To be Born, To Marry and To Die According to Jewish Liturgy, Ritual and Theology - Einzelansicht

The great and fundamental life-cycle events are structured, celebrated and reflected upon in the Jewish religious tradition, as indeed they are in human cultures all over the world and throughout human history. These include, for example, birth, initiation into the religious community, marriage, death and dying. These transitions can be perceived as fraught with danger, as well as invested with deep symbolic significance, and are often occasions for traditional and sacralized ritual practices. These practices differentiate such moments from the ordinary in the life of the individual as a member of a religious community. Our perspectives will be based on the disciplines of history, history of religions, anthropology, liturgy and theology.

The course will be taught in English. The texts will be studied in English and Hebrew. This course is partially based on lectures and therefore attendance and note taking is crucial. Students are expected to participate in class discussions based on the reading assignments. There will be some brief writing exercises and presentations. Participation, writing exercises, and presentations will count towards passing grade for the course.

The course will introduce the student to various approaches common in the study of ritual, especially life-cycle practices. The specific application of these methods to the case of the Jewish religious tradition will provide an opportunity to test these approaches, as well as delving deeply in the specific practices in their great historical and cultural variety. The larger picture that emerges will hopefully contribute to the understanding of ritual in the Jewish religious tradition as a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon in response to new cultural horizons.