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Food in Rabbinic Judaism
Fall 2009
Hebrew and Semitic Studies 371
Jewish Studies 371
Religious Studies 400
Instructor:
Professor Jordan D. Rosenblum
Office: Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies, 1340 Van Hise Hall
Office Hours: TuTh 11:00-12:00 and by appointment
E-mail: jrosenblum@wisc.edu
Course Hours:
Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 am
Prerequisite(s):
This course assumes no prior knowledge of Hebrew and/or Judaism, but a
love of food is highly recommended.
Course Description:
From the pages of history to a menu on State Street, an important
aspect of the culture of a given community is often found in its
food. What, with whom, and how people eat tells the careful
observer how that group relates with each other and to their
god(s). This course surveys Judaism over a three millennium span
in order to test the culinary theories of various scholars in a variety
of fields, including (but not limited to): anthropology, history,
psychology, religious studies, and sociology. From a small
community of Israelites in ancient Southwest Asia to a variegated,
global population of modern Jews, this course uses food and foodways to
explore the history of rabbinic Judaism. In particular, it
focuses on how Judaism and its foodways have been shaped by – and in
reaction to – rabbinic texts. Come hungry to learn!
Course Goals:
Through guided reading in the classroom and at home, students will
learn how to read historical documents and to assess various
theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of food and
culture. Students will further develop these analytical skills
through several writing assignments, both in class and take home.
Finally, students will understand the historical development and the
literature of rabbinic
Judaism.
Classroom Etiquette:
Students are expected to arrive on time and should not engage in
private conversations during class. While laptops are allowed in
class, students should use their computers for taking notes and not for
surfing the web, sending e-mails, etc. There is no reason for a
student to be talking or sending texts on his/her cellular phone during
class time. This is distracting to both professor and
students. Students whose behavior in class is disruptive can
expect a significant reduction in their final grade.
Requirements and Grading:
(1) Regular class attendance of lectures and careful preparation
of assigned texts are
considered essential aspects of this course. Please bring the
assigned texts to class each week. For most class days, there is
a text or group of texts highlighted for special consideration, which
students are expected to have examined in detail prior to the
class. On occasion, a short additional primary text may be
assigned. In grading papers and tests, I will be particularly
concerned 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) Attendance and participation: 10%. Active involvement
in class is highly important and includes attendance as well as
participation in class discussion.
(3) Short paper: 25%. A short paper, no more than three typed, double-spaced pages, will be assigned on September 15 and due at the beginning of class on October 8. No e-mail submissions will be accepted. For each 24-hour period that a paper is late, the student’s grade will be reduced by one full letter grade.
(4) Response Paper: 5%. Students are required to attend one CJS lecture during the semester (information available online at: http://jewishstudies.wisc.edu/lectures/) and to write a one page response paper. The structure of the response paper is as follows: one paragraph summarizing the content and thesis of the lecture and one paragraph of your own critical assessment of the lecture. The response paper must be submitted in hard copy within one week of the lecture. Late papers will not be accepted.
(5) In-Class Midterm: 25%. There will be one midterm, given in class on October 22. It may address any of the readings and class discussions up to that point.
(6) In-Class Presentation: 10%. On December 8 and 10, each student will give a five-minute presentation to the class on a topic relevant to food and rabbinic Judaism. Presentation topics will be distributed on November 3. Students will be assigned presentation days in class on November 17.
(7) Final Exam: 25%. The final exam, given on December 19, will be cumulative and may address any of the readings and class discussions. Students must take the final exam at the scheduled time. Students who observe the Sabbath should talk to the professor within the first two weeks of class to discuss an alternate exam date.
(8) You may sign up for honors credit, which can be a very productive way of exploring your own interests in relation to the topics of the course. If you do so, it is your responsibility to talk with the professor to arrange your honors work in the first two weeks of the semester.
**Students are expected to bring relevant texts in hard copy to every class**
Honor Code:
Students are expected to follow the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Academic Honor Code. If students have any questions about this
policy, please speak with the professor. More information on
plagiarism can be found at:
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/QPA_plagiarism.html
Absence Policy:
Attendance for the lectures is very important, since there is no single
source in the library (or the internet) for the material covered in the
lectures. Attendance will not be taken directly, but the ability
to complete the course assignments will indirectly reflect your
attendance.
Extension Policy:
Extensions on papers and exams will not be granted. For each 24-hour period that a paper
is late, the student’s grade will be reduced by one full letter grade.
Required Books:
(1) David Kraemer, Jewish Eating and Identity Through the Ages [Routledge
Press,
2008](JE)
(2) Hasia Diner, Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish
Foodways in the Age
of Migration [Harvard University Press, 2003] (HA)
(3) Maria Balinska, The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest
Bread [Yale
University Press, 2008] (B)
(4) Electronic Reserve: Learn@UW (R)
**All books are available for purchase at the
University Bookstore**
Class Schedule:
September
3
Introduction
Reading: JE, “Introduction,” 1-8
September
8
Food, Identity, History, Gender, and Culture
Reading: Frederick Kaufman, “Debbie Does Salad,” 55-60 (R);
Mike Miliard, “Choosing Our Religion,” available online at:
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/34630-Choosing-our-religion/
September
10
Cookbooks as Historical Documents; Psychology and Food
Reading: Arjun Appadurai, “How to Make a National Cuisine,” 3-24 (R);
Carol Nemeroff and Paul Rozin, “‘You Are What You Eat,’” 50-69 (R)
September
15
Biblical Food Laws
Reading: JE, “The Biblical Period: Our
Animals, Their Animals,” 9-24; Leviticus 11 (R); Deuteronomy
14 (R)
Short Paper topics distributed
September
17
Second Temple Period
Reading: JE, “The Second Temple Period: The Food of the
Gentiles,” 25-37; Philo, The Special Laws, 4:106-108 (R)
September
22
The Rabbinic Period
Reading: JE, “The Rabbinic Period: ‘Thou Shalt Not Eat a Calf
with a Mother’s Milk,’” 39-54 (focus on m. Hullin 8:1; b.
