Ira Chernus  
PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER

                                

 

SYLLABUS

RLST 3100: JUDAISM                            Prof. Ira Chernus

Fall 2007                                                      Graduate Assistant: Amy Calvin

Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:15, HUMN 250                            

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

This course has two aims:

1.  The course will provide a basic introduction to the historical development of Judaism from its beginnings to the present day.  We will focus on the religious experiences, worldviews, beliefs, behaviors, and symbols of the Jewish tradition, and on the historical forces--cultural, political, social, and economic--that have shaped Judaism.  The course does not aim to reinforce or to change the student's feelings about Judaism, Jewish identity, or the Jewish people.  It does aim to provide, as objectively as possible, a detailed understanding of the history of Judaism.

2.  The course will also use the study of Judaism as a way to understand the historical context of contemporary U.S. society and culture.  We will analyze how various parts of the Jewish tradition directly or indirectly influenced the development of U.S. culture.  Each week we will discuss a question raised by the history of Judaism that is still important to us today.  In these ways we will make our study of Judaism relevant to our own lives. 

READINGS

The following books will form the required reading for the course:

William DOORLY, The Religion of Israel:  A Short History

Lloyd P. GARTNER, History of The Jews in Modern Times

Barry W. HOLTZ, Back to the Sources

Jacob NEUSNER, A Short History of Judaism

Raymond SCHEINDLIN, A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood

The  BIBLE  (in a modern translation; e.g., New Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New Jewish Version, New American Bible, New International Version;

            avoid King James Version and Authorized Version)

This syllabus and other information pertinent to the course can be found online at: http://www.colorado.edu/ReligiousStudies/chernus/3100/index.html

SCHEDULE OF READING ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments are week by week.  Please have the reading done by the following Tuesday lecture.

(For example, have reading for Aug. 28 - 30 done before Sept. 4 class.)  All assignments are by page number except in the Bible, where assignments are by book and chapter number.

 

          I. BIBLICAL JUDAISM BEFORE THE EXILE (10th - 7th cent. BCE)

Aug. 28 – 30: Origins of Ancient Israel:

SCHEINDLIN viii-14; NEUSNER 1-10; DOORLY 1-11, 18-65; BIBLE: Exodus 15; Judges 4, 5; I Samuel 5,6

 

Sept 4 – Sept. 6: The Monarchy and the Early Prophets:

SCHEINDLIN end of 14-23; NEUSNER 17-21; DOORLY 66-143; HOLTZ 105-124; BIBLE: Psalms 2 ,6, 42 ,43, 93 99; Proverbs 16, 22; I Kings 17, 18; Amos 5, 8; Hosea 1-4; Isaiah 1, 2, 6, 10

 

Sept. 11 – 13: Deuteronomy and Deuteronomistic History:

NEUSNER 21 - 35; DOORLY 144 - 160, 12-17; HOLTZ 83 - 101;

BIBLE: Deuteronomy 6, 9, 11, 12, 14; Jeremiah 20, 30

 

            II. FROM THE EXILE TO HELLENISM (6th - 1st cent. BCE)

Sept. 18 – 20: Exile and Return:

SCHEINDLIN 25 - 33; DOORLY 163-196; HOLTZ 37-71; BIBLE: Genesis 12, 15, 22; Exodus 14, 19, 20; Job 1-3, 8, 9, 23, 38-42; Ezekiel 36, 37; Isaiah 40, 45, 49; Haggai 1

 

Sept. 25 – 27: Persian and Hellenistic Eras:

SCHEINDLIN 33 - 49; NEUSNER 35 - 47; BIBLE: Nehemiah 8; Ezra 9, 10; Ecclesiastes 1-3; Daniel 6, 7, 12

 

            III. RABBINIC JUDAISM (1st - 6th cent.)

Oct. 2 – 4: Introduction to Rabbinic Judaism and the Law:

SCHEINDLIN 51 - 69; NEUSNER 51 - 83, 216 - 224; HOLTZ 129 - 175

 

Oct. 9 – 11: Prayer and Redemption in Rabbinic Judaism:

NEUSNER 84 - 139; HOLTZ 177 - 211

 

