RLST 3100 -- JUDAISM

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

A. WHAT THE COURSE IS NOT

B. TWO GOALS OF THE COURSE

    1. UNDERSTAND THE PAST

    2. UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT

C. A HISTORICAL APPROACH

THE BEGINNINGS OF JUDAISM

A. ANCIENT ISRAEL — THE PLACE

B. THE HEBREW BIBLE (OLD TESTAMENT)

C. THE ORIGINS OF ANCIENT ISRAEL

    1. THE BIBLE’S STORY

    2. HISTORIANS’ RECONSTRUCTIONS

        a. PEACEFUL INFILTRATION FROM THE DESERT

        b. REBELLION OF CANAANITE PEASANTS

THE TRIBAL PERIOD (before c. 1000 BCE)

A. POLITICAL HISTORY

    1. THE "TRIBES"

    2. PHILLISTINE ATTACKS

    3. RISE OF ISRAELITE MONARCHY

        a. JUDGES

        b. SAUL

        c. DAVID

        d. PERMANENCE AND CENTRALIZATION

B. RELIGIOUS HISTORY

    1. CANAANITE GODS

        a. BA’AL

        b. EL

2. YAHWEH, THE GOD OF WAR

        a. YAHWEH’S WARS

        b. YAHWEH’S SACRED MOUNTAIN

        c. THE HOLY ARK

        d. YAHWEH THE "NUMINOUS" GOD

THE DAVIDIC MONARCHY

A. SECULAR CHANGES

    1. UNIFICATION OF "TRIBES"

    2. JERUSALEM, THE NEW CAPITAL

    3. BUILDING PROJECTS

    4. THE ROYAL BUREAUCRACY

    5. ECONOMIC STRATIFICATION

B. RELIGIOUS CHANGES

    1. A LEGITIMATING IDEOLOGY

    2. THE IDEAL KING

    3. YAHWEH, GOD OF JERUSALEM

    4. THE COVENANT WITH DAVID: A HEREDITARY MONARCHY

    5. THE IDEALS: STABILITY AND "SHALOM"

    6. THE IDEALIZED UNITY OF THE KINGDOM

    7. INTERNAL DISCIPLINE AND EXTERNAL ENEMIES
 

KINGSHIP AND RITUAL

A. JERUSALEM AS RITUAL CENTER

    1. LEGITIMATING THE MONARCHY

    2. SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

    3. THE PRIESTS AND TORAH

B. THE PSALMS AS RITUAL SONGS

    1. PILGRIMAGE

    2. LAMENT PSALMS

    3. KINGSHIP PSALMS

    4. THE MYTHIC PATTERN

C. YAHWEH AS KING

    1. THE BA’AL PATTERN

    2. THE EL PATTERN

    3. DIVINE KING AND HUMAN KING

D. THE RITUAL OF SACRIFICE

    1. SACRIFICE AS GIFT

    2. SACRIFICE AS SHARED MEAL

    3. SACRIFICE AS ATONEMENT (KIPPUR)

    4. ACTING OUT THE MYTHIC PATTERN

        a. STABILITY AND SHALOM

        b. THE IDEALIZED UNITY OF THE KINGDOM

        c. INTERNAL DISCIPLINE AND EXTERNAL ENEMIES

THE PROPHETS

A. THE EARLIEST PROPHETS
    1. PROPHETS SERVE THE KING

    2. TECHNIQUES OF PROPHECY

B. SOURCES OF DISCONTENT IN ISRAEL AND JUDAH

    1. POLITICAL

    2. ECONOMIC

    3. RELIGIOUS

C. ELIJAH VS. THE PROPHETS OF BA’AL

    1. THE YAHWEH - ONLY MOVEMENT

    2. THE POLITICAL CONTEXT

D. THE "WRITING" PROPHETS

    1. AMOS

        a. JUSTICE

        b. CRITIQUE OF RITUAL

    2. HOSEA