Hullin 104b-105a, discussed on pp. 41-44)
September
24
The Rabbinic Period
Reading: JE, “The Rabbinic Period: Problematic Mixings” 55-72
(focus on m. Avodah Zarah 2:3-6 [pp. 66-67] and the texts
discussed on pp. 56-57 and 61-62)
September
29
The Rabbinic Period
Reading: JE, “The Rabbinic Period: Blessing Food,” 73-86
(focus on t. Berakhot 4:1, 6-7 [pp. 75 and 81] and the texts
discussed on pp. 77 and 79)
October
1
The Medieval Period
Reading: JE, “Waiting for the Next Meal,” 87-97 (focus on the
texts discussed on pp. 91-92 and 94-95)
October
6
The Medieval/Modern Period
Reading: JE, “Separating the Dishes,” 99-121 (focus on b.
Hullin 111b [p. 100] and the texts discussed on pp. 101-103, 111,
and 116)
October
8
The Medieval/Modern Period
Reading: JE, “Crossing Boundaries,” 123-145 (focus on the
texts discussed on pp. 138-139)
** Short Paper due in class **
October
13
The Modern Period: Immigration and Foodways I
Reading: HA, “A Set Table: Jewish Food and Class in Eastern
Europe ,” 146-177
October
15
The Modern Period: Immigration and Foodways II
Reading: HA, “Food Fights: Immigrant Jews and the Lure of
America,” 178-219
October
20
Kosher Wars
Reading: JE, “‘Bugs in the System’ (The Kosher Wars),”
147-172 (focus on the texts discussed on p. 158); Patricia Marx,
“Kosher Takeout: Supervising a Food-production Boom,” 1-6 (R)
October 22 MIDTERM (in class)
October
27
The Bagel: Historical Overview
Reading: B, “The Family Tree”; “Of Bagels and Kings,” 1-43;
Check some of the primary sources cited at:
http://menachemmendel.net/blog/2008/11/13/the-bagel/
October
29
The Bagel: Food as History
Reading: B, “Rituals, Rhymes and Revolutions: How the Bagel
Lost its Worth but Kept its Value”; “Bagel Polemics in an Independent
Poland,” 44-95
November
3
The Bagel: Food Politics
Reading: B, “Boiling Over: The Immigrant Bagel and the
Struggle
for Workers’ Rights”; “‘Kings of the Line’: The Story of Bagel
Bakers’ Union Local No. 338,” 96-147
Presentation topics distributed
November
5
The Bagel and Matzah: (Un)Leavened History
Reading: B, “The ‘Bagelising’ of America,” 148-179; Jonathon
Sarna, “How Matzah Became Square,” 1-24 (R); b. Pesahim 46a
(R)
November
10
The Bagel: Food as Metonym
Reading: B, “Postscript,” 180-195; Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney,
“Food
as Selves and Others in Cross-cultural Perspective,” 114-120 (R);
Sifre Deuteronomy 354 (R)
November
12
Food in Jewish Literature
Reading: Nathan Englander, “The Gilgul of Park Avenue,” 109-137 (R);
Shalom Aleichem, “A Yom Kippur Scandal,” 56-62 (R)
Long Paper topics distributed
November
17
Postville, Hazon, and the Heksher Tzeddek Movement
Reading: Spend some time looking around: http://jcarrot.org ;
http://magentzedek.org ; http://uriltzedek.webnode.com ;
https://www.aleph.org/sacredfoods.htm
Presentation dates and times assigned
November
19
Jews and Chinese Food
Reading: Tuchman and Levine, “‘Safe Treyf’: New York Jews and
Chinese Food,” 1-23 (R); Jennifer 8 Lee, “Why Chow Mein Is the
Chosen Food of the Chosen People – or, The Kosher Duck Scandal of
1989,” 89-106 (R)
November 24 NO CLASS: Society of Biblical Literature conference
November 26 NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
December
1
Movie Screening:“Leon The Pig Farmer”
Reading: Jordan Rosenblum, “‘Why do you refuse to eat pork?’:
Jews, Food, and Identity in Roman Palestine,” 1-19 (focus on Genesis
Rabbah 65:1 [pp. 17-18] and the texts discussed on pp. 13-14) (R)
December
3
Movie Screening and Discussion:“Leon The Pig Farmer”
Reading: Nathan Abrams, “‘I’ll Have Whatever She’s Having’:
Jews, Food, and Film,” 87-100 (R)
December 8 Student Presentations
December 10 Student Presentations
December
15
Conclusions
Reading: Lance Sussman, “The Myth of the Trefa Banquet:
American Culinary Culture and the Radicalization of Food Policy in
American Reform Judaism,” 29-52 (R)
December
19
FINAL EXAM
2:45 PM – 4:45 PM