|
 |
 |
New York Spring 2007 Courses
Please note that courses are subject to change. For more information on these courses, please contact Dina Linsk at (212) 674-5300 ext. 2220 or email dlinsk@huc.edu.
Click here for the New York Rabbinical Student Handbook (PDF format)
Click here to download the New York Spring 2007 courses in Word format
For an archive of previous year's course listings click here
|
BII 403
|
LITERARY ARTISTRY OF THE BIBLE
Dr. Andrea Weiss
(1.5 cr.)
This course will provide an introduction to the study of the Tanakh, with an emphasis on gaining the skills needed to closely
read biblical narrative and biblical poetry.
|
|
BII 410
|
MEGILLOT AND JONAH
Dr. S. David Sperling
(1.5 cr.)
We will survey the five Megillot and Jonah, all of which are read in the course of the Jewish liturgical year. The plain sense of
the texts against their historical background will be emphasized.
|
|
BII 423
|
SURVEY OF THE TANAKH: PROPHETS AND MEGILLOT
Dr. Andrea Weiss
(1.5 cr.)
This is part two of the year-long course, "Torah, Haftarah, and Megillot: A Survey of the Tanakh." Part two covers the literary
prophets (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Second Isaiah) and five Megillot.
|
|
BII 501
|
SELECTIONS FROM THE PENTATEUCH II (H)
Dr. A. Stanley Dreyfus
(1.5 cr.)
In this course attention will be given to the correct reading and precise translation of portions of the Pentateuch. There will
also be attention to Hebrew grammar, primarily to the study of the Hebrew verb in all the binyanim. The course will meet
throughout the year. Students may either audit or take the course for 1.5 credits per semester. All of the texts to be studied
will be drawn from among the "Required Texts."
|
|
BII 506
|
RASHI AND IBN EZRA'S COMMENTARY TO THE BIBLE (H)
Dr. Amira Meir
(3 cr.)
This course seeks to advance student knowledge and competence in Medieval Jewish commentary, through in-depth study of two
Medieval commentators. Following introductory sessions, the course will focus on Rashi's and Ibn Ezra's commentaries and their
main methods in interpreting the biblical text.
Students will be expected to select a number of commentaries of each commentator, analyze them, demonstrate profound and nuanced
understanding of them and present them to the class. No examination will be given.
|
|
BII 520
|
VICES IN BIBLICAL, TALMUDIC, AND MEDIEVAL HALAKHIC LITERATURE (H)
Drs. Alyssa Gray and
Dr. S. David Sperling
(3 cr.)
Cultures differ over what they consider to be virtues and vices. Constructions of virtue and vice also change over time among
people who see themselves as sharing in a common culture. This course surveys biblical, Talmudic, and medieval halakhic attitudes
to the following vices, among others: adultery, fornication, prostitution, tale-bearing, alcohol consumption, lying, gambling,
and cupidity. Through these studies, we hope to gain some insights into the changing Jewish moral and ethical imagination, social
history, and the effectiveness of law as a molder of people's character.
|
|
BII 521
|
SIBLING STORIES IN THE BIBLE (H)
Dr. Amira Meir
(3 cr.)
The course will engage us with selected biblical stories. In close reading we will study in-depth sibling stories such as those
of Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Lea, Joseph and his brothers, and other biblical stories. The course will focus on the unique
techniques of the biblical narrator such as type-scene, Leitwort, and more.
Students will be introduced to some Medieval as well as some critical modern commentaries of the stories.
|
|
SOE 412
|
ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS
Ms. Cyd Weissman
(3 cr.)
Synagogues and Jewish organizations are complicated and dynamic, with many actors including clergy, educators, learners, lay
leaders, the marginally affiliated, the active participants and others. In the current climate, roles and responsibilities often
overlap and blur among professionals, and between professionals and the laity. Working effectively requires thorough knowledge
of the culture of the organization, its values and beliefs, its structures and resources, and the role the various "stakeholders"
play in planning, decision-making and the implementation of change. In this course we will learn how to "read" organizations
using a variety of analytic frames. Students will develop a conceptual framework as well as strategies and tools for
understanding change processes and facilitating organizational change.
|
|
SOE 422
|
CURRICULUM AND EVALUATION
Dr. Susan Ruskin-Mayher
(3 cr.)