        a. KNOWLEDGE = LOVE

        b. THE FIRST ESCHATOLOGY

    3. ISAIAH

        a. JUSTICE AND LOVE

        b. POLITICS AND ESCHATOLOGY

DEUTERONOMY AND THE

DEUTERONOMIC MOVEMENT

A. UNIFYING THEOLOGY OF DEUTERONOMY

    1. LITERARY FORM: MOSES’ SERMON

    2. SH’MA (DT. 6:4): YAHWEH THE ONLY GOD FOR ISRAEL

    3. THE CHOSEN PEOPLE —

MOSES AND THE EXODUS FROM EGYPT

    4. YAHWEH THE LAWGIVER — SINAI

    5. REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

    6. RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES

B. WHO WERE THE DEUTERONOMISTS?

    1. REFUGEES FROM NORTHERN KINGDOM

    2. MODERATE PROPHETS

    3. LEVITES (LOWER LEVEL PRIESTS)

    4. MIDDLE CLASS REFORMERS

    5. ALL OF THE ABOVE — AN ALLIANCE
C. JOSIAH’S REFORM

    1. POLITICAL SITUATION

    2. CENTRALIZATION OF WORSHIP

    3. INDIVIDUAL AND NATION

    4. ATTACK ON CANAANITES

    5. THE ROLE OF THE KING

    6. STASIS AND CHANGE

D. THE DEUTERONOMIC HISTORY

    1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

    2. THE PATTERN OF HISTORY

        a. YAHWEH’S COVENANT

        b. DISOBEDIENCE

        c. PROPHET’S WARNING

        d. REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS

    2. THE IMAGE OF YAHWEH

        a. JEALOUS

        b. JUST & PREDICTABLE

3. AMBIGUOUS ENDING

SUMMARY OF BIBLICAL IMAGES OF YAHWEH

KINGS AND PRIESTS: YAHWEH PRESERVES STATUS QUO — DISORDER IS ROUTINE —

NOT A RADICAL THREAT

PROPHETS AND GENESIS/EXODUS:

YAHWEH OVERTURNS STATUS QUO — LIBERATES

CREATES RADICAL CHANGE — DISORDER IS CRISIS

NEED RADICAL TRUST TO SURVIVE CRISIS

DEUTERONOMY: YAHWEH REPAIRS STATUS QUO

CREATES MODERATE CHANGE —

DISORDER IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN BUT

NOT CRISIS — NEED ONLY ROUTINE OBEDIENCE

RESPONSES TO THE CRISIS OF 586

A. DESTRUCTION AND EXILE

    1. EXILE TO BABYLONIA

    2. MANY LEFT IN JUDAH

B. THE GENESIS STORY

    1. THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM

    2. THE PROMISE IN DOUBT

    3. THE IMAGE OF YAHWEH

        a. SOURCE OF BLESSING

        b. GOD OF THE FUTURE

        c. UNPREDICTABLE

    4. ABRAHAM AS MODEL OF TRUST

C. THE EXODUS STORY

    1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

    2. RELIGIOUS MEANINGS

        a. EVIDENCE OF ‘CHOSENNESS’

        b. RADICAL TRUST

        c. CHOSENNESS AND OBEDIENCE

EXILE AND RETURN

A. PROPHETS OF THE EXILE

    1. EZEKIEL

        a. INDIVIDUAL REWARD & PUNISHMENT

        b. PROMISE OF GROUP RESTORATION

    2. THE SECOND ISAIAH

        a. LITERARY EXPLANATION

        b. MESSAGE OF COMFORT

        c. CAN YAHWEH DO IT?