            IV. MEDIEVAL JUDAISM (7th - 18th cent.)

Oct. 16 – 18: The Middle Ages, Jews and Muslims:

SCHEINDLIN 71 - 95; NEUSNER 140 - 145, 155 - 160; HOLTZ 213 - 226, 261 - 299

 

Oct. 23 – 25: The Middle Ages, Jews and Christians:

SCHEINDLIN 97 - 136; NEUSNER 146 - 155, 161 - 164; HOLTZ 305 - 347; GARTNER 1-35

 

V. THE RISE OF MODERN JUDAISM (18th & 19th cent.)

Oct. 30 – Nov. 1: Hasidism and Origins of Modern Judaism:

SCHEINDLIN 149 - 171, 182 - 183; NEUSNER 164 - 182; GARTNER 61 - 133; HOLTZ 361 - 399

 

Nov. 6 - Nov. 8: Reform Judaism, Neo-Orthodoxy, and Conservative Judaism:

NEUSNER 182 - 192; GARTNER 134 - 161

 

Nov. 13 – 15: Origins of Zionism and Its Many Forms:

SCHEINDLIN 137 - 147, 173 - 187, 217 - 224; GARTNER 162 - 201, 213 - 258; NEUSNER 192 - 201

 

            VI. 20TH CENTURY JUDAISM

Nov. 27 – 29: Judaism in the Early 20th Century and the Holocaust:

GARTNER 201 - 212, 258 - 266, 276 - 333, 347 - 376; SCHEINDLIN 187 - 215

 

Dec. 4 – 6: Zionism and Israel:

NEUSNER 202 - 215; SCHEINDLIN 225 - 248; GARTNER  267 - 276, 333 - 346, 376 - 404, 421 - 436

 

Dec. 11 – 13: Judaism in the U.S. and into the 21st Century:

SCHEINDLIN 249 - 263; GARTNER 404 - 420

 

EVALUATION

 

Your grade in this course will be based primarily on two take-home essay exams.  The first exam will cover material studied through October     11th.  It will be due in class on Thursday, October 18th.  The second exam will cover material studied from October 16th through the end of the term.  It will be due on December 17th.  There will be NO in-class exams and NO in-class final exam. You can improve your grade by good participation in class discussions.

 

OFFICE HOURS

 

Ira Chernus:  Monday 12:00 - 1:00 and Thursday, 3:30 - 4:30, or by appointment, in HUMN 284

phone: 492-6169; email: chernus@colorado.edu       

Amy Calvin: Thursday 12:00 – 2:00, or by appointment, at Buchanan’s Coffee Shop, Broadway and Pennsylvania Avenue; email: amy.calvin@colorado.edu

 

We encourage you to talk with any us about anything related to the course, including suggestions for improving the course.  The more each of us puts into this class, the more we’ll get out of it. If you need any special accommodations to enhance your learning in this course, we will be glad to discuss that with you.

 


KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT ISRAEL

c. 1000 BCE:  Monarchy begins:  David becomes king, succeeded by his son Solomon

922: Dual Monarchy begins: northern kingdom of Israel secedes; David’s descendants rule over southern kingdom of Judah;

722:  Israel destroyed by Assyrians; population dispersed

586:  Judah and Jerusalem temple destroyed by Babylonians; population exiled

539:  exiles allowed to return to Judah; Judah province of Persian empire

515:  Jerusalem temple rebuilt

333:   Judah conquered by Greeks under Alexander the Great

167 – 152:  Maccabeean war leads to independent state of Judah

64:     Romans establish de facto control over Judah

66 – 70  CE (AD):  Jews rebel against Rome; Jerusalem temple and last vestiges of Jewish independence destroyed; all land of Israel becomes Roman province of Palastina

 

 

THE BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE  (TANAKH; OLD TESTAMENT)

5 BOOKS OF MOSES (Torah; Pentateuch)

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

  (the 4 books above possibly based on 3 earlier documents, interwoven:  J, E, P)

Deuteronomy

 

DEUTERONOMIC HISTORY

Joshua

Judges

I & II Samuel

I & II Kings

 

PROPHETS (Nevi’im)

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

12 minor prophets (including Amos, Hosea, Haggai, Joel, Jonah)

 

WRITINGS (K’tuvim)

Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel

Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles