REL 152: Introduction to JudaismSteven M. Wasserstrom
Office hours Monday-Wednesday 2:00-3:30
and by appointment
ETC 212 x7324
This course is an introduction to the self-definition of Judaism. This course will analyze Judaism’s understanding of itself by examining such central concepts as God, Torah and Israel. This central self-definition will then be tested by means of close readings of selected representative texts, and by investigating the range of Jewish history. In the final Unit we will study the rise of the State of Israel, the Holocaust, and American Jewish movements.
Course Format: Lecture-Conference
Course Time: MWF 1:10-2:00, Psych 102
Course Requirements: Close reading of texts; attendance at conferences; contribution to class discussion; and the following written assignments:
- 2-page papers due 9/3, 9/20, 9/29, 10/29, 11/12. The assignment in these papers will be to select a short passage from among the primary texts read during the respective assignment period; to write a brief explication of that text; and to focus that explication on Jewish self-understanding in the historical period of the text being explicated. These papers do not require footnotes or bibliographies, but should concentrate on developing an argument concerning the text’s relation to Jewish self-understanding in its period.
- 5-7-page papers, due 10/15 and 12/8. Assignment sheets for these longer papers will be distributed in conference. A proper system of references, including footnotes and bibliography, are required. You are free to use any style you prefer (MLA, Chicago being the most used) so long as you use it consistently.
- Late papers will be accepted only with a note from the Dean of Students. No exceptions.
Course Texts: In the Bookstore and/or on Library Reserve:
# = primary text of the day, to be read closely in conference: NOTE: these texts must be brought to class with you for close reading
A = P.S. Alexander (ed.) Textual Sources for the Study of Judaism
G = Nahum Glatzer (ed.) The Judaic Tradition
H = Barry Holtz (ed.) Back to the Sources
R = Reinharz , Mendes-Flohr (eds.) The Jew in the Modern World (2nd Ed.)
and any translation of the Hebrew BibleAdditional online required readings are listed by URL in two forms, a general background page which includes numerous resources, and a specific page of primary text supplementary to the reading for that day.
NOTE: the electronic version of this syllabus gives you direct access to these URLs. It is posted at http://academic.reed.edu/religion/courses/rel152/
Mon. 8/30 What is Judaism? Who is a Jew?UNIT 1: THE PEOPLE ISRAEL
Wed. 9/1 The Ancient Near East
# Genesis Chapters 1-11general URL: “The People Israel” = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html#The%20People%20of%20Israel
specific URL: the two creation accounts = http://www-relg-studies.scu.edu/netcours/hb/dh/ccreat.htm[paper due] Fri. 9/3 God and His Revealed Law from Sinai (The Prophet: Torah)
# The Revelation from Sinai, Exodus 19-20
H. 83-105
A. 63-68 (Mekhilta)Mon. 9/6 Labor Day: no class
Wed. 9/8 The People Israel and their Land (The King: Writings)
# 1 Chronicles Chapter 17
1 Chronicles (all)general URL: Chronicles 1 online =
http://www.jsource.org/jsource/Bible/1Chroniclestoc.htmlFri. 9/10 Forms of Authority: King, Prophet, Priest (The Priest: Prophets)
# The Book of Amos (all)specific URL: The Book of Amos with Commentary =
http://www.bible.gen.nz/amos/frametext.htmMon. 9/13 Myth and Ritual: The Progress of Time
# Passover Haggadah, A. 75-78, and G 188-191 (compare)
general URLs: online Parnes Haggadah =
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bparnes/HAGGADAH/seder.html
Chabad Haggadah =
http://www.passover.net/scripts/tgij/paper/passoverTemplate.asp?ArticleID=1735Wed. 9/15 Sabbath: Redemption in Time
# A. 84-90
G. 411-419
general URL: an overview of Shabbat observance =
http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Judaism/shabbat.html#Nature
UNIT 2: CLASSICAL JUDAISM
Fri. 9/17 The Roots of Classical Judaism
# G 194-204 (Hillel)
G. 154-253general URL: “The Emergence of Judaism” =
