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INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM
Hebrew Studies 211
Prof. Jonathan
Schofer
Jewish Studies 211 1352 Van Hise Hall
Religious Studies 211 Tel: 263-2835
Fall 2004 Email: jwschofer@wisc.edu
TTh 1:00-2:15 PM plus discussion sections Office Hours: Tuesday 4:00-5:00
B10 Ingraham Thursday 11:30-12:30
and by appt.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course offers a general introduction to Judaism. For the first part of the semester, we will examine biblical and classical rabbinic sources concerning worship, holidays, and ideals for men and for women. Then, we will turn to medieval and modern transformations of these aspects of Judaism, as well as major historical events that have shaped contemporary Jewish life.
Through intense analysis of primary sources, we will see how elite Jews have defined sacred time (the rituals of the day, the week, and the year), sacred space (land, temple, synagogue, household), and religious leadership (prophet, priest, king, scribe, rabbi, philosopher, mystic, politician). Throughout the semester, we will focus on the dynamics of Judaism as a religious "tradition," in which innovation and change emerges through asserting continuity with the past.
REQUIRED TEXTS (books are available at both the University Bookstore and Underground Textbook Exchange)
1) A translation of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament (I will use the JPS version, which will be at the bookstore; if you have another scholarly version, you may use it, but check with your TA to make sure that it is appropriate)
2) Raymond Scheindlin, A Short History of the Jewish People
3) R. Nathan Goldberg, Passover Haggadah
4) Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
5) Course Reader (available at Bob's Copy Shop at University Square)
Please bring your readings and Bible to class every session!
Requirements and Grading
1. Regular class attendance of lectures and careful preparation of assigned texts are considered essential aspects of the course. In grading papers and texts, we will be particularly concerned to see that you are learning the material and concepts that are taught in class sessions. Prior learning of Jewish sources is not a substitute for doing the work required by this course.
2. Your email address with the university must be current, or you should inform me of an appropriate one to add to the class email list. On a regular basis, we will send out worksheets by email to help you through the readings. Generally speaking, the worksheets are your guidelines in preparing for lecture. The lectures will build upon the worksheets, and then the questions for papers and tests will be drawn from the worksheets, lectures, and discussion sections.
3. Participation in sections (10%) – Active involvement in discussion sections is highly important. Your teaching assistant will provide an additional syllabus with standards and guidelines.
4. Papers (15% each) – Two short papers, each not more than three typed, double-spaced pages, will be assigned during the semester. They are due at the beginning of class on Oct. 14 and Nov. 18. No email submissions will be accepted.
University policies on plagiarism and cheating can be found at http://www.wisc.edu/students/conduct01.htm.
This is the policy regarding late papers:
If you hand in a paper up to one class session late (Oct. 19 or Nov. 30), the grade will be reduced a full letter (A to B, AB to BC, etc.).
After that, and until the final exam, you can hand in late papers, but the grade will be reduced two full letters (A to C, AB to D, B to D, and lower grades will be an F).
5. Midterm (25%) – There will be one midterm, given in-class on Oct. 28. It may address any of the readings and class discussions to that point.
6. Final Exam (35%) – The take-home Final Exam will be cumulative and may address any of the readings and class discussions. It is due on Wednesday, December 22, at 4:00 PM. I will place a box for exams in Van Hise 1349, the Hebrew Department mail-room. No email submissions or late exams will be accepted.
7. You may sign up for honors credit. If you do so, it is your responsibility to arrange your honors work with the professor or one of the TA's. Students who sign up for honors credit and do not do the work will receive an Incomplete at the end of the semester.