    1. YAHWEH’S POWER — MONOTHEISM

    2. YAHWEH’S CONTROL OF HISTORY— CYRUS AS MESSIAH

    3. NATIONALISM AND UNIVERSALISM

B. THE BOOK OF JOB

    1. LITERARY EXPLANATION

    2. THE PROSE STORY

    3. THE POEM

        a. JOB AND HIS FRIENDS

        b. GOD AS UNPREDICTABLE TYRANT

        c. THE MEANING OF GOD’S SPEECH

    1. ORDER IN THE WORLD

    2. GOD CARES FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL

    3. GOD’S NUMINOUS POWER MORE IMPORTANT THAN JUSTICE

THE PERSIAN ERA

A. HAGGAI: REBUILDING THE TEMPLE

B. THE PRIESTS AS ELITE LEADERS

C. OPPOSITION TO THE ELITE

    1. THE LEVITES

    2. THE NATIONALISTIC PROPHETS AND THEIR ESCHATOLOGY

    3. NEHEMIAH

        a. NATIONALISM

        b. SABBATH LAWS

        c. RIGHTS OF THE POOR

        d. BAN ON INTERMARRIAGE

    4. EZRA

        a. THE TORAH BOOK

1. A COMPROMISE WITH THE PRIESTS
2. TEXT AND INTERPRETATION

        c. BAN ON INTERMARRIAGE

    5. NATIONALISM AND UNIVERSALISM

HELLENISM

A. CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT

B. PHASE 1: REASON AND STUDY

    1. UNIVERSAL HELLENISTIC CULTURE

    2. THE JEWISH VERSION

        a. WRITTEN TORAH

        b. ORAL TORAH

C. PHASE 2: LIVE FOR TODAY

    1. HELLENISTIC PESSIMISM

    2. THE JEWISH VERSION: ECCLESIASTES

        A. MEANINGLESS CYCLES OF HISTORY

        B. NO REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS

        C. UNIVERSALISM — NOT NATIONALISM

        D. THE GOOD LIFE

THE STRUGGLE OVER HELLENISM

A. THE CHALLENGE OF HELLENISM

    1. HELLENISM AS A UNIVERSAL CULTURE

    2. JUDAISM: FINDING THE MIDDLE GROUND

B. BEN SIRA’S DEFENSE OF JUDAISM (c. 200)

    1. THE DEUTERONOMIC THEOLOGY

    2. THE STUDY OF TORAH: WRITTEN AND ORAL

C. THE MACABEEAN WAR (167-152)

    1. A WAR AGAINST A FOREIGN KING

    2. A CULTURAL CIVIL WAR: THE HASIDIM

    3. THE BOOK OF DANIEL

        a. APOCALYPTIC ESCHATOLOGY

        b. RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

FROM THE MACABEES TO THE RABBIS

A. COALITION OF HASIDIM BREAKS UP

    1. THE HASMONEAN KINGS

    2. THE SADDUCEES

    3. THE PHARISEES

        a. ORAL TORAH & RESURRECTION

        b. GIVING UP POWER

    1. ROMAN CONQUEST (64 bce)

    2. RITUAL PURITY IN EVERDAY LIFE

    3. LIVING OUTSIDE HISTORY

    4. THE ZEALOTS

    5. THE JESUS MOVEMENT

ORIGINS OF RABBINIC JUDAISM

A. THE WAR AGAINST ROME (66-70 AD/CE)

B. RESPONSES TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE

    1. PRIESTS LOSE BASIS OF THEIR ROLE

    2. SADDUCEES LOSE POWER

    3. PHARISEES PREPARED TO LEAD

C. RABBINIC LITERATURE

    1. LITERARY FORMS

        a. MIDRASH

        b. MISHNAH

    2. TYPES OF CONTENT

        a. HALAKHAH

        b. AGGADA

D. THE RABBINIC VIEW OF HISTORY

    1. CREATION

    2. REVELATION

    3. REDEMPTION

    4. THE "ROLLERCOASTER" PATTERN

E. RABBINIC RELIGION: KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THE THREE GREAT MOMENTS

LAW IN RABBINIC JUDAISM

A. LAW AS THE CENTRAL FOCUS

B. REASONS FOR OBEYING THE LAW

    1. SOCIOLOGICAL

        A. HABIT

        B. COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY

        C. PRESTIGE OF THE RABBIS

    2. EXPLICIT RELIGIOUS MEANINGS

        A. ATONEMENT FOR SIN

        B. REWARD AND PUNISHMENT

        C. TORAH FOR ITS OWN SAKE

    3. IMPLICIT RELIGIOUS MEANINGS

        A. ROLE OF LAW IN THE MYTHIC PATTERN

        B. OBEDIENCE AS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

        C. INNER UNITY

        D. BEING PART OF THE PROCESS OF REDEMPTION

PRAYER IN RABBINIC JUDAISM

A. CONNECTIONS WITH THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE

    1. SHEKINAH

    2. STRUCTURE OF PRAYER SERVICE (AVODAH)

B. GROUP PRAYER

    1. PRINCIPAL PRAYERS

        a. AMIDAH

        b. SH’MA

    2. READING THE TORAH

C. INDIVIDUAL PRAYER

    1. DAILY PRAYERS

    2. B’RACHOT (BLESSINGS)

D. THE LANGUAGE OF PRAYER

    1. REQUEST AND PRAISE

    2. FIXED AND FLUID

E. KAVVANAH (INTENTION)

REDEMPTION IN RABBINIC JUDAISM

A. THE MEANING OF REDEMPTION

B. THE COMING WORLD

    1. THIS-WORLDLY IMAGES

    2. OTHER-WORLDLY IMAGES

C. COMMON THEMES

    1. PERFECT ORDER

    2. ABUNDANT LIFE

D. WHEN WILL THE MESSIAH COME?

THE EARLY MIDDLES AGES:

