Jewish Biblical Interpretation in the Middle Ages

Jewish Biblical Interpretation in the Middle Ages

Hebrew 371-1, Cross listed with Jewish 371 and Meets with Religious Studies 400

Faculty: Michael Rony Ph.D.
Office: 1352 Van Hise
Email: rony@wisc.edu
Phone: 263-2835

Course Description

This course examines medieval Jewish biblical commentaries and focuses on their political and social aspects. We shall begin by defining medieval Jewish Philosophy in general and social and political thought in particular. The biblical theme at the center of our discussion will be the story of the 'Tower of Babel' (Genesis 11:1-9). After a brief introduction to the main concepts of the founder of the medieval Jewish rational school of thought, Maimonides (1138-1204), we will examine two of his discussions related to the story of Babel. Then, we will examine to what extent the commentaries on the story of Babel, written by Maimonides' followers in the 13th and 14th centuries in Provence (southern France), adhere to Maimonides' doctrines. We will continue by examining the texts of three prominent Hispano-Jewish thinkers who saved no efforts to strengthen the spirit of their co-religionists during the time of the mid 14th century persecutions and at the eve of the Spanish expulsion (1492). The last commentator we will deal with is the 16th century Jewish-Italian Obadiah Sforno.
The purpose of this course is to help students understand Jewish Biblical interpretation in the Middle Ages, as well as to expose them to basic concepts in medieval Jewish philosophy in general and to its political and social ideas in particular. The course employs a historical and textual perspective. It will provide the necessary tools for ascertaining to what extent a text demonstrates the influence of earlier or contemporary writings. It will also make possible to detect innovations in the text and understand their source, be it the non-Jewish surroundings or the contemporary cultural, political and social conditions. The course encourages students to develop critical and creative reading skills while analyzing texts.

Course Requirements

Syllabus
During the course of the semester, the syllabus may be modified, and handouts may be added. Any modifications / additions will be announced / distributed either in class, or by email (to your “wisc” address), or in both ways. You are responsible to be aware of any such modifications / additions.

Homework Readings and Questions
Homework completion before class is required. Homework consists of reading the assigned primary and secondary passages, thinking about them, and providing brief (two or three sentences) written answers to questions about them. Assignments must be submitted at the beginning of every class. Late Homework will not be accepted. Make two printed copies of your answers, and BRING BOTH COPIES OF YOUR HOMEWORK ANSWERS TO CLASS. YOU WILL USE THE SECOND COPY AS REFERENCE WHEN YOU ARE CALLED ON, AS WELL AS IN CLASS DISCUSSIONS. While you will be allowed to miss a maximum of three homework assignments before losing grade points, you will nevertheless be held responsible for material covered in any assignments that you miss. If you do not miss any homework assignments, your lowest three homework grades will not be counted. Original and particularly thoughtful answers will receive higher grading.

Class Attendance
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. If you do not attend, you will nevertheless be held responsible for material covered in any classes that you miss.

Class Participation
Under the rubric of “participation,” the following are expected of you (in addition to attendance, punctual arrival, no early departure, and preparedness). Everyone will be called on to read, explain, and analyze the primary texts. In addition, students will be expected to actively participate in class discussions.
The purpose of the course is not only to transmit information, but also to get the students engaged in the process of discovery, appreciation, and critical analysis. To accomplish this, there will be a lecture, in-class in-depth analytical reading of the texts, and discussion. Having done your homework reading and questions will greatly enhance your ability to participate intelligently. As mentioned, you should have a second copy of your homework answers, to be used as reference during analysis and discussion. Note that incisive questions — not only answers — about a passage are also considered “analysis.” If you read the assigned passages, think, answer the homework questions, and attend the lectures, you should be fully prepared to participate.