(this grading scale is approximate and may be subject to change)
SCHEDULE
Introduction to Introduction to Judaism (Sept. 2, 7)
Chronology (Reader 1-3)
J.Z. Smith, "No Need to Travel to the Indies" (Reader 5-11)
J. Plaskow, "Standing Again at Sinai" (Reader 12-18)
G. Scholem, "Revelation and Tradition," pages 282-284 only (Reader 19-20)
-- reading the whole article is highly recommended (Reader 19-29)
Ancient Israel: Pre-History (Sept. 9, 14)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 1-23
Genesis 1-12, 15, 23
Exodus 1-4, 12-20
Judges 4-5
Sept. 16 -- no class – Rosh Ha-Shanah
Ancient Israel: Purity and the Temple (Sept. 21)
Leviticus 11
Deuteronomy 14
J. Milgrom, "The Biblical Diet Laws as an Ethical System" (Reader 33-40)
M. Douglas, "The Abominations of Leviticus" (Reader 41-49)
1 Kings 8
2 Kings 22-25
Ancient Israel: Second Temple Period (Sept. 23)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 24-49
Nehemiah 8
1 Maccabees 1-9 (Reader 53-64)
E. P. Sanders, Judaism: Practice and Belief, pages 112-118 (Reader 65-68)
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Intro (Sept 28)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 51-70
Matthew 1 (Reader 71-72)
Mishnah Aboth (The Fathers) 1:1-2:1 (Reader 73)
Genesis Rabbah, pages 1, 9-10 (Reader 74-76)
-- Read with Genesis 1:1, Proverbs 8
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Rabbinic Men and Women (Sept 30)
The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan, pages 32-38, 40-45, 78-82, 158-161, 169-171 (Reader 79-92)
J. Abrams, Women of the Talmud, pages 1-16, 65-73 (Reader 93-106)
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: The Daily Liturgy (Oct. 5, 7)
A. Mintz, "Prayer and the Prayerbook" (Reader 109-122)
the Shema and its Benedictions (Reader 123-125)
the Amidah / Tefillah / Shemoneh Esreh (Reader 125-126)
-- read these with Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 3
Mishnah Berakhoth 1, 2, 5:1 (Reader 127-128)
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Shabbat (Oct. 12)
Genesis 1-2:3
Exodus 20:8-11
Exodus 31:12-17
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Sabbath Liturgy (Reader 130)
Heschel, The Sabbath, pages 3-10 (Reader 131-135)
Mishnah Shabbat 1, 7:2 (Reader 137-138)
àPaper due Oct 14ß
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur (Oct. 14)
Celestial Delights, page 2 (Reader 141)
Exodus 23:14-17
Leviticus 23
Numbers 29
Deuteronomy 16
Mishnah Rosh Ha-Shanah 1 (Reader 143)
Mishnah Yoma 1, 8 (Reader 144-146)
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Passover (Oct. 19, 21)
Exodus 1-20 (note that much of this material was assigned earlier as well)
Leviticus 23
Numbers 9, 28
Deuteronomy 16
Goldberg, Passover Haggadah
Classical Rabbinic Judaism: Shavuot and Sukkot (Oct. 26)
Mishnha Sukkah 1, 5 (Reader 146-148)
R. Patai, "The Ritual of Water Libation" (Reader 149-163)
Midterm (Oct. 28)
Medieval Judaism: Philosophy and Poetry (Nov. 2, 4)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 71-123
Maimonides, "Thirteen Principles" (Reader 167-170)
Daniel ben Judah of Rome, "Exalted" (Yigdal) (Reader 171-172)
Scheindlin, Wine, Women, and Death, 34-51 (Reader 173-181)
Medieval Judaism: Kabbalah (Nov. 9, 11)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 123-149
L. Fine, "Kabbalistic Texts," in Holtz, Back to the Sources, pages 320-321 (Reader 185)
D. Matt, Zohar, pages 49-53, 207-214, 132, 257-258 (Reader 187-197)
L. Fine, Safed Spirituality, pages 27-29, 169-170, 61-80, 176-180 (Reader 198-215)
C. Weissler, Voices of the Matriarchs, pages 89-103 (Reader 217-224)
Modern Judaism: Movements (Nov. 16)
Scheindlin, A Short History, 149-197
Meyer, "Reform Platforms," in Response to Modernity, pages 387-394 (Reader 227-231)
Shema, in Gates of Prayer, pages 55-58 (Reader 232-233)
Knobel, "Reform Judaism and Kashrut," pages 488-493 (Reader 235-237)
Kaplan, Judaism as a Civilization, pages 173-185 (Reader 239-245)
àPaper due Nov. 18ß
Modern Judaism: Zionism and Israel (Nov. 18)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 217-234
A. Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea (on Theodore Hertzl), pages 200-231 (Reader 249-264)
Amos Oz, The Slopes of Lebanon pages 195-205, 209-218 (Reader 265-276)
Nov. 23 – Film
Nov. 25 – no class – Thanksgiving
Modern Judaism: The Holocaust (Nov. 30, Dec. 2)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 199-216
P. Levi, Survival in Auschwitz
Contemporary Judaism (Dec. 7, 9)
Scheindlin, A Short History, pages 235-260
Broner, Women's Haggadah, pages 1-7, 39-55 (Reader 279-291)
Contemporary Haggadot, selections (Reader 293-296)
Katz and Goldberg, "The Ritual Enactments of Indian-Jewish Identity of the Cochin Jews," pages 15-39 (Reader 297-309)
Conclusion and Review (Dec. 14)