Tradition, Controversy and Codification - Einzelansicht

Halakhah is often translated as “Jewish Law.” This course wants to problematize this easy and conventional understanding of a complex phenomenon in the Jewish religious tradition. The sources for Halakhah are multiple, reaching back to the Hebrew Bible and ancient Judaism of the Second Temple Period, taking shape in Rabbinic Judaism, and reaching new forms in medieval and modern times. In terms of literary forms, I use the three terms of Tradition, Controversy, and Codification to refer to basic genres to present Halakhah, terms which also point to the various social and cultural functions of the texts of Halakhah. Taking basically a historical perspective, but with a deep interest in the formal, legal, and substantive features of Halakhah, the course can serve as one possible introduction to halakhah. Our primary focus will be on the Mishnah and Mishneh Torah, with some attention to modern examples.

Mishnah, Mishneh Torah, and scholarly articles.

The course will be based on the reading of primary sources in Hebrew and English. No Hebrew is required, but ability to read academic texts in English is necessary, since we will read articles on Halakhah in English. Several writing assignments will be distributed during the course, to be submitted within a brief time frame. These writings will serve as the basis for the final grade.

Several writing assignments will be distributed during the course, to be submitted within a brief time frame. These writings will serve as the basis for the final grade.

Students will learn how to read classic texts in Halakhah, such as Mishnah and Mishneh Torah, and will gain a taste of the scholarly questions that are discussed in relation o these texts. Students can expect to gain some familiarity with the complexity of the literary genre of halakhah, as a religious, ritual, and legal phenomenon. The historical contextualization in a relevant social and cultural situation will help in making sense of this fundamental feature of the Jewish religion.