7TH -- 11TH CENTURIES

A. ROME VS. PERSIA (BEFORE 648)

    1. CONSOLIDATING THE LITERATURE

    2. APOCALYPTIC HOPES

B. THE RISE OF ISLAM (AFTER 648)

    1. MUSLIM VIEW OF JEWS: MISGUIDED BUT RESPECTED

    2. IMPACT OF MUSLIM RULE ON THE JEWS

        a. A HUGE EMPIRE -- POPULATION SHIFTSWEST

        b. THE AUTHORITY OF BABYLONIA

            1. THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD

            2. GEONIM -- RESPONSA -- LAW CODES

        c. THE JEWS’ SUCCESS IN SPAIN

        d. COMMON CULTURAL GROUND: OTHER-WORLDLY RATIONALISM

JEWS IN CHRISTIAN EUROPE

1. RISE OF ANTI-JEWISH LAWS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE

2. REASONS FOR ANTI-JEWISH DISCRIMINATION

    A. ECONOMIC

    B. POLITICAL

    C. SOCIAL / PSYCHOLOGICAL

    D. THEOLOGICAL

3. THE CRUSADES

THE MIDDLE AGES: 9th -- 12th CENTURIES

JEWS AND MUSLIMS: COMMON CULTURAL GROUND

1. SOURCES OF JEWISH-MUSLIM ASSOCIATION

2. HELLENISTIC CULTURE

(REVIEW OF MAIN THEMES)

3. JEWISH POETRY FROM SPAIN

    A. SECULAR THEMES

    B. RELIGIOUS THEMES

JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

1. KALAM: SAADIAH GAON (d.942)

2. NEOPLATONISM: SOLOMON IBN GABIROL

3. THE ANTI-PHILOSOPHICAL PHILOSOPHER: JUDAH HALEVI

4. ARISTOTLE IN THE MIDDLE AGES: MOSES MAIMONIDES (d.1204)

5. COMMON THEMES

JEWISH MYSTICISM

BEFORE THE KABBALAH

1. MERKAVAH MYSTICISM (2nd - 10th C.)

2. PIETISM = HASIDISM

        IN GERMANY = ASHKENAZ

        (10th - 13th C.)

3. HASIDISM IN EASTERN EUROPE

        (18th - 20th C. : NEXT WEEK)

THE KABBALAH (BEGAN MID-12th C.)

1. KABBALAH AND PHILOSOPHY

    A. SIMILARITIES

        1. GOD AS ABSTRACT PRINCIPLE

        2. SPIRIT VS. MATTER

        3. NEOPLATONISM

    B. DIFFERENCES

        1. LOGIC VS. SYMBOLISM

        2. THE PROBLEM OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

    C. KABBALAH AS A SYNTHESIS OF PHILOSOPHY AND RABBINIC JUDAISM

    D. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

2. THE ZOHAR (c. 1280 - 1300)

    A.CONTENT

        1. IMAGE OF GOD

            a. EIN SOF

            b. THE SEFIROT

            c. MALE AND FEMALE (SHECHINAH)

            d. GOD AND THE WORLD: THE FLOW

        2. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

            a. THE ORIGINS OF EVIL
 
            b. THE EFFECTS OF EVIL: EXILE OF THE SHECHINAH

        3. OVERCOMING EVIL

            a. OBSERVING THE COMMANDMENTS

            b. PRAYER AND MEDITATION

            c. REDEMPTION: INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY

    B. STYLE: TORAH AND MIDRASH

JUDAISM IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES

THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF SPAIN

1. PERSECUTION AND RESPONSE

    A. SYSTEMATIC PHILOSOPHY

    B. MARRANOS AND INQUISITION

2. 1492: JEWS EXPELLED FROM SPAIN

-- THE SEPHARDIM MOVE EAST

THE KABBALISTS IN SAFED, PALESTINE (16th C.)