Content is delivered through curriculum. However, curriculum is a tool to be used in the dynamic interaction between students,
teachers, and subject matter that is at the heart of any educational experience. Lee Shulman writes that "the essential value of
curriculum is how it permits teachers to adapt, invent and transform as they confront the realities of classroom life" (1990).
In this course, we will investigate the process of curriculum development and how we as teachers can adapt, invent, and transform
learning experiences in our own teaching settings. We will raise and explore curriculum questions, phenomena, and issues that cut
across grade levels, subject matters, and settings.
Required of 2nd-yr.Education students, Mondays 8:00-10:00 a.m.
|
|
SOE CS
|
CLINICAL SUPERVISION
All first-year education students are required to work with a clinical faculty member, during the spring semester, on their
teaching in the field. Students and their clinical faculty members will meet regularly to improve students' teaching skills in
the field. This is a non-credit requirement in each semester.
|
|
SOE 432
|
M.A.R.E. Seminar
Ms. Jo Kay
(1.5 cr.)
Provides part of the supervision component of the requirements leading toward the M.A. with specialization in
religious education.
|
|
SOE 510
|
WHY ISRAEL MATTERS
Dr. Lisa Grant
(3 cr.)
This course will engage us in a process of reflecting on the meaning of Israel in American Jewish life. As we explore our
personal relationship to Israel, we will also develop a strategic vision for why and how we should teach Israel from the pulpit,
at camps, in the classroom and other settings where Jews gather to learn.
The course is organized around four overlapping spheres of how we understand and relate to Israel - Am, Torah, Eretz, and
Medinah. We will use primary sources, scholarly articles, literature, film, visual images, music and our reflections on
many of the sites and people visited throughout the year to consider these four closely related conceptions of Israel as a sacred
symbol and a living polity. Each class session is intended to highlight the tensions between the idealized vision and complex,
dynamic, and always challenging reality that shape our understandings and connections to Israel. Throughout the course, we will
leave time to address questions of personal meaning and how to bring the ideas home in terms of various forms of teaching about
Israel.
|
|
SOE 511
|
NEXUS AND INTERSECTIONS OF FAMILY AND ADULT EDUCATION
Dr. Lisa Grant
(3 cr.)
This course will explore the interactions between family and adult education. Some of the questions we will consider include:
When is family education adult education? How can adult education be more responsive to the needs of parents (and
grandparents)? How can we develop family education programs that meet the needs of adults both as parents and as adults learning
for themselves? Throughout the course, we will engage in a variety of conversations and exercises that will address four key
issues: (1) How to help make the home the primary learning environment (2) How to develop programs, classes, and curriculum that
will encourage parents to engage in their own Jewish learning? (3) How to create opportunities for families to learn together?
and (4) How to support parents in their own growth as both as Jewish parents and as Jewish adults.
|
|
SOE 543
|
SACRED AGING: HELPING SYNAGOGUES AND SCHOOLS ADDRESS THE LONGEVITY REVOLUTION
Rabbi Richard Address
(3 cr.)
This course is designed to raise awareness about the demographics of aging and related issues, provide resources for Jewish
educational leaders, and enable its participants to develop meaningful and creative programming. The course will address such
issues as:
- How do we respond to the longevity revolution? What resources can be tapped? What models of best practice
exist in the field?
- How can synagogues and schools provide support for caregivers? How is the concept of caregiver understood in
Jewish tradition?
- How can we create new rituals for our extended life span?
- What is meant by "spiritual autobiographies?" How does this concept relate to seeing life as a sacred journey?
- How can we identify and respond to the spiritual needs of today's older adults?
|
|
HIS 402
|
SURVEY OF JEWISH HISTORY - PART 2: FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO EMANCIPATION
Dr. Sharon F. Koren
(3 cr.)
This course continues the survey of Jewish history through the eighteenth century. Issues to be explored include the
interrelationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the Medieval period, Jewish identity and acculturation, the concept
of the individual, and the impact of emancipation on European Jewry. We will supplement our study with examples of medieval and
early modern poetry, art, and architecture.
|
|
HIS 403
|
SURVEY OF JEWISH HISTORY, PART 3
Dr. Carole B. Balin
(3 cr.)
This is the third and final semester in the Survey of Jewish History. Students will be introduced to European Jewish history
using primary and secondary texts. Attention will be paid as well to larger conceptual questions regarding the Jews' experiences
in this time span, including the ways in which the Enlightenment and Emancipation affected populations of Jews. The course will
end with a study of American Jewish history, with an emphasis on the development of Reform Judaism in this country.
|
|
HIS 412
|
SURVEY OF JEWISH HISTORY, PART 2
Dr. Carole B. Balin
(3 cr.)
This is a continuation of a yearlong survey of Jewish history. During the second semester, students will trace the rise and
development of Jewries under the Muslims and the Christians during the Middle Ages, followed by an examination of the Jewish
people's encounter with modernity. Analysis of primary and secondary historical texts will be enriched by art and music.
|
|
HIS 501
|
AT THE INTERSECTION OF HISTORY AND THE ARTS
Dr. Carole B. Balin and
Dr. Mark L. Kligman
(3 cr.)
This course is an historic survey of the arts in Judaism, with an emphasis on the visual and musical arts. Besides highlighting a
sample of noteworthy artists, composers, critics and trends (through in-class lectures and slide presentations, museum tours,
performances and meetings with contemporary artists), we will grapple with larger questions including:
- How has the interaction of Jews with other populations through time influenced internal Jewish culture and external
cultures? Is there such a thing as "pure" Jewish culture?
- What characterizes "Jewish art?" the "Jewish artist?"
- In what ways does the transcendent experience of viewing/listening to art parallel the transcendent experiences of
religion? Is art a conduit to religion?
|
|
HIS 536
|
THE WORLD OF SEPHARDIC JEWRY
Dr. Mark L. Kligman and
Sharon F. Koren
(1.5 cr.)
Take a virtual tour through Sephardic history and culture from its beginnings on the Iberian peninsula to modern day Flatbush.
|
|
HIS 537
|
HISTORY OF THE HOLOCAUST
Cantor Bruce Ruben
(3 cr.)
This course will attempt to come to grips with this catastrophic period in our people's history. We will examine the historical
origins of the Holocaust, the motivations of the Nazis, the problem of Jewish resistance, the possibility of rescue, theological
implications, and other issues. The class will be taught in a modified seminar structure with a lot of opportunity for
discussion.
|
|
JLL 402
|
DIKDUK AND SIFRUT
Ms. Michal Nachmany and
Dr. Wendy Zierler
(3 cr.)
This course will focus on the reading of modern Hebrew literary texts constructed around a theme such
as "Arakhim u-Musar." A systematic grammar review centering around enhanced mastery of the verb system will be equally
focused on practical application and the decoding of texts. Classes will be conducted in Hebrew and stress will also be given to
improving speaking and writing skills.
|
|
JLL 403
|
MODERN JEWISH LITERATURE
Dr. Wendy Zierler
(3 cr.)
Over the past 150 years, Jews have developed an impressive and varied literary tradition in English, Yiddish and Hebrew,
grappling with such diverse issues as the immigrant experience, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, assimilation and/or
acculturation, theology and spirituality, Zionism and Diasporas, Gender and Judaism, and Jewish family life. This course will
examine this rich literary tradition and grapple with the question of what makes this literature Jewish and modern. A special
section will be devoted to literary representations of the modern rabbi and synagogue.
|
|
JLL 500
|
BEIT MIDRASH (H)
Mr. Henry Resnick
(1.5 cr.)
Working in pairs, students will study Hebrew texts assigned for other courses with guidance available from a Beit Midrash
teacher.
Regular attendance is mandatory.
|
|
JLL 511
|
THE HISTORY OF HEBREW (H)
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
(3 cr.)
We will trace more than 3,000 years of Hebrew's development, discovering how pre-Biblical Hebrew became the Hebrew used in the
Bible, then Samaritan Hebrew, Rabbinic Hebrew, Medieval Hebrew and, finally Modern Hebrew. How do Modern and Biblical Hebrew
differ? How are they the same? What about the Hebrew of the Rabbis? Why were the "vowels" added after nearly 2,000 years of
unpointed text, only to fall into disuse again in modern times? What clues can trope marks give us about ancient Hebrew
structure?
|
|
JLL 516
|
EXODUS AND THE PASSOVER HAGGADAH: FEMINIST AND LITERARY REVISIONS (H)
Dr. Wendy Zierler
(3 cr.)
