REL 237 - Reading the Rabbis

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): MV, GP
The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE marked a new period in the history of Judaism. In the aftermath of this event, a group of scholars known as “Rabbis” appear on the historical stage, whose vision of Jewish practice and life will come to define Judaism as it is encountered today. In this class, we will situate the literature and thought of the early rabbis in the historical, cultural, and political context of the ancient worlds in which they lived. To that end, students will explore topics ranging from scriptural authority to magical incantation by engaging with English translations of core rabbinic texts, including the Mishnah, Toseftah, Babylonian Talmud, and Midrashim.