Exams and Paper
The two exams and the paper will be based upon all aspects of the course, including the primary and secondary readings, homework, and class lectures and discussions. Your answers should be based upon the primary and secondary readings and the type of analysis used in this course. Previous or outside knowledge may supplement — but may not substitute for — the readings and analysis employed in this course.

Mid-Term Paper
Paper is due in hard-copy at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 24. NO EXCEPTIONS

Final Exam
Date: May 13; Time: 02:45 PM; Place: To Be Announced. You must take the exam at the scheduled time.
Proctored exam; Copies of the primary texts will be provided at the beginning of the exam. Other material may NOT be used.

Extra Credit for Jewish Studies Lecture Series
You are entitled to receive extra credit worth one homework assignment for attending one of the Jewish Studies Lectures and writing a one-page response to it. The list of lectures will be posted on the class "Learn@UW" site.

Study Suggestion
Your grasp of the material will be enhanced immeasurably if, in addition to studying alone, you further prepare the texts in pairs or groups, discussing and debating the texts’ meanings and implications. Note, however, that you must answer your homework questions and write your take-home paper on your own.

Grading Distribution
Homework: 20%
Class Participation: 10%
Mid-Term Paper: 20%
Mid-Term exam: 20%
Final Exam: 30%

Academic Integrity and Etiquette

Punctuality
Punctuality is required. We will start class on time and end on time. Late arrival and early departure disturb class. They are unacceptable and are cause for the loss of grade points. If in an exceptional circumstance you must arrive late or leave early, please inform me in advance, and arrive/leave unobtrusively.

Honesty
Cheating and Plagiarism are serious offenses, and will be dealt with according to University rules, which contain a provision for failing the perpetrating student for the entire course.

Extreme Circumstances
Any foreseen extreme circumstances must be brought to my attention in advance.

No Distractions
Cell phones turned off (no text-messaging or usage as watches is allowed); no talking; no reading of outside material; no meals; no elaborate food or drink; no MP and I-Pod listening. Students whose behavior in class is disruptive can expect a significant reduction in their final grade.

Meeting 1 (January 20) – Course Introduction; Jewish History Time-Table; Introduction to Medieval Jewish Political Philosophy – The Biblical Background (Part I)
Numbers 11:4-17, 24-30; Deuteronomy 17: 14-20

Meeting 2 (January 22) – Introduction to Medieval Jewish Political Philosophy – The Biblical Background (Part II)
I Samuel 8:1-22, 12:1-25; I Kings 12:1-21

Meeting 3 (January 27) – Introduction to Medieval Jewish Political Philosophy – The Second Commonwealth and first 1000 years of Exile
Norbert M. Samuelson, 'Medieval Jewish Philosophy', Back to the Sources, pp. 261-273
Barry Walfish, 'An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation', With Reverence for the Word, pp. 3-11

*Recommended Reading: Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, pp. 157-167
Majid Fakhry, 'The Subject-Matter of Metaphysics: Aristotle and Ibn Sina (Avicenna)', Islamic Theology and Philosophy, pp. 137-147

Meeting 4 (January 29) - Introduction to Medieval Jewish Political Philosophy – The Greek and Islamic Background
Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, pp. 108-120
Fauzi M. Najjar, 'Siyasa in Islamic Political Philosophy', Islamic Theology and Philosophy, pp. 101-110

*Recommended Reading: Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, pp. 99-107; Fauzi M. Najjar, 'Siyasa in Islamic Political Philosophy', Islamic Theology and Philosophy, pp. 92-101;

Meeting 5 (February 3) - Political Discussions in Medieval Jewish Philosophic Biblical Commentaries; Maimonides and his Political Philosophy (part I)
Moses Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, III: 27-28

Abraham Melamed, 'Medieval and Renaissance Jewish Political Philosophy', History of Jewish Philosophy, pp. 415-435; Norbert M. Samuelson, 'Medieval Jewish Philosophy', Back to the Sources, pp. 273-279