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html#The%20Emergence%20of%20Judaism[paper due]Mon. 9/20 Rabbinic Judaism
# G 185-188 (The Order of Benedictions)
G 154-253general URL: Mishnah Berakhot on the Shema
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/RelS367/Shema_sources.htmlWed. 9/22 The Genres of Rabbinic Literature
# Pirke Avot, in A. 95-98
H. 129-175Fri. 9/24 Mishna and Gemara
# A 59-61 (“Baraita of R. Ishmael”)
A 57-68
H. 129-158general URL: overview of Oral Torah =
http://ohr.edu/judaism/survey/survey5.htmspecific URL: A page from the Babylonian Talmud” =
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudPage.html#Page
* charts of the Rabbinic page (reviewed in class)Mon. 9/27 Aggada and Midrash: Non-Legal Components of Rabbinic Literature
# A 81-82 (“Oven of Akhnai”)
A 78-83
H. 177-213
general URL: on Midrash =
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=586&letter=M&search=midrash[paper due] Wed. 9/29 After the Talmud: Philosophy and Theology
# A 105-115
H. 261-305Fri. 10/1 Aspects of Uncommon Life: Messianism
# G 488-491 (Maimonides)
G 459-492general URL: overview of the messianic idea in Judaism =
http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset_offsite.asp?pageloc=http://www.jewfaq.org/moshiach.htm&query=&script=/story/99/story_9900_1.html[Monday 10/6 is Yom Kippur: no class]
Wed. 10/6 Aspects of Uncommon Life: Mysticism
# A 116-132
H. 305-361Fri. 10/8 Aspects of Common Life: Liturgy as Unifying Factor
# Weekday Shema and Amida, in A. 68-74
H. 403-431
general URL:
specific URL:
Mon. 10/11 Halakha in Practice
# Shulkhan Arukh, in A. 90-93
general URL: sample page, commentaries, overview of Shulkhan Arukh =
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/TalmudMap/ShA.html
UNIT 3: MODERN JUDAISM
Wed. 10/13 Political and Economic Change
# Mendelssohn, in A, 143-146
R 3-53
general URL: overview of life and works of Moses Mendelssohn =
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mendelssohn/[longer paper due] Fri. 10/15 Cultural and Ideological Change
# R 250-253, 258-259 (Maimon, Heine)
G. 441-459, 509-554
R. 54-105[October 16-24 is Fall break]
Mon. 10/25 Hasidism
# The Baal Shem Tov, in A. 132-134
H. 361-401Wed. 10/27 Hasidism
# Mendel of Kotsk, G 447-452
R 387-394
G. 441-459general URL: ESSAYS ON HASIDISM by Immy Humes =
http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/res_essays.html[paper due] Fri. 10/29 Dynamics of Emancipation
# G 532-535 (Loe Pinsker)
G 509-554Mon. 11/1 19th-Century Patterns of Religious Adjustment in Europe
# R 169-173 (Moses Sofer)
R 154-205 (Western Europe); 394-416 (Eastern Europe)Wed. 11/3 Political and Racial Anti-Semitism
# R 331-332 (Marr)
G 590-554R 299-333
A 171-178general URL: Antisemitism Research Resouces=
http://ddickerson.igc.org/antisemitism.htmlFri. 11/5 Political and Racial Anti-Semitism
# R 363-367 (Protocols of the Elders of Zion)
R 334-367general URL: commentaries and versions of the Protocols, including Mein Kampf:
http://ddickerson.igc.org/protocols.htmlMon. 11/8 Zionism and Communism in Eastern Europe
# R 425-428 (Manya Shohat)
R 417-446Wed. 11/10 Rethinking Jewish Faith
# G 567-573 (Buber)
G 554-580, 758-802general URL: the Martin Buber Homepage =
http://www.buber.de/en/[paper due] Fri. 11/14 Like Coming Home: America
# R 471-2 (Kohler)
R 447-481General URL: The American Jewish Experience through the Nineteenth Century =
http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.htmMon. 11/15 American Jewry in the 20th Century
# G 706-713 (Judge Louis Brandeis)
R 481-528
G. 706-758general URL: materials on first Jewish Justice of USA Supreme Court =
http://www.hamline.edu/~rkagan/Publications_Louis%20Brandeis.htmlWed. 11/17 The Rise of Zionism
# A 155-161 (Theodor Herzl)
A 155-164
R 528-585general URL: Resources and Articles by Theodor Herzl =
http://www.wzo.org.il/en/resources/expand_author.asp?id=89Fri. 11/19Zionist Thought
# G 687-692 (Chaim Weizmann)
G 659-706
general URL:
specific URL:Mon. 11/22 Creation of the State of Israel
# A 166-67 (Law of Return)
A 164-171
R 585-633specific URL: versions of Law of Return =
