trial (reprint Jewish Lights, 1993, ISBN: 187904529X)
4. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005; ISBN: 0374529752)
You should also purchase the Hoveret. All readings from the Hoveret are marked with a (H)
CLASS 1: Jewish History at the End of the Second Temple Period
Objectives:
1. Sketch the history of the Jews throughout the Second Temple period;
2. Discuss “Hellenism,” and its importance to Jewish history;
3. Demonstrate the emerging importance of the Torah and the canonization of the Hebrew
Bible to the Jews of the Second Temple period;
4. Discuss Jewish sectarianism, including the Dead Sea community
Reading:
Creating Judaism: The most direct and relevant reading is chapter 3, although you might want to
look over the introduction for an discussion of my approach and chapter 2 for a review of issues
relating to the Bible
CLASS 2: The Rabbis: Historical Introduction
Objectives:
1. Introduce the Rabbis: Who are they?
2. Survey contemporary non-rabbinic forms of authority and discuss the extent of rabbinic
authority
3. Discuss rabbinic self-conceptions
Reading:
Creating Judaism, chapter 4
CLASS 3: Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud
Objectives:
1. Define these three different genres of rabbinic literature;
2. Discuss the functions and authority of these texts;
3. To illustrate some of the distinctive characteristics of literary forms
Reading:
1. Robert Goldenberg, “Talmud,” in Back to the Sources, pp. 129-75
2. Barry Holtz, “Midrash,” in Back to the Sources, pp. 177-211 (optional)
CLASS 4: The Last Trial
Objectives:
1. To explore how the rabbis approached biblical narrative through one exemplary example
Reading:
S. Spiegel, The Last Trial
CLASS 5: Rabbinic Concepts: God and Torah
Objectives:
1. To introduce what “theology” means in the context of rabbinic literature;
2. To examine some rabbinic approaches to God and Torah
Reading:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 5
2. Sifre Deuteronomy, Pisqa 41 (H; pp. 1-3)
CLASS 6: Rabbinic Concepts: Theodicy and Afterlife
Objectives:
1. To explore rabbinic understandings of theodicy, messianism, and afterlife
Reading:
1. David Hartman, “Suffering,”, in Arthur A. Cohen and Paul Mendes Fohr, eds. Contemporary
Jewish Religious Thought, pp. 939-46 (H; pp. 5-8)
2. Gershom Scholem, “Toward an Understanding of the Messianic Idea in Judaism,” The Messianic
Idea in Judaism, pp. 1-36 (H; pp. 19-37)
CLASS 7: Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Objectives:
1. To examine rabbinic understandings of and attitudes toward women, gender, and sexuality
Readings:
To be announced and distributed
CLASS 8: Shabbat
Objectives:
1. To introduce the rabbinic notion of the commandments, or “mitzvot”;
2. To discuss the problems of the “meaning” of the commandments;
3. To read and discuss one modern attempt, based on rabbinic sources, to understand
Shabbat
Readings:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 6
2. Heschel, The Sabbath
CLASS 9: Lifecycle
Objectives:
1. To survey the lifecycle rituals known to and formed by the rabbis;
2. To discuss rabbinic understandings of marriage
Readings:
Judith Hauptman, “Marriage,” in Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman's Voice, pp. 60-76 (H; pp. 9-17);
with additional reading to be announced
CLASS 10: Toward the Middle Ages
Objectives:
1. To discuss some different modes of rabbinic piety: Talmud Torah; mitzvot; worship;
mysticism; “good deeds”
2. To discuss the piety of contemporary non-rabbinic Jews and their synagogues
Reading:
1. Creating Judaism, chapter 7
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