Meeting 6 (February 5) – Maimonides and his Political Philosophy (part II)
Guide of the Perplexed, III: 54

Meeting 7 (February 10) - The Biblical Story of the Tower of Babel
Genesis 10:8-12, 11:1-32; 14: 1

Meeting 8 (February 12) – The Tower of Babel – The Ancient Rabbinic Homilies
Louis Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews, pp. 177-181

Meeting 9 (February 17) - Maimonides References to the Story of the Tower
Maimonides, Laws of Idolatry, chapter I
Maimonides, The Guide of the Perplexed,part III, Chapter 29

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 166-175, 192-203

Meeting 10 (February 19) - Samuel Ibn-Tibbon (Part I)
Provencal Jewry during the first half of the 13th century
Ibn-Tibbon’s philosophic commentary on the story of the Tower in his treatise: Maamar Yikkavu HaMayim (Let the Water be Gathered) – An Homily on a Homily

MID-TERM PAPER IS DUE IN HARD COPY AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

Meeting 11 (February 24) – Samuel Ibn-Tibbon (Part II)
Ibn-Tibbon’s philosophic commentary on the story of the Tower in his treatise: Maamar Yikkavu HaMayim (Let the Water be Gathered) – The legal necessity for a religion
Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 205-222

Meeting 12 (February 26) - David Kimhi (Radak)
Radak's commentary on the story of Nimrod (Genesis 10: 8-12) – The Cycle of Empires

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 222-226; Edward L. Greenstein, 'Medieval Bible Commentaries', Back to the Sources, bottom of p. 253 – top of p. 254

Meeting 13 (March 3) - Jacob Anatoli (Part I)
The dispute over Maimonidean philosophy in the 1232-1233
Jacob Anatoli's allegorical commentary on the story of the Tower in his book of philosophical sermons Malmad haTalmidim (Goad of the Pupils) – A revolutionary curriculum

Meeting 14 (March 5) - Jacob Anatoli (Part II)
Jacob Anatoli's literal interpretation of the story of the Tower in his book of philosophical sermons Malmad haTalmidim (Goad of the Pupils) – The positive aspect of jealousy
Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 226-228

Meeting 17 (March 24) - Levi ben Abraham
The Dispute over Maimonidean Philosophy at the beginning of the 14th century
Levi's commentary on the Story of the Tower in his Philosophic Encyclopedia Livyat Hen (Graceful Wreath): The Generation of the Tower – One Big Loving Humanity?

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 243-247; Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed, Part II, Chapter 40

Meeting 18 (March 26) – Menahem ha-Meiri
Ha-Meiri's Introduction to the Tractate of Avot – A Mixture of Maimonides and Ibn-Tibbon
Mashhad Al-Allaf, 'The Solitary Being', www.muslimphilosophy.com/ma/works/ma-ib-sb.pdf, pp.1-3; Israel Ta-Shma and David Derovan, 'Meiri, Menahem ben Solomon', Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 13, 2nd ed., pp. 785-788

Meeting 19 (March 31) – Joseph Ibn-Kaspi; From Provence to Spain – A Change in Place and in Philosophy
Ibn-Kaspi's interpretation of the biblical name 'Peleg' (Genesis 10:25) in Mazref la-Kessef (The Tool of the Silversmith) and the Character of the Jewish People

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 273-274; 322-330

Meeting 20 (April 2) - Nissim of Gerona (Part I)
Nissim's sermon on the story of the Tower in the first sermon of Drashot ha-RaN
(R. Nissim's Sermons) – Rejection of the homilies explaining the sin

Meeting 21 (April 7) - Nissim of Gerona (Part II)
Nissim's sermon on the story of the Tower in the first sermon of Drashot ha-RaN
(R. Nissim's Sermons) and the persecution of Spanish Jewry in the 14th century

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 247-250; 345-347; Leon Feldman, 'Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi', Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., vol. 15, pp. 280-281

Meeting 22 (April 14) - Isaac Arama (Part I)
Spanish Jewry in the second half of the 15th century: historic, social and philosophic background
Genesis 4:1-15
Arama's homilies on the stories of Cain and Abel and of the Tower of Babel in his collection of homilies Aqedat Yitzhak (Binding of Isaac) – What should be the function of politics in human life?

Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, pp. 389-392; Sara Heller-Wilensky and Michael Rony, 'Arama, Isaac ben Moses', Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 339-341

Meeting 23 (April 16) - Isaac Arama (Part II)
Texts from Aqedat Yitzhak on "Leadership and Laws"

Meeting 24 (April 21) - Isaac Arama (Part III)
Texts from Aqedat Yitzhak on "The negative aspect of Individualism" and on "The need for a leader to be publicly elected"

Michael N. Rony, 'Social and Political Ideas in Early Modern Jewish Philosophical Commentaries on the Story of the Tower of Babel', pp. 1-18

Meeting 25 (April 23) – Isaac Abravanel (Part I)
Abrabanel – Statesman and philosopher
From Spain to Italy – monarchy vs. republics

Meeting 26 (April 28) - Isaac Abravanel (Part II)
Abravanel's commentary on the story of the Tower: Anti-Materialism and Neo-Communism?

Meeting 27 (April 30) - Isaac Abravanel (Part III)
Abravanel's commentaries on Deuteronomy 16:18 and I Samuel 8:4-6 : Election of magistrates and Anti-Monarchism

Meeting 28 (May 5) - Obadiah Sforno
Obadiah Sforno's commentary on stories on Nimrod and the Tower: The impact of the revolution of the Reformation and the Ottomans Empire?

Avie Goldberg and Ariel Toaff, 'Sforno, Obadiah Ben Jacob', Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Vol. 18, pp. 333-334

Meeting 29 (May 7) - Concluding Discussion
FINAL EXAM: May 13, 02:45 PM. Location – to be announced.

Kimhi, David, Commentary on Genesis
Maimonides, Moses, Guide of the Perplexed, Shlomo Pines (trans./ed.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1963
_________, Mishne Torah, 'Laws of Idolatry'
Sforno, Obadiah, Commentary on Commentary on the Torah, vol. 1, R. Pelcovitz (ed.), New York, 1999

Fakhry, Majid, 'The Subject-Matter of Metaphysics: Aristotle and Ibn Sina (Avicenna)', Islamic Theology and Philosophy, pp. 137-147

Feldman, Leon, 'Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi', Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, vol. 15, pp. 280-281

Goldberg, Avie and Toaff, Ariel, 'Sforno, Obadiah Ben Jacob', Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, Vol. 18, pp. 333-334

Greenstein, Edward L., 'Medieval Bible Commentaries', Back to the Sources, Holtz, Barry W. (ed.), New York: Summit Books, 1984, pp. 213-259

Heller-Wilensky, Sara and Rony, Michael, 'Arama, Isaac ben Moses', Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, vol. 2, pp. 339-341

Melamed, Abraham, 'Medieval and Renaissance Jewish Political Philosophy', History of Jewish Philosophy, Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman (eds.), London and New York: Routledge, pp. 415-449

Najjar, Fauzi M., 'Siyasa in Islamic Political Philosophy', Islamic Theology and Philosophy, pp. 92-110

Rony, Michael N., 'Social and Political Ideas in Early Modern Jewish Philosophical Commentaries on the Story of the Tower of Babel', pp. 1-18

Samuelson, Norbert M., 'Medieval Jewish Philosophy', Back to the Sources, Holtz, Barry W. (ed.), New York: Summit Books, 1984, pp. 261-303

Sirat, Colette, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Ta-Shma, Israel and Devoran, David, 'Meiri, Menahem ben Solomon', Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (eds.), Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, Vol. 13, pp. 785-788

Purim

Passover II – Galuyot

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Latest revision date: 12/18/2008