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             HEBREW UNION COLLEGE- JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION
                               FALL SEMESTER

                           Talmud with Rishonim



Rabbinics #563       Tractate Sanhedrin, ch. 3.
Prof. Michael Chernick

Course Goals and Methodology

The primary goal of this course is to hone the students' skills in accessing and using the medieval talmudic commentators as an aid to deepening their understanding and conceptualizing of the talmudic argument.The course also seeks to re-inforce the students' familiarity with the talmudic sugya and their proficiency in unpacking it.

In regard to the basic talmudic sugya, we will use the same methodology studied in the introductory Talmud course (translation, outline, halakhic conceptualization, and an attempt to find the theological, ethical, or philosophical point of the sugya). 

The course introduces the students to the basic assumptions and methodology of the medieval commentators, especially the ba`alei ha-tosafot. The course familiarizes students with tosafistic terminology and rhetoric in order to make it possible them  to outline a tosafistic comment. The student will then learn to recognize how the comment is derived from the talmudic text and how it impacts on the understanding of that text. Students will also be encouraged to develop their ability to look at the medieval commentators' views with a critical eye, to weigh the validity of both their questions and comments, and to understand how their approach often changed the meaning of the talmudic text in radical fashion while giving the impression of unbroken continuity of the talmudic tradition.

Useful Tools for the Study of Rishonim (Tosafot)

R. Ya`akov  b. Asher, Arba`ah Turim (epitomizes views of Franco-German Ba`alei ha-Tosafot and Sephardic rishonim, especially from Spain).

Enzyklopedia Talmudit (summarizes and footnotes rishonic sources).
 Any of the annotated editions of the following:
 Hiddushei ha-Ritva (R. Yomtob b. Abraham of Seville), Tosafot ha-RiD (R. Isaac di Trani), Hiddushei ha-Ramban (R. Moses b. Nahman), *Bet ha-Behirah (Menahem ha-Meiri), Hiddushei ha-Rashba (R. Solomon b. Adret).              

 *especially useful

 Adin Steinsaltz, The Steinsaltz Talmud--The Reference Guide, pp. 99-154 (terminology); p. 157-275 (halakhic concepts).

 Ephraim E. Urbach, Ba`alei ha-Tosafot (biographies and methodological studies of the French and German Tosafists).


 Course Requirements

 1. All sugyot must be prepared with Rashi's commentary for each session.

 2. EJ articles on the following personalities must be read and a precis on the readings submitted by mid-semester: R. Isaac Alfasi, Maimonides, RaShI,  R. Isaac b. Samuel, R. Ya`akov b. Meir (Rabbenu Tam), R. Menahem ha-Meiri, R. Moses b. Nahman, R. Solomon b. Adret, R. Nissim b. Reuben Gerondi, R. Yomtov b. Abraham of Seville.

 3. Final paper analyzing a sugya and comparing two medieval commentators' views on it.

 Tractate Sanhedrin

 I. Overview of the tractate
    A.Various courts and their jurisdiction
    B. Rules governing the high priest and king
    C. Qualifications for judges and witnesses
    D. Procedures for civil, ritual, criminal and capital cases
    E. Examination of witnesses
    F. Death penalties and their execution (until ch.6-9 and 11)
    G. Rabbinic Judaism's dogmas and eschatology

 II. Chapter 4
    A. Deviation from the standard rules of qualification
         1. Judges and witnesses  
    B. Disqualified persons
    C. Rules of evidence and court procedures in civil cases

       Readings in Sanhedrin, ch. 3