INTERDISCIPLINARY
Introduction to Islam CANCELLED
Girdner
MGI
Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
INTD-GC 105
How do Muslims understand Muhammad and the Qur'an? What are their relationships to other traditions,
jihad, women's rights and religious politics? Islam not only figures prominently in contemporary geopolitics, but also in the religious and cultural history of Judaism. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. The relationships of Jews and Muslims have run the gamut from the golden age of Spain to war in the Middle East. With the goal of informed engagement of such questions, this course will introduce Islam. Students will study its major beliefs, practices, divisions and institutions. Through a survey of select theological, philosophical, mystical and other traditions, students will gain literacy in both the historical and the contemporary manifestations of Islam.
JEWISH THOUGHT and PHILOSOPHY
We live in a time of unprecedented debate about a guiding vision for Jewish life. Should the key themes be national, religious, mystical, ethical or some combination thereof? The courses in Jewish Thought and Philosophy are your forum for discovering the ideas and concepts that have animated Jews in the past and continue to compete for our allegiance. Seize the opportunity to delve into the sources of the Jewish conversation, and chart your own path into the Jewish future.
In Search of an American Jewish Philosophy: Mordecai Kaplan and the Pragmatic Tradition
Bernstein
MGI
Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
JTHT-GC 106
This course goes in search of a contemporary American Jewish philosophy in the pragmatic tradition of Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Dewey. In this context, students will plumb the depths of several works by American Jewish thinker, Mordecai Kaplan (1881–1983)—including his 1937 classic,
The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion—and pursue a fateful question: Did Kaplan a singularly "pragmatic" figure among twentieth–century Jewish philosophers, provide a new, viable and democratic approach to being Jewish
and American?
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JEWISH CULTURAL HISTORY
Cultural history is your window into the lived reality of the Jewish past. These courses make generous use of memoir, biography and other documentary evidence of popular sentiment and worldview. What was it like to walk the streets of early modern Europe or Jerusalem in late antiquity? How did the great rabbis of the late Middle Ages live at home, parent their children, earn their livelihood?
Jews of Christian Iberia CANCELLED
Gitlitz
MGI
Thursday, 7:00–9:15 p.m.
HIST-GC 123
This course will deal with Spain's Jews and their saga, and will focus on their fate under Christian sovereignty. Discussion will include the Roman and Visigoth experience; the Golden Age under Islam; the shift of power to the Christian north and the growth of anti-Semitism; pogroms, expulsions, willing and forced conversions; the coming of the Inquisition, its procedures, and some case studies; the Portuguese experience and the shrinking remnant crypto-Jewish community.
Jews and Christians in the Second Century
Cohen
MGI
Monday, 7:00–9:45 p.m.
HIST-GC 124
Note: Noncredit registrations only.
The second century CE was the great age of self-definition for both Jews and Christians. On the Jewish side, the second century witnessed the emergence of the Rabbis and of Rabbinic Judaism; the Mishnah, the first Rabbinic book, was composed in the land of Israel in the second century, thus setting the agenda for the Talmudim and all rabbinical literature to follow. On the Christian side, the second century witnessed the separation of Christians from Jews and the emergence of Christian institutions and society; it also witnessed the first great struggle in Christianity between "orthodoxy" and "heresy," a struggle that resulted in the formation of the Christian canon (the New Testament). In this course students will look at texts that derive from the Jewish-Christian debates of this period and that shed light on the process of Jewish and Christian self-definition. Main texts to be considered include
Epistle of Barnabas; Justin Martyr,
Dialogue with Trypho; Melito of Sardis,
On Pascha; and various rabbinical texts.
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BIBLICAL AND RABBINIC TEXT INTERPRETATION
In Me'ah, you sampled selections from
Mishnah, from the Bible, the Talmud and their medieval commentators—the foundational books of Jewish study. Now is your opportunity to sit and grapple with these and other classical Jewish texts, uncover their meaning and join the centuries-old discussions initiated by rabbis at the beginning of the first millennium.
