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SYLLABUS AND COURSE OF STUDY

HEBREW R10a/16a (Instructor: Professor Leo Haber):


A.  Textbooks and Materials:

In Hebrew:

1.  Modern Hebrew Reader and Grammar (Mavo La-Lashon Ha-Ivrit U-Li-Diktukah), two volumes, Abraham Aaroni, Reuben Wallenrod, Shilo Publishing House, New York. 
2.  Modern Hebrew: A Course in Reading, Grammar, and Conversation, Part Two (Ivrit Chayah, Chelek Sheni), Harry Blumberg, Mordecai H. Lewittes, Hebrew Publishing Company, N.Y.
3.  Gateway to Hebrew Literature (Shaar La-Sifrut), Zevi Scharfstein, Shilo Publishing House, N.Y. 
4.  Select Readings in Hebrew Literature (Mi-Sifrut Ha-Dorot), Lewittes and Blumberg, Hebrew Publishing Company, New York.
5. Reader in Modern Hebrew Literature (Mikraah Ba-Sifrut Ha-Ivrit Ha-Chadashah), Simha Rubinstein, Benjamin Benari, Jewish Education Committee Press, New York.
6.  Modern Hebrew Literature (Me-Otzar Ha-Sifrut Ha-Chadashah), George L. Epstein, Max Zeldner, Hebrew Publishing Company, New York.
7.  Mikr'ot Yisrael Chadashot, Natan Perski, Hotzaat Masadah, Ramat Gan, Israel. 
8.  A supplementary variety of poetry, fiction, or essays culled from other sources such as Hebrew 	newspapers and periodicals published in the United States or in Israel.
9.  Practice Exercises for Listening Comprehension in Hebrew, Solomon Moskowitz, Dr. Marvin 	Sorscher, Jewish Education Press, New York.

In English:

1.  The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories, edited by Glenda Abramson, Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 1996 (hardcover).
2.  Modern Hebrew Literature, edited by Robert Alter, Behrman House, West Orange, New Jersey, 1975 (softcover).


B.  Course Description:

The first two texts listed above (#1, 2) provide the basic grammatical material-a traversal of the verb constructions from Kal to Hitpael, the "irregulars," i.e., the more frequently encountered Gizrot, passive participles, the construct state, irregular noun plurals, declension of prepositions, the conversive Vav, etc.  These two texts also provide graded reading materials on life in Israel, folk tales, and Talmudic legend that are sometimes used with students who have had less experience with Hebrew.  The instructor excerpts material from the above book list for class use.

 The next five texts listed above (#3, 4, 5, 6, 7) provide poetry, fiction, and essays that form the basis of the literary aspect of the course. The eighth listing of supplementary materials sometimes provides additional items of literary interest.  Students may read and master poetry by Bialik, Tchernichovsky, Rachel, Shin Shalom, or others of equivalent stature; fiction by Mendele, Peretz, Shalom Aleichem, David Frishman, Gershon Shofman, S.Y. Agnon, up to the current fiction by Yehoshua Kenaz and Ruth Almog; essays by Achad Ha'am, Ruben Breinin, Daniel Persky, etc.  The instructor excerpts material from the above book list for class use.

 The ninth listing, a booklet which includes practice listening-comprehension exercises and tests, provides aural exercises imitative of past New York State Regents examinations in Hebrew and is used at various points in the course to chart student progress in this vital skill.  The instructor excerpts material from this booklet for class use.   

 The last two books listed above (under English) that are critical anthologies of modern Hebrew literature in English translation are assigned for student reading outside of class.  Students are expected to read both the critical apparatus and substantial examples of the literature and to produce a paper in English on the subject that shows their analysis and comprehension of the literature, as well as their understanding of the historical development of the genre in the modern era.
  

  C.  Class Procedure:

  Though the two sessions of the week may deal with any aspect of the course, part of the first session of each week is usually devoted to conversational interaction in Hebrew on weekend activities, news events of importance, guided conversations, etc.  The course, in general, is conducted in Hebrew, though fine grammatical points and similar nuances are frequently explained and clarified in English.

  Students are assigned written homework each week involving both grammatical exercises and literary study.  Students are expected to hand in their work at the end of the second session each week.  This work is corrected and ordinarily returned to the students at the very next class session after the weekend.

  Students are tested during each of the two semesters. Separate written and aural/oral exams are given in every testing situation.  Composition work is also assigned.  In addition, students are asked to read aloud at almost every class session; improvement in this area is an equally important goal.  The required term paper in English on the Hebrew literature has already been noted above.


