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Courses - Fall 2023
JWST
Jewish Studies Department Site
JWST469C
Readings in Rabbinic Hebrew; What Did the Rabbis Think the Bible Really Means
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Prerequisite: Course will be taught in English, with readings in Hebrew. Students should have at least first year Hebrew or equivalent. Cross-listed with HEBR498B. Credit only granted for JWST469C or HEBR498B.

Sacred texts like the Hebrew bible challenge human understanding the voice of the divine, they demand our constant study, interpretation and reinterpretation. Jewish scholars have been engaged in this process, known as exegesis, for many centuries, and have used many different methods to make the Bible give up its mysteries. In this course we will use the method of close reading to watch as rabbis struggled with, and argued over, biblical passages in order to construct Jewish law and Jewish rationalist and mystical theologies. We will examine issues ranging from vegetarianism to messianism, gender to eros, the purpose of life, the holiness of Jerusalem to the legitimacy of Halacha. The course is based on close text study of the biblical text and rabbinic commentaries in Hebrew.