This course aspires to be a conversation between Jewish Time and Jewish Text. Proceeding from the premise that Jewish holiday
observances are texts performed in time, and that Jewish literature plays a part in the continual re-enactment of these texts,
this course will re-examine the holiday of Passover via the primary classical texts pertaining to its commemoration thereof-the
story of the Exodus as told in the biblical books of Exodus and Numbers and the Haggadah-focusing in particular on the ways in
which these texts have treated by feminist/gender-studies scholars. In addition, we will read modern Hebrew and American Jewish
literary materials that respond to the Exodus story and/or depict the Seder and the celebration of Passover.
|
|
MUS 403
|
DAILY & LIFE CYCLE
Cantor Israel Goldstein
(1 cr.)
This course is a continuation of the studies begun in Jerusalem and includes weekday Maariv and Shabbat Mincha. The Hazzan
Manual is examined to select appropriate music to be sung at funeral services and public memorial services. Classical
traditional accompanied recitatives are also examined and prepared by the students for performance.
|
|
MUS 413
|
HIGH HOLIDAYS REFORM
Cantor Faith Steinsnyder
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 416
|
SHABBAT REFORM
Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 422 & 454
|
CHORAL ENSEMBLE
Ms. Joyce Rosenzweig
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 423
|
SHABBAT TRADITIONAL
Cantor Faith Steinsnyder
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 425
|
CANTILLATION
Cantor Benjie Ellen Schiller
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 428
|
MUSIC ANALYSIS
Cantor Bruce Ruben
(1.5 cr.)
The goal of this course is to acquire tools for musical analysis, focusing specifically on the elements of form and design. The
semester will be divided into three sections: analysis of classical music, analysis of Reform synagogue music for cantor, choir
and organ, analysis of solo/traditional hazzanut. Students will be required to apply this knowledge to a research project.
|
|
MUS 434
|
ROSH HASHANAH TRADITIONAL
Cantors Jacob Mendelson and Erik Contzius
(1.5 cr.)
The Nusach of Rosh Hashanah through the use of the Katchko High Holiday and Alter High Holiday books and other source materials.
The class is prepared to present the Rosh Hashanah service beginning with Maariv and continuing with the Torah service through
the end of Musaf.
|
|
MUS 436
|
SHALOSH REGALIM TRADITIONAL
Cantor Israel Goldstein
(1.5 cr.)
This course covers the entire musical liturgy of Shalosh Regalim Eve, Schacharit, Hallel and Musaf including Tal and Geshem.
|
|
MUS 437
|
THREE FESTIVAL REFORM
Cantor Martha Novick
(1.5 cr.)
|
|
MUS 440
|
YOM KIPPUR TRADITIONAL
Cantor Israel Goldstein
(1.5 cr.)
This course covers the entire musical liturgy of Yom Kippur Eve, Musaf and Neila.
|
|
MUS 444
|
MUSIC EDUCATION: CANTOR AS EDUCATOR (CONTINUATION OF MUS 442)
Ms. Merri Lovinger Arian
(1.5 cr.)
This course is a continuation of the Quad 2 course. It surveys the many ways that music is used in congregational life beyond the
pulpit. This includes repertoire and teaching techniques for religious school grades K through 7. In addition, some time will
be devoted to the basic methods involved in setting up lay choirs and to other non-liturgical uses of music within the
congregation.
|
|
MUS 448
|
ART SONG
Ms. Joyce Rosenzweig
(1.5 cr.)
This course is a continuation of the Quad 2 course. It surveys the many ways that music is used in congregational life beyond the
pulpit. This includes repertoire and teaching techniques for religious school grades K through 7. In addition, some time will
be devoted to the basic methods involved in setting up lay choirs and to other non-liturgical uses of music within the
congregation.
|
|
MUS 452
|
REQUIRED GUITAR
Ms. Merri Lovinger Arian
(1.5 cr.)
By private appointment with the instructor
|
|
MUS 461
|
EMPOWERING THE CONGREGATIONAL VOICE (2.0)
Ms. Merri Lovinger Arian and
Cantor Benjie E. Schiller
(1.5 cr.)
Explore the powerful role that music plays in building community. We will study the techniques used to encourage and support
congregational singing. We will analyze congregational singing from both Jewish and non-Jewish perspectives, in order to
understand how different forms of musical practice can impact upon the prayer experience. It is our goal to help you feel
equipped to incorporate congregational singing into your own liturgical style, while beginning to develop an expertise in this
critical area of leadership.
|
|
MUS 463
|
MODAL HARMONY
Ms. Joyce Rosenzweig
(1.5 cr.)