1. JOSEPH KARO’S SHULCHAN ARUCH (1564)

2. ISAAC LURIA (ARI; 1570)

    A. THE NEW MYTH OF KABBALAH: FREEING SPARKS FROM SHELLS

    B. THE JEWISH - CHRISTIAN SPLIT

    C. REASONS FOR LURIA’S SUCCESS

        1. THE POWER OF A VIVID STORY

        2. CATASTROPHE AND REDEMPTION

        3. DEMOCRATIZING KABBALAH

THE JEWS OF POLAND

1. MIGRATION FROM ASHKENAZ TO POLAND

2. A CULTURE OF TALMUD STUDY -- PILPUL

3. CHMIELNITZKI AND THE POGROMS (1648)

4. RESPONSES TO OPPRESSION

    A. RETURN TO ASHKENAZ: THE GHETTO

    B. SHABBETAI ZVI, THE FALSE MESSIAH ( 1665)

        1. THE STORY OF SHABBETAI ZVI

        2. OUTER VS. INNER TRUTH

        3. THE FAILURE OF SHABBETAI ZVI

        5. HASIDISM

THE ORIGINS OF MODERN JUDAISM

EASTERN EUROPE (POLAND, RUSSIA, ETC.)

        1. FAILURE OF SHABBETAI ZVI

        2. HASIDISM

CHANGES IN WESTERN EUROPEAN SOCIETY

(FRANCE, GERMANY, ENGLAND, HOLLAND)

        1. ECONOMIC CENTRALIZATION

        2. NATIONALISM --

        3. RATIONALISM -- THE ENLIGHTENMENT

        4. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

        5. CIVIL EMANCIPATION OF THE JEWS

THE JEWISH RESPONSE

1. MOSES MENDELSSOHN (1729-1786)

    A. SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

    B. THEORY OF RELIGION

    C. APPLICATION TO JUDAISM

2. HASKALAH -- THE JEWISH ENLIGHTENMENT

3. THE CHALLENGE TO TRADITIONAL JUDAISM AND HALAKHAH

4. TOO MUCH ASSIMILATION?

5. THE BEGINNINGS OF REFORM JUDAISM

REFORM JUDAISM

A. BACKGROUND

B. THE REFORM MOVEMENT

    1. BEGINNINGS: A RATIONAL JUDAISM

    2. THE INFLUENCE OF ROMANTICISM

    3. BLENDING RATIONALISM AND ROMANTICISM

        a. NEITHER COULD BE GIVEN UP

        b. THE SOLUTION: PROPHETIC ETHICS

    4. NEW IMAGE OF REDEMPTION: RENOUNCING NATIONALISM

    5. REFORM COMES TO THE U.S.: THE PITTSBURGH PLATFORM

    6. INDIVIDUALISM AND INSTITUTIONS
 

NEO-ORTHODOXY

1. AMBIVALENCE TO MODERNITY

2. SAMSON RAPHAEL HIRSCH

    A. SECULAR EDUCATION AND PHILOSOPHY

    B. TORAH STUDY AND OBEDIENCE

    C. THE MISSION OF THE JEWS

    D. CRITICISM OF REFORM
 

POSITIVE-HISTORICAL (CONSERVATIVE)

1. HISTORICAL JUDAISM:

"CATHOLIC ISRAEL"