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/int16.htmWed. 11/24 Before the Holocaust
# R 656-658 (Hitler’s speech)
R 634-660general URL: Nizkor Project resources on Adolf Hitler =
http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/h/hitler-adolf/
[November 25-28 is Thanksgiving vacation]
Mon. 11/29 Shoah
# G 631-641 (Gringaus)
R 660-697
G 608-659general URL: Yad Vashem Holocaust Study Resources =
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/index_about_holocaust.htmlWed. 12/1 Crisis and Renewal: Problems of Jewish Identity
# G 573-579; R 282-284 (Franz Rosenzweig)
R 250-304general URL: life and works of Franz Rosenzweig =
http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/rosenzw/rosenart.html#stardmpFri. 12/3 Modern American Jewish Movements: Reform,
# Pittsburgh Platform and Columbus Platform, in A. 136-140
R. 183-188
G. 587-592
A. 136-143specific URL: the San Francisco Platform of 1976 =
http://ccarnet.org/platforms/centenary.html1999 restatement of Reform principles =
http://www.ccarnet.org/platforms/principles.htmlMon. 12/6 Modern American Jewish Movements: Conservative, Reconstructionist
# “The Faith of Catholic Israel” in A. 151-155 (Schechter)
R. 194-197, 499-502
G 594-608
Wed. 12/8 Jewish Feminism; The Resurgence of Orthodoxy
# R 260-262, 287-288 (Varnhagen, Luxemburg,Pappenheim)
R 197-211, 394-400general URL: Jewish Women Web Resources =
http://library.brandeis.edu/judaica/jwomenwebsites.htmlspecific URL: Varieties of Orthodox Judaism Image Map =
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/363_Transp/08_Orthodoxy.html[Longer paper due] Fri. 12/10
FINAL DISCUSSION: What is Judaism? Who is a Jew?
We return to the question raised on the first day of class and pursued throughout the term. Come prepared to submit and defend in conference your definitions of “Judaism” and “Jew.” These will then be challenged against the results of previous conferences (dating back to 1988).
URL: Rabbi Immanuel Schochet’s online book, Who is a Jew? =
http://www.whoisajew.com/
Two of the most important contemporary developments in world Judaism are said to be the renewal of woman’s roles, and the resurgence of orthodoxy. How do these developments affect our understanding of what of Judaism and who is a Jew? How do they modify our understanding of the modern Jewish thinkers collected by Glatzer in this final set of readings? Your research assignment for this final paper will be to supplement readings above with texts address the issues of contemporary feminism and of contemporary orthodoxy. These may be found in the Judaica journals and/or on the sites listed on our Judaica WWW links page.
Online Resources
For routine reference of all kinds, the (century-old but still valuable) Jewish Encyclopedia is online at http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/index.jsp. Hard copies are also available in the library reference room and in the Religion/Classics reference room.
The best reference work, the most complete and the most reliable, is the Encyclopedia Judaica, in the reference room.
An extensive but well-chosen set of links related to all manner of Jewish Studies:
http://www.digital-librarian.com/judaism.htmlTorah in Hebrew and in English:
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/For additional historical background, you may The Internet Jewish History Sourcebook at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html
A handy timeline of Jewish History: http://philo.ucdavis.edu/zope/home/bruce/RST23/chart.html
For more advanced studies, you can consult:
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People: http://sites.huji.ac.il/archives/
RAMBI: The Index of Articles on Jewish Studies: http://libnet1.ac.il/~libnet/rmb/rmb01_14-2.htm
Documents of the Holocaust (Yad Vashem).
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/index_about_holocaust.htmlHolocaust History Project.
Internet (Public Access): www.holocaust-history.orgEssential Texts of Zionism (The Zionist Library).
Internet (Public Access): http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/6640/zion/essential.htmlJewish Women's Archive: http://www.jwa.org/main.htm