Introduction to the art of arranging for keyboard the traditional works of Alter, Katchko, etc. The course will also cover
harmonic, structural, and stylistic analysis of various well-known works from the accompanied synagogue repertoire, as well as
improvisation on the piano.
|
|
MUS 481
|
HISTORY OF THE CANTORATE
Dr. Mark L. Kligman
(1.5 cr.)
This course is a survey of the role and function of the hazzan from previous centuries to the present in the Ashkenazic
tradition. Historical areas of study of the Ashkenazic cantorate include: the early musical style and role of cantor associated
with European hazzanut from the late Middle Ages into the Baroque era; and exploration of the vocal artistry of the 17th and 18th
centuries, with attention to such vaied musical styles as improvisation and meshorer, the challenges and changes of
modernity; the Golden Age of hazzanut in Europe and America in the 19th and 20th centuries.
|
|
MUS 501
|
AT THE INTERSECTION OF HISTORY AND THE ARTS
Dr. Carole B. Balin and
Dr. Mark L. Kligman
(3 cr.)
This course is an historic survey of the arts in Judaism, with an emphasis on the visual and musical arts. Besides highlighting a
sample of noteworthy artists, composers, critics and trends (through in-class lectures and slide presentations, museum tours,
performances and meetings with contemporary artists), we will grapple with larger questions including:
- How has the interaction of Jews with other populations through time influenced internal Jewish culture and external
cultures? Is there such a thing as "pure" Jewish culture?
- What characterizes "Jewish art?" the "Jewish artist?"
- In what ways does the transcendent experience of viewing/listening to art parallel the transcendent experiences of
religion? Is art a conduit to religion?
|
|
MUS 524
|
RARELY USED NUSACH AND IMPROVISATION
Cantor Jacob Mendelson
(1.5 cr.)
The art of improvising chants.
|
|
MUS 536
|
SEPHARDIC HISTORY, CULTURE AND MUSIC
Dr. Mark L. Kligman and
Dr. Sharon F. Koren
(1.5 cr.)
Take a virtual tour through Sephardic history and culture from its beginnings on the Iberian peninsula to modern day Flatbush.
|
|
MUS 561
|
MUSIC IN AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE
Dr. Mark L. Kligman
(1.5 cr.)
A variety of spiritual and cultural expressions are found in Jewish life in America. Music is incorporated into American Jewish
life in a variety of contexts, purposes and styles. This course will serve as an introduction to the rich musical life of Jews
in America through the various forms and functions of musical expression. Consideration will be given to the role of music in
traditional ritual settings and the extension of tradition notions of music while exploring the music used for celebrations, home
listening pleasure, and "Jewish" radio programs. This course will also serve as an introduction to ethnographic research,
utilizing monographs and studies of American Jewish life. Specific topics to be investigated include the various uses of music
to define ethnic identity in an urban setting through ethno musicological studies. Each student will complete a fieldwork
project by investigating a living tradition.
|
|
PDE 402
|
PASTORAL CARE AND COUNSELING
Dr. Betsy Stone and
Dr. Nancy H. Wiener
(3 cr.)
Continuation of the fall semester, team-taught course that introduced students to the field of pastoral care and counseling.
|
PDE 442
(A or B)
|
SPEECH & COMMUNICATION
Ms. Sandra Kazan
(1.5 cr.)
The goals of this course are to develop a more objective ear and to define the specific areas of each student's speech delivery
that need to be cultivated for the most effective preaching and communication. Students will participate in exercises to free
the speaking voices, increasing resonance range and articulation. Videotape will be used.
|
PDE 443
(A or B)
|
INTRODUCTION TO HOMILETICS: LISTENING TO THE LISTENERS
Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman (B) or
Rabbi Margaret M. Wenig (A)
(3 cr.)
Communication of speeches and sermons.
|
|
PDE 446
|
COMMUNICATION AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS SEMINAR
Gene Guberman, Psychoanalyst
(1.5 cr.)
The objective of this seminar that continues from the fall semester is to help students enhance their interpersonal competence,
strengthen work relationships, and improve overall job success. Through theoretical and group discussions, participants will
learn basic principles of effective communications as well as obstacles that render communication unfruitful/ineffective.
Through an interactive format and role-playing exercises, students will learn empathic listening, direct communication of ideas
and feelings, and other interpersonal skills.
|
|
PDE 450
|
SENIOR SEMINAR
Cantor Josee Wolff
(1.5 cr.)