  D.  Conclusion:

  In sum, the course attempts to give students experiences in the four pillars of language study:  listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  The "reading" component stresses both skill in reading vocalized and unvocalized texts in Hebrew and acquainting students with some masterpieces of 19th and 20th century Hebrew literature.  At the same time, one would hope that students begin to appreciate the work of Eliezer Ben Yehudah-the abiding miracle of the revival of modern Hebrew in these two centuries and its close relation to the great works of Biblical and Mishnaic Hebrew.
   SYLLABUS AND COURSE OF STUDY

   M.A.R.E. HEBREW 1 and HEBREW 2 (Instructor: Professor Leo Haber):


   A.  Textbooks and Materials:

   1.  Readings from Genesis such as the following: The Binding of Isaac, Jacob's reunion with Esau, selections from the Joseph story.
   2.  Select Readings in Hebrew Literature (Mi-Sifrut Ha-Dorot), Lewittes and Blumberg, Hebrew Publishing Company, New York.
   3.  Readings from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers)

   B.  Course Description:

   This course is designated for M.A.R.E. students whose Hebrew background is minimal but who seek to be able to deal with classic texts with the help of a dictionary.  This would require their being familiar with grammatical structures commonly found in the Tanach without which knowledge, even use of a Hebrew/English dictionary becomes problematical.  Students are expected to be able to read Hebrew mechanically upon entering the course.  Then they are exposed immediately to a classic text wherein each word and each locution is translated and analyzed in terms of form and structure.  In this way, students internalize use of "the conversive vav (vav ha-hipuch)," possessive endings on nouns, object (accusative) endings on verbs, etc., that could lead them to the goal of mastering another text by themselves with the help of a good dictionary.  

   It is important to know what the course does not set out to do.  Unlike other conventional language courses, this course does not expect to develop the student's aural/oral competence in modern Hebrew conversation or extensive writing skills in Hebrew.  In a course of the latter type, both language and grammar would be built up gradually from the simple to the complex over an extended period of time, but in this course, vocabulary and grammatical forms are taught experientially-as they are met in the classic text being studied.  It is hoped that the limited goal set up can therefore be achieved in a shorter period of time.  Nor is the terminology of grammar emphasized; recognition of grammatical forms is the point of emphasis.  Knowledge of grammar is, after all, a means to an end, not an end in itself as it may very well be for the specialist in linguistics.  Finally, one should also make it clear that modern Hebrew is not wholly neglected.  Whenever and wherever possible, synonyms from modern Hebrew and alternate grammatical forms from modern Hebrew are consistently presented for those being encountered in the classic text.  The intention here is to show a seamless connection between the ancient and the modern and to inspire students to an ultimate goal of seeking a level of competence in both.    


   C.  Class Procedure:

    Both classes meet once a week though an ideal situation would provide a second meeting for each class each week.  The Level 1 class might be dealing with "The Binding of Isaac," while the Level 2 class might be dealing with the story of Saul, Jonathan, and David (from Samuel I) as it appears in the Lewittes and Blumberg text noted above.  Though the sessions are conducted largely in English, the instructor consistently tries to use Hebrew synonyms, antonyms, and phrases by way of clarifying the classic text.  Students are asked to read aloud at each and every session since ease in reading is crucial to ultimate mastery.  They are also asked to respond in English and in Hebrew to material studied at a previous session.  Though the course is centered on Hebrew skills in reading a classic text and though the course is not a Rabbinic course in interpretation and theology, some time can be devoted to student aesthetic and ideological responses to the text being studied.  After all, the committed adults who attended HUC/JIR cannot be deterred completely from thinking about the spiritual and the literary aspects of Torah and succeeding great books of the Hebrew canon.  It also follows that if a student seeks to attend both Levels 1 and 2, he/she should be offered the opportunity.

    Homework each week generally consists of assigned re-reading by students on a daily basis of the text being studied and detailed review of the notes a student has taken on the vocabulary and grammatical material covered.  In Level 2, the instructor may assign writing exercises found in the Lewittes and Blumberg text.

    Since this course is a no-credit course, students are not given a formal grade.  Nevertheless, a test may be administered at the end of a semester wherein students are provided with a classic excerpt of equivalent difficulty to the one studied and a glossary of vocabulary not heretofore encountered.   The students are then asked to analyze complex Biblical constructions or, after lengthier preparation, to translate the passage successfully, based on the knowledge they have gained of the distinctive morphology of the ancient Hebrew texts.  Such a test is not to be used for grading purposes, but for diagnostic purposes.  The student and the teacher can then come to more informed conclusions on how much more study of this type is needed to attain the aspired-for goal.

    D.  Conclusion:

    In sum, the course attempts to give students an entry into the reading of classic texts in the original Hebrew.  At the same time, it concedes the existence of a revived modern Hebrew language that harks back to the glories of the Tanach.