Rashi and His School: The First Revolution in Bible Interpretation
Cohn
MGI
Monday, 9:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
BIBLE-GC 123
While many Bible commentaries written long after Rashi have become dated, Rashi's commentary still has a hold over the Jewish imagination. What is it that made this commentary, written over a millennium ago, into a classic? And how can it continue to be useful even when critical biblical scholarship, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and modern sensibilities, have taken our understanding of the Bible so far beyond Rashi and the medievals? Students will use Rashi's Torah commentary, with selections primarily from Genesis and Exodus, to grasp the essence of Rashi's genius as a Bible commentator. The course will examine how Rashi's commentary has served both as a primer for children beginning their studies, and as a focus for advanced scholars. Students will also take note of the radical aspects of Rashi's commentary, showing how it started a revolution in the study of the Bible by freeing scholars from the constraints of traditional interpretations. The course will place Rashi's Torah commentary into the context of his complete oeuvre, his times (the First Crusade), and the world of midrash, which he both supplanted and invigorated
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HEBREW LANGUAGE
The textbooks
Understanding Hebrew I and
II (Behrman House) are based on the pioneering
Shlabim curriculum and form an integral part of the Hebrew language learning experience. Tested with adult learners for almost a decade, this curriculum has been used to teach hundreds of adults to read classical Jewish texts in Hebrew. Instructors introduce words and phrases from classical Hebrew texts in the first semester, adding more and longer texts as the program progresses. Students enrolling in Hebrew courses should understand that learning Hebrew is demanding. To make progress in these fast-paced courses, students will need to spend a minimum of four hours each week outside the classroom for exercises and lesson reviews.
Understanding Hebrew Texts: Fundamentals for Beginners I
Davis
MGI; 2 semesters; 6 credits
Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
HEBRW-GC 102
This course is designed for those with no prior knowledge of Hebrew who want to engage in the study of classical Jewish texts—such as the
Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), the siddur (prayer book), and classic rabbinical and Hasidic texts—in the original Hebrew. Students will begin learning basic Hebrew grammar and vocabulary needed to read such texts. The pace of the course will be brisk and a significant investment of study time outside the classroom will be expected. The 20-session, yearlong course begins with an introduction to Hebrew grammar and the development of vocabulary. There will be some in-class conversation in Hebrew, but the emphasis will be on developing reading comprehension skills.
Understanding Hebrew Texts: Fundamentals for Beginners II
Davis
MGI; 2 semesters; 6 credits
Wednesday, 11:15 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
HEBRW-GC 202
Prerequisite: Students considering this course must complete the Hebrew language placement evaluation form.
This course, the second year of the
Understanding Hebrew Texts sequence, will enable students to acquire additional vocabulary and expand their knowledge of Hebrew grammar with readings of increasing complexity. Selections from classical texts will also be introduced to familiarize students with both the shared and distinctive features of Hebrew in its different periods. The pace of the course will be brisk and a significant investment of time in home study will be expected.
Understanding Hebrew Texts: Fundamentals for Beginners III
Davis
MGI; 2 semesters; 6 credits
Wednesday, 6:30–9:15 p.m.
HEBRW-GC 302
Prerequisite: Students considering this course must complete the Hebrew language placement evaluation form.
This course is the third year of the Understanding Hebrew Texts sequence. After completing volume 3 of the Shlabim textbook series, students will read selections from classical texts. Students will apply and extend their knowledge of Hebrew grammar to these texts and build their vocabulary, with the goal of enhancing their ability to independently read and understand Jewish texts in Hebrew. Wherever possible, connections will be made to Hebrew passages with which students are familiar from other contexts. The pace of the course will be brisk and a significant investment of time outside the classroom will be expected.
Sources: Readings in Hebrew
Davis
MGI; 2 semesters; 6 credits
Wednesday, 3:00–5:45 p.m.