An intensive workshop program that offers the opportunity for a number of practical subjects in Professional Development
centering on contemporary practical issues. This course is a continuation of the fall semester joint seminar with the
Rabbinical senior class.
|
|
PDE 451
|
SENIOR PRACTICA I & II
Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman
(1.5 cr.)
An intensive workshop program that offers the opportunity for a number of subjects in Professional Development centering on
contemporary practical issues.
|
|
PDE 519
|
ADVANCED HOMILETICS - BRINGING INSIGHT AND INSPIRATION TO THE PULPIT
Rabbi Jerome Davidson
(1.5 cr.)
Good sermons are never easy to write. Nonetheless, they provide Rabbis with a unique and powerful opportunity to challenge and
to motivate. On Holy Days and throughout the year, our congregants are moved by our preaching far more than we often imagine.
This course is designed to enhance skills in conceiving, shaping and writing sermons on a variety of themes: personal concerns,
societal issues and challenges to Jewish life, among them. Also to be discussed, the effective utilization of weekly Torah
portions and additional biblical and rabbinical texts. Some sessions will be devoted to weddings, funerals, B'nai Mitzvah
services and other occasions providing sermon opportunities.
|
|
PDE 547S
|
INDEPENDENT STUDY: SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
Dr. Carol Ochs
(1.5 cr.)
Students will meet on a weekly basis to be determined with faculty member.
|
|
PDE 549
|
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN PASTORAL COUNSELING: EXPLORING THE VARIOUS MODALITIES AND SETTINGS FOR PASTORAL COUNSELING
Dr. Howard Sommer
(1.5 cr.)
Through the use of case studies, the class will examine the ways that pastoral counseling can be utilized in a variety of
synagogue and Jewish communal/organizational settings. The interweaving of theological, psychological and ethical
concepts will be employed to explore the varied modalities in which pastoral counseling can be used effectively.
|
|
PDE 552
|
ADVANCED SPEECH LAB
Ms. Sandra Kazan
(1.5 cr.)
For students who wish to further develop their speech and communication skills. We shall concentrate on individual needs using
video playback for evaluation. A review of basic speech fundamentals will lead into sermon delivery, storytelling skills and
oral reading with emphasis on expressiveness and development of vocal power.
Book: Voice and the Actor by C. Berry.
|
|
RAB 412
|
EXEGETIC AND HOMILETICAL MIDRASHIM
Dr. Norman J. Cohen
(3 cr.)
An introduction to the history, structure, methods of exegesis and major themes of the Midrash, based upon a variety of
secondary readings and a selection of passages from the major expositional, homiletical, narrative and ethical midrashic
compilations.
|
RAB 421-
TALMUD
|
EXEGETIC AND HOMILETICAL MIDRASHIM
Dr. Alyssa Gray
(3 cr.)
Introduction to the language, terminology, and dialectics of the Babylonian Talmud through the reading and analysis of selected
sections of the Bavli.
|
|
RAB 510
|
HEVRUTA STUDY - MO'ED QUATAN (H)
Dr. Michael Chernick
(3 cr.)
The course seeks to promote a greater ability to study Talmud independently. Class hours will be divided into supervised
hevruta time followed by a summation of the assigned sugya at the end of each class. Individual hevrutot will
be assigned talmudic passages with selected commentaries, which they will prepare and present to the class as a shi`ur.
Intro. to Talmud or its equivalent is required in order to take this course. We will study Tractate Mo'ed Quatan.
|
|
RAB 524
|
CATASTROPHE: EIKHA (LAMENTATIONS) AND EIKHA RABBATI (LAMENTATIONS RABBA) (H)
Rabbi Bernard H. Mehlman
(2.5 cr.)
How do we define catastrophe? What mark does it leave on our lives? Our people's lives? These are questions we all struggle with
today. They were not unknown questions to our ancestors. In fact, catastrophe was the backdrop for the biblical book of
Lamentations. Centered in one place in the Bible canon these poems serve as a reminder of our people's ancient anguish. Though
we cannot date the poems decisively, we understand them as commemorating the destruction of the first and second Temples.
Eikha Rabbati, [Lamentations Rabba] is a Midrashic collection which voices our Sages understanding of those historic
events from their perspective. The texts survive, layer upon layer, read and reread for meaning today. In this course we will
read Lamentations and selections from Eikha Rabbati in an effort to uncover the meaning of these texts and how they
inform our understanding of catastrophe today. What may we learn from these texts? How might we teach them in our troubled
world?
|
|
RAB 534
|
RABBINIC APPROACHES TO LEGAL CHANGE (H)
Dr. Aaron D. Panken
(3 cr.)