2. POSITIVE = SCIENTIFIC JUDAISM

3. CRITICISM OF REFORM

4. CRITICISM OF NEO-ORTHODOX

5. RABBIS AND LAITY

6. BEHAVIOR, NOT BELIEF, THE ISSUE

ORIGINS OF ZIONISM

IN 19th C. EASTERN EUROPE

REVIVAL OF HEBREW LITERATURE

    A. SECULAR FORMS OF LITERATURE
 
    B. ENLIGHTENMENT RATIONALISM

    C. ROMANTICISM

    D. THE BIBLICAL SETTING

LIBERALISM IN RUSSIA 1861-1881

    A. NEW RUSSIAN POLICIES

    B. JEWISH ENLIGHTENMENT AND HOPES FOR ACCEPTANCE

THE END OF LIBERALISM IN RUSSIA

    A. RISE OF ANTI-SEMITISM

    B. POGROMS OF 1881

    C. JEWISH OPTIONS

        1. RETURN TO MEDIEVAL SITUATION

        2. EMIGRATE (TO U.S. AND ELSEWHERE)

        3. REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS

        4. ZIONISM

    D. LEO PINSKER: AUTO-EMANCIPATION

        1. EXPLANATION OF ANTI-SEMITISM

        2. THE JEWS’ PROBLEM

        3. ZIONISM AS THE SOLUTION

    B. THEODORE HERZL: THE JEWISH STATE

        1. EXPLANATION OF ANTI-SEMITISM

        2. THE POLITICAL PROBLEM

        3. ZIONISM AS THE SOLUTION

    C. MICAH BERDICHEVSKI

        1. RELIGION AS THE PROBLEM

        2. ZIONIST SECULAR HUMANISM AS THE SOLUTION

    D. GENERAL THEMES

        1. NORMALIZATION

        2. SECULAR MESSIANISM

        3. ROMANTIC NATIONALISM

MANY FORMS OF ZIONISM

1. POLITICAL (HERZL)

2. PRACTICAL (WEIZMANN, BEN-GURION)

3. MESSIANIC / HUMANISTIC (BERDICHEVSKI)

4. SPIRITUAL / CULTURAL (AHAD HA’AM)

    A. CRITIQUE OF TRADITIONAL JUDAISM

    B. CRITIQUE OF OTHER FORMS OF ZIONISM

    C. THE ROLE OF A SPIRITUAL CENTER

5. SOCIALIST

6. LABOR MYSTICAL

7. RELIGIOUS ZIONISM

    A. ORTHODOX OPPOSITION TO ZIONISM

    B. HARMONIZING ZIONISM AND ORTHODOX

7. COMMON THEMES

    A. SAVING THE JEWS

    B. SAVING JUDAISM

    C. NORMALIZATION: ESCAPING THE PAST

    D. ROMANTIC NATIONALISM

8. CONTRADICTIONS IN ZIONISM

    A. ANTI-SEMITISM: ESCAPING THE INESCAPABLE?

    B. A NORMAL NATION: IMPOSSIBLE GOAL?

    C. SHAME, INSECURITY, AND POWER

POLITICAL HISTORY OF ZIONISM

1. EARLY SETTLEMENTS

2. THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR I

    A. JEWISH NATIONALISM

    B. PALESTINIAN NATIONALISM

3. PALESTINE UNDER THE BRITISH MANDATE (1920-1946)

THE JEWISH WORLD, 1900 - 1939

A. PALESTINE

    1. EARLY SETTLEMENTS

    2. THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR I

        a. JEWISH NATIONALISM

        b. PALESTINIAN NATIONALISM

    3. PALESTINE UNDER THE BRITISH MANDATE (1920-1946)

B. EASTERN EUROPE

    1. CONTINUED POWER OF ORTHODOXY

    2. MODERNIZATION

        a. EMANCIPATION IN SOVIET UNION

        b. HOPES FOR MODERNITY ELSEWHERE

C. WESTERN EUROPE

    1. FULL EMANCIPATION & ASSIMILATION

    2. MODERNIZING RELIGION

D. THE ORIGINS OF THE NAZI HOLOCAUST

NIGHT AND THE HOLOCAUST

3 LEVELS OF INTERPRETATION

    A. LITERAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY

        1. ELIE WIESEL’S EXPERIENCE

        2. THE HOLOCAUST A UNIQUE EVENT

    B. ALLEGORY OF JUDAISM IN MODERNITY

        1. IN SIGHET: COPING WITH MODERNITY

            A. OPTIMISM AND HUMANISM

            B. DENIAL OF CHANGE

            C. RELIGION

                1. TRADITIONAL RELIGIOSITY

                2. INDIVIDUAL MYSTICISM

            D. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY

            E. HATING THE OPPRESSOR

            F. NUMBING AND UNREALITY

        2. IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS

    C.THE HOLOCAUST AS AN ALLEGORY OF

        WESTERN CIVILIZATION IN MODERN TIMES

        1. HOLOCAUST AS UNIVERSAL POSSIBILITY: "WE ARE ALL JEWS"

        2. THE MODERN WORLD AS A CONCENTRATION CAMP

            a. NIETZSCHE: NIGHT AND THE DEATH OF GOD

            b. ETHICAL RELATIVISM (HESCHEL)

