Survey Course on the Rabbinic Period of Jewish History: Thursday Evenings Online via Zoom

Program: Hebrew College Me’ah Classic
Instructor: Rabbi Shayna Rhodes (Spring) (Read Bio)
Dates: 11 Thursdays, Winter/Spring 2024: 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15, 2/29, 3/7, 3/14, 3/21, 3/28, 4/4 & 4/11
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Course fee: $425, financial aid is available
Location: Online via Zoom
Hosted by: Hebrew College

The Rabbinic Period — the millennium from the Second Temple to the completion of the Babylonian Talmud (500 BCE to 600 CE) — refers to a time when new Jewish leaders, sages and rabbis emerged and developed rich texts of their own. Some of those texts took the form of extensive commentary about the earlier world of biblical Israel. During this seminal period, rabbinic scholars created a legal system which led to a Jewish belief system that has informed and ordered Jewish community, culture, and behavior for the past millennia.

What is the relationship between God and human beings?
How do we understand Jewish history and Jewish ethics?
What is the role of ritual, holy days and life-cycle events?

Readings illustrate the development of the rabbinic mindset and talmudic beliefs. As with the Hebrew Bible sequence, you’ll first cover selected historical, textual, and conceptual areas, then examine core concepts in conjunction with Bible study to illustrate how beliefs and practices evolved over time.

NOTE: This course is part of our Me’ah Classic program that we are opening to all who wish to learn about the Hebrew Bible. We hope you will enjoy taking this course and then register for the other sections of Me’ah Classic.

Please contact meah@hebrewcollege.edu for more information.