Rabbinic legal texts present numerous examples of laws altered to meet new circumstances. The Rabbis invoked sociological
motivations, business and agricultural changes, ideology, catastrophic historical events and many other rationales to justify
the acknowledged changes they made to law. Students in this course will learn a series of legal texts from Mishnah, Tosefta,
Bavli and Yerushalmi that highlight the flexible and responsive approach to halakhah that was typical during the rabbinic
period. By reviewing legal theoretical approaches, combined with the various rationales and prominent authorities initiating
change accepted into the rabbinic legal canon, we will analyze approaches to legal change that have major implications for
Reform Jews (and others) today.
|
|
RAB 535
|
READINGS IN SEFER HA-MADA (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
This course will deal with Maimonides' theological, psychological, and educational views as presented in Hilchot Yesodei Ha
Torah, Hilchot Deot, Hilchot Teshuvah, and Hilchot Talmud Torah. These views will be contrasted to the views expressed by
Maimonides in the Guide.
|
|
RAB 543
|
TALMUDIC AGGADAH (H)
Dr. Michael Chernick
(3 cr.)
Selected readings in the Aggadah of the Babylonian Talmud, with emphasis on literary structure and linguistic patterns, which
contribute to the Aggadah's meaning. The course also considers the types, uses, and methods of Talmudic aggadah, the status of
Talmudic aggadah in relation to Halakhah, and the interdependence of halakhah and aggadah.
|
|
RAB 545
|
VICES IN BIBLICAL, TALMUDIC, AND MEDIEVAL HALAKHIC LITERATURE (H)
Dr. Alyssa Gray and
Dr. S. David Sperling
(3 cr.)
Cultures differ over what they consider to be virtues and vices. Constructions of virtue and vice also change over time among
people who see themselves as sharing in a common culture. This course surveys biblical, Talmudic, and medieval halakhic
attitudes to the following vices, among others: adultery, fornication, prostitution, tale-bearing, alcohol consumption, lying,
gambling, and cupidity. Through these studies, we hope to gain some insights into the changing Jewish moral and ethical
imagination, social history, and the effectiveness of law as a molder of people's character.
|
|
RAB 561
|
A STUDY OF THE COMMENTARY OF NACHMONIDES (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
Mystic and philosopher, Moses Nachmonides (1195-1270) sought to mediate the Maimonist-anti-Maimonist controversy. His
commentary to the Torah, embracing insights of the Kabbalah as well as those of philosophy, is symbolic in nature standing
between a literal and an allegorical understanding of the Torah Text. That commentary will be read in connection with passages
in the Sefer Ha-Bahir and the Moreh Nevuchim.
|
|
RAB 564
|
MAIMONIDES AND THE FATHERS (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
This course will study Maimonides commentary to the Tractate Avot and the introduction to that commentary: the Eight
Chapters.
|
|
RAB 565
|
POVERTY AND TSEDAQAH IN HALAKHA AND AGGADAH (H)
Dr. Alyssa Gray
(3 cr.)
In this course we will examine attitudes and policies pertaining to poverty and its alleviation in the Talmuds,
midrash-compilations, and medieval halakhic literature. Topics include (among others) why people are or become poor, theologies
of poverty, rabbis' attitudes toward their own personal wealth or poverty, the rights and responsibilities of the poor, ways of
organizing the collection and distribution of tsedaqah, and priorities in the distribution of tsedaqah.
|
|
RTE 413
|
INTRODUCTION TO MODERN JEWISH THOUGHT
Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz and
Dr. Michael Morgan
(3 cr.)
How might thoughtful Jews describe what they believe and why they feel they are right in doing so? We shall study the still
relevant interpretations of Judaism of thinkers from Hermann Cohen, the initiator of academically significant Jewish thought,
down to the significant writers and themes of the present. This exposure to the ideas of our finest minds should empower
students, by agreement and dissent, to shape their own sophisticated understanding of a worthy Jewish faith today.
|
|
RTE 505
|
JEWISH ETHICS TODAY
Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz
(3 cr.)
Ethics has been a central theme in Reform Judaism since its earliest days. Today, however, ethical problems have become ever
more complex and thinking about ethics has become highly contentious. This course will seek to help students gain the skills
needed to understand and respond to these issues, and how to find and utilize Jewish sources to do so. Thus, one unit of our
work will be devoted to the controversy over "faith based politics."
|
|
RTE 512
|
HISTORY OF JEWISH MYSTICISM (H)
Dr. Sharon F. Koren
(3 cr.)