HEBRW-GC 402
Prerequisite: Understanding Hebrew Texts: Fundamentals for Beginners III
or equivalent background.
This course will focus on the reading of Hebrew texts from a selection of sources including the Bible, Mishnah, Midrash, Hasidic tales and modern Hebrew short stories. The anthology of readings will be drawn from the Book of Genesis, Ethics of the Fathers, works of Maimonides, Martin Buber’s
Tales of the Hasidim, and the writings of the modern Hebrew renaissance. Grammatical concepts will be fully integrated into this literature-oriented course.
SPRING 2008
The Place of Nature in the Bible
E. Bernstein
MGI
Wednesday, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
15 sessions; begins January 30
INTD-GC 107
In light of climate change and a host of environmental problems, many are turning to religious traditions in search of a spiritual and ethical framework by which to view the natural world and address these and other related issues. This course addresses such questions as: What is our place in nature—are we lords, servants, stewards, co-creatures? What is the meaning of “dominion” (Genesis 1:28)? Does human “sin” yield environmental consequences? Does the Bible offer an inherent ecological theology? If so, why are many Jews unaware of it? By closely reading selections of biblical texts, including the Creation stories, Noah, other tales from Genesis, Job, Song of Songs, Psalms and Prophets, students will determine how asking new questions of the text can reveal new readings.
The Struggle for Israel's Identity CANCELLED
Karlinsky
MGI
Monday, 7:00–9:45 p.m.
10 sessions; begins January 28
INTD-GC 150
This course will explore and analyze Israel’s ongoing attempts to define and redefine its identity in the face of fundamental changes that have transformed Israeli society since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Since that time, Israel's statesmanship and culture have been shaped by the country's search for its identity. The course will have three main areas of focus: a) The struggle between the universalistic-humanistic ideals, such as equality or self-determination, and the particular ideals, such as Jewish peoplehood; b) Israel’s security within a volatile Middle Eastern region; and c) Ethnic and national tensions within the multicultural fabric of Israeli society. In addition to current historical texts, students will have the opportunity to explore a broad array of genres and modes of expression, including literature, visual art, film and television documentaries relating to the topic.
Mordecai Kaplan and Contemporary Jewish Thought: The Pragmatic Legacy
A. Bernstein
MGI
Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
10 sessions; begins March 6
JTHT-GC 107
This course goes in search of a contemporary American Jewish philosophy in the pragmatic tradition of Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. In this context, students will explore the work of influential American Jewish thinker, Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983), and question his place within a larger post-World War II American conversation about theology, culture, and politics. Key philosophers in this conversation include Richard Rorty, Jeffrey Stout and Charles Taylor. The course will focus special attention on Kaplan's successors in Jewish thought and American philosophy, and is appropriate both for students who have taken JTHT-GC 106,
In Search of an American
Jewish Philosophy: Mordecai Kaplan and the Pragmatic Tradition, as well as those who have not. At the heart of this course are two questions: Who, among American philosophers, has continued to pursue Kaplan's questions and what are the distinctive implications for today's American Jews?
The Passover Haggadah, Text, Context and Subtext
Cohn
MGI
Monday, 9:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
10 sessions; begins February 11
RAB-GC 702
The Passover Haggadah accompanies the most beloved of all Jewish rituals, the Seder. Yet the Haggadah text itself can seem confusing and remote. In order to gain a more meaningful understanding, students will study the text of the Haggadah both as a coherent narrative and as the sum of many subnarratives. The course will probe the multiple sources of the Haggadah and will pay particularly close attention to the narrative found in
Mishnah Pesachim, Chapter 10. To enhance understanding of the
Mishnah, students will study a parallel narrative in the
Tosefta, as well as some of the modifications and enhancements of the
Mishnah narrative found in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. Additional topics will include the relationship of the Haggadah to early Christianity and to the ancient Greek symposium, efforts to create modern versions of the Haggadah, and the art of the Haggadah.
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