            c. DEHUMANIZING BUREAUCRACY (RUBENSTEIN)

            d. MEANINGLESSNESS IN MODERNITY

                1. LOSS OF COMMUNITY

                2. INDIVIDUALISM AND CONFORMITY

                3. ROMANTIC NATIONALISM

    D. RESPONSES TO THE THREAT OF HOLOCAUST

        1. NUMBING

        2. COMMUNITY AND NATIONALISM

        3. INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOSITY

        4. MEMORY

    E. MODERNITY: BLESSING OR CURSE?

ZIONISM, ISRAEL, AND THE HOLOCAUST

DEBATES ABOUT ZIONIST POLICY BEFORE 1948

    A. WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION: POLITICAL AND PRACTICAL

    B. JABOTINSKY AND THE REVISIONISTS

    C. THE CRISIS AFTER WORLD WAR II

ISRAEL AND ITS WARS

    A. CREATION OF ISRAEL (1948)

        1. THE U.N. PARTITION PLAN

        2. THE BEGINNING OF REDEMPTION?

        3. WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1948-49)

        4. EFFECTS OF THE WAR

            a. CONTINUING STATE OF WAR

            b. POPULATION MOVEMENTS

    B. RELIGION IN ISRAEL

        1. A SECULAR MAJORITY

        2. A RELIGIOUS MINORITY

    C. SINAI WAR (1956)

    D. AMBIVALENCE TO THE HOLOCAUST: THE EICHMANN TRIAL (1961)

    E. SIX-DAY WAR (1967)

        1. HISTORICAL EFFECTS

            a. ISRAEL: AN OCCUPYING POWER

            b. PALESTINIANS: THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO)

        2. RELIGIOUS EFFECTS: THE JUDAISM OF HOLOCAUST AND REDEMPTION

            a. THE POPULAR VIEW (NEUSNER)

            b. THE THEOLOGICAL VIEW (FACKENHEIM)

            c. WIESEL’S VIEW AFTER SIX-DAY WAR

I AND THOU

    A. THE I - IT ATTITUDE

        1. OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS

        2. DETACHMENT

        3. COMPARISON WITH OTHERS

        4. ORDER AND SECURITY

    B. THE I - YOU ATTITUDE

        1. ENGAGING THE OTHER

            a. UNIQUENESS OF THE OTHER

            b. TOTALITY OF THE OTHER

        2. ENGAGING WITH THE UNIFIED SELF

        3. DIALOGUE

            a. RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS

            b. EXPERIENCING THE OTHER SIDE

            c. UNPREDICTABLITY

            d. RESPONSE-ABILITY

    C. GOD AS THE ETERNAL YOU

        1. SPIRITUALITY AS I - YOU DIALOGUE

        2. MEETING GOD THROUGH THE WORLD

        3. HASIDISM AS A MODEL OF SPIRITUALITY
 

    D. A CRITIQUE OF RABBINIC JUDAISM
 

BUBER’S VIEWS ON ZIONISM

A. ZIONISM AS SPIRITUAL RENEWAL

    1. I - YOU ATTITUDE IN EVERYDAY LIFE

    2. NO SEPARATION OF SPIRIT AND POLITICS

    3. EARLY BIBLICAL JUDAISM AS IDEAL

    4. A FEDERATION OF NATIONS

B. CRITIQUE OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT

    1. EVERY NATION NEEDS A MISSION

    2. STATES AND THE DANGER OF POWER

    3. ZION: MORE THAN A NORMAL NATION

C. JEWS AND ARABS

    1. TREATMENT OF THE ARABS AS A TEST OF ZIONISM
 
    2. "IT DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON US"

    3. LEAVING THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT

    4. SUPPORT FOR A BI-NATIONAL STATE

    5. 1948: "A VICTORY FOR THE JEWS WOULD BE A DEFEAT FOR ZIONISM"

ISRAEL: FACTS AND INTERPRETATIONS

    1. HOLOCAUST AND REDEMPTION MODEL

    2. RECIPROCITY MODEL

JUDAISM IN THE U.S. — 20th CENTURY

IMMIGRATION FROM EASTERN EUROPE (1881-1924)