This course will survey the history of Jewish mysticism from its prophetic roots to modern day Hasidism. Primary sources will
be read in the original (translations will be available).
|
|
RTE 535
|
READINGS IN SEFER HA-MADA (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
This course will deal with Maimonides' theological, psychological, and educational views as presented in Hilchot Yesodei Ha
Torah, Hilchot Deot, Hilchot Teshuvah, and Hilchot Talmud Torah. These views will be contrasted to the views expressed by
Maimonides in the Guide.
|
|
RTE 561
|
A STUDY OF THE COMMENTARY OF NACHMONIDES (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
Mystic and philosopher, Moses Nachmonides (1195-1270) sought to mediate the Maimonist-anti-Maimonist controversy. His
commentary to the Torah, embracing insights of the Kabbalah as well as those of philosophy, is symbolic in nature standing
between a literal and an allegorical understanding of the Torah Text. That commentary will be read in connection with passages
in the Sefer Ha-Bahir and the Moreh Nevuchim.
|
|
RTE 564
|
MAIMONIDES AND THE FATHERS (H)
Dr. Leonard S. Kravitz
(3 cr.)
This course will study Maimonides commentary to the Tractate Avot and the introduction to that commentary: the Eight
Chapters.
|
|
RTE 566
|
PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
Dr. Carol Ochs
(1.5 cr.)
Spiritual guidance is concerned with our relationship with God. Our approach will be interdisciplinary: exploring the history
of this ministry as well as the psychological, sociological, ethical, biblical and theological components of this practice.
Spiritual guidance is a participant practice. We know how to guide by having been guided. The subject matter will always be
concrete particular individuals that we know and have counseled. The three-fold objective for this class is: to understand
spiritual guidance, to foster our own spirituality, and to learn how to foster the spirituality of others.
|
|
RTE
|
INDEPENDENT STUDY
Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz
(1.5 cr.)
Prerequisites: Required Philosophy/Theology courses. With instructor's permission, student may work on Independent Study in the
Philosophy/Theology, Rabbinics (Thought) and Medieval Musar works, all by personal arrangement. Credit to be determined.
|
|
WRI 402
|
LITURGY PART 1
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman
(1.5 cr.)
This course will provide a methodological overview for the study of liturgy as a textual discipline, as well as introduce a
non-textual perspective, which is followed in later electives.
|
|
WRI 403
|
LITURGY PART 2
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman
(1.5 cr.)
This course continues last year's methodological overview for the study of liturgy as a textual discipline and introduces a
non-textual perspective, which is followed in later electives.
|
|
WRI 404
|
HIGH HOLY DAY LITURGY
Rabbi Margaret M. Wenig
(1.5 cr.)
In-depth study of the High Holy Day machzor, including introduction to the classical sources that explain its development;
literary analysis of the liturgical structure which provides clues to the way the liturgy functions; and discussion of the
religious messages that speak to us today. This course encourages a collaborative approach to liturgical planning, and
emphasizes ways to use the Reform Gates of Repentance so that worshipers can experience the power of the liturgy,
community and God.
|
|
WRI 410
|
INTRODUCTION TO LITURGY FOR EDUCATORS
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman
(3 cr.)
An introduction to the structure and content of the weekday and Shabbat liturgies, augmented with special topics, including the
role of services in supplemental Hebrew School education and techniques for teaching prayers to children.
|
|
WRI 510
|
INTRODUCTION TO LITURGY FOR EDUCATORS
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman
(3 cr.)
We read the classics that impinge on an understanding of ritual, such as Freud, Jung, Durkheim, Eliade, Mary Douglas, and
Levi-Strauss. Most of these theorists were Jews, or were involved with Jews, so the class also handles their relationship to
modern Jewish history. Be prepared to read the equivalent of a book a week -- not for detail but for essential ideas (enough to
take part in serious class discussion). The class stresses a dialogic atmosphere in which students and instructor openly share
questions, doubts, and ideas. The goal is for students to develop an appreciation of ritual, to be able to answer ritual
critics, and to begin the process of formulating a personal theology that flows from the act of ritualizing.
|
*(H) means the course uses a Hebrew text and knowledge of Hebrew is required.
|
|