    A. THE URBAN ETHNIC PATCHWORK

    B. ETHNIC AND CULTURAL FORMS OF JUDAISM

        1. YIDDISH CULTURE

        2. LABOR AND SOCIALIST JUDAISM

        3. PHILANTHROPY

THE SECOND GENERATION (1924-1945)

    A. DECLINE IN RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT

    B. APPEAL OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM

    C. ADJUSTMENTS IN REFORM JUDAISM

    D. WORLD WAR II AND ZIONISM

THE THIRD GENERATION (AFTER WORLD WAR II)

    A. MOVE TO THE SUBURBS

        1. "THE TRIPLE MELTING POT"

        2. THE SYNAGOGUE-CENTER
 
    B. DECLINE IN APPEAL OF ZIONISM

    C. SOCIAL TIES AS PRINCIPAL VALUE

THE SIX-DAY WAR (1967) AND AFTER

    A. REBIRTH OF AMERICAN ZIONISM

        1. RETURN OF ETHNIC IDENTITIES

        2. OPPRESSORS AND OPPRESSED

        3. ZIONISM AS NATIONAL LIBERATION

        4. A NEW COMMON CONTENT

    B. NEW INTEREST IN THE HOLOCAUST

    C. ISRAEL, THE U.S., AND JUDAISM SINCE 1967

EFFECTS OF THE 1967 WAR

    A. ISRAEL: AN OCCUPYING POWER

    B. PALESTINIANS: THE PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO)

    C. THE U.S. AND ISRAEL: THE NIXON DOCTRINE & DETENTE

    D. A SHIFT TO THE RIGHT

EGYPT & ISRAEL MAKE PEACE (1978)

    A. LIKUD IN POWER

        1. POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONSERVATISM

    B. NARROWING THE SCOPE OF "THE ENEMY"

    C. U.S. FOREIGN AID

ISRAEL INVADES LEBANON (1982)

    A. POLARIZING JEWISH POLITICS

    B. PALESTINIANS VS. THE PLO

    C. ISRAEL’S "SECURITY ZONE" IN LEBANON — HISBOLLAH

THE PALESTINIAN INTIFADA (1987): THE PRICE OF REPRESSION

ISRAEL AND THE PLO MAKE PEACE (1993)

    A. THE U.S. AND THE PERSIAN GULF WAR

    B. HAMAS AND PALESTINIAN REJECTIONISTS

UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN JUDAISM TODAY

PRIVATE JUDAISM IN THE U.S.

    A. FEMINISM, HAVURAH, JEWISH RENEWAL

    B. REVERSION TO ORTHODOXY

        1. AN OUTGROWTH OF THE ‘60s?

        2. A REACTION AGAINST THE ‘60s?

    C. GENERAL DECLINE IN JEWISH AFFILIATION

PUBLIC JUDAISM: U.S. AND ISRAEL

    A. ISRAELI JUDAISM

        1. ORTHODOX AND SECULAR

        2. POLITICAL POWER OF ORTHODOXY

        3. IMPACT ON U.S. JEWS

            a. SKEPTICAL ABOUT ORTHODOXY

            b. STILL SUPPORT ISRAEL: ANTI-ISRAEL = ANTI-SEMITIC ????

    B. THE ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS

        1. ORIGINS DURING PERSIAN GULF WAR

            a. PLO WEAKENED

            b. SECRET NEGOTIATIONS

            c. PLO AS "SUBCONTRACTOR"

        2. JEWISH COMMUNITY DIVIDED

            a. LABOR PARTY: LAND FOR PEACE

            b. LIKUD PARTY: TOO MUCH RISK

        3. PALESTINIANS DIVIDED

            a. PLO: ONE STEP AT A TIME

            b. HAMAS: TOO MUCH RISK: SELLING OUT HOPES FOR AN INDEPENDENT PALESTINE
 
 

CONCLUSIONS

    A. PUBLIC & PRIVATE JUDAISM: CONNECTED OR SEPARABLE?

    B. DIVERSITY AS A FEATURE OF MODERNITY
        1. CULTURE WARS
        2. UNITY AS A PROBLEM
        3. U.S. JUDAISM FOLLOWS U.S. SOCIETY
        4. UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN JUDAISM TODAY

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