Description: This course is intended to serve as an introduction to the nature and history of Jewish Law. It will focus on the close reading (in translation) of selected Jewish legal texts from the Mishnah and Talmud as well as such post-Talmudic texts as Maimonides鈥� great code of Jewish Law, the Mishneh Torah, and a variety of both medieval and modern responsa (judicial opinions). Among the topics the course will address are Rabbinic and Communal Authority; Law, Religion, and Morality; Negligent Misrepresentation; Public Law and the Right to Strike, Imprisonment for Debt; and Artificial Insemination from a Donor. A key goal will be to acquire a 鈥渇eel鈥� for characteristic modes of halakhic (Jewish legal) thinking and reasoning, precisely through immersing oneself in the primary sources. A special feature of this course will be its havruta style: that is, for part of some classes students will study and prepare the primary texts in havrutot (small groups) with the instructor serving as a resource person.

Texts: Selections from the Mishnah, Talmud, and Maimonides鈥� Mishneh Torah; Menachem Elon, Casebook on Jewish Law; Chaim Saiman, Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law.

Evaluation:
10%: Class Attendance and Participation
20%: Mid-Term
30%: Ten page analysis of primary text or Secondary Essay
40%: Formal Three-Hour Final

Description: This is a survey course that highlights the encounters between Jews and the states and cultures of Europe from the medieval period to the present. The focus is on the effects of the encounters between Jews and their neighbours. The course pays particular attention to communal organization, patterns of migration, and cultural developments.

Texts:

• John Efron, et. al., The Jews: A History 3^rd edition
• Course Reader

Evaluation:
Attendance and participation: 15%
Primary Source Analysis (3-4 pg.): 25%
Research Essay: 30%
Final Exam: 30%

听Description:听The objective is to master basic communication in Modern Hebrew language.听Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of basic structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and compositions will be assigned regularly, in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language.听

Texts:听Shlomit Chayat et al.听Hebrew from Scratch, Part I + CD

Evaluation:听
48%听-听4听听Class Tests听(6%,听10%,听14%,听18%)
12%听-听Quizzes
12%听-听2听In-Class Essays听
14%听-听Compositions听
10%听-听Oral Presentation
4%听-听Class Participation听

Format: Lecture

Description: The second part of the introduction to the millennium-old language of Ashkenazic Jews. This course will continue covering the fundamentals of Yiddish grammar and vocabulary and will include further practice in speaking, reading, and writing. The course materials draw on Yiddish literature, songs, and films, allowing students to combine the acquisition of practical language skills with an exploration of Yiddish culture鈥攆rom its beginnings in medieval Germany through its past and present in Central and Eastern Europe, the Americas, Israel, and all over the world. An important component of the course is the opportunity students will have to pursue Yiddish-related artistic or research projects (individually or in small groups), combining exploration of Yiddish with creative writing, translation, acting, filmmaking, religion, anthropology, history, painting, and journalism, to name just some of the options. While this course is the direct continuation of JWST 281 Introductory Yiddish 1, it may also be taken independently by students with adequate prior knowledge. With any questions, please email the instructor.

Texts: Course Pack; online resources

Evaluation:
Attendance and Homework (40%)
In-Class Quizzes (20%)
Final Project (20%)
Final Exam (20%)

Description: This course will explore the world of Jewish-themed documentary films. We will see how filmmakers in Canada, the US, Europe and Israel have used the lived reality of Jewish experience as a canvas for their documentary explorations. We will examine how Jewish identity is depicted across a wide spectrum of perspectives 鈥� related to variations in religious and national affiliations, cultural experience, the attachment to Israel, the connection to the Holocaust and the politics of gender and sexual orientation. We will try to understand how documentary films as 鈥渢he creative treatment of actuality鈥� function as an interface between reality 鈥渙ut there鈥� and the original, personal perspectives of filmmakers. Students are encouraged to developed individual responses to the films as triggers for personal explorations of identity, Jewish or otherwise.

Texts: Course pack (available at 看片视频 Bookstore)

Films: The Lady in No. 6 / Bonjour! Shalom! / Jews and Money Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream Night and Fog / Dark Lullabies / Baghdad Twist Trembling before G-d / Waltz with Bashir /Promises / The 鈥淪ocalled鈥� Movie

Evaluation:
6 film reflections 500-750 words each 60%
Final Paper 2500 - 3000 words 25%
Class participation / Presentation 15%

Description: 鈥淭his book is written in Yiddish for women and for the men who are like women,鈥� explains the author of Brantshpigl (The Burning Mirror), a Yiddish ethical book first published in Poland in 1596. There is nothing unusual about this statement in the context of traditional Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi culture. Although spoken by both men and women, the Yiddish language has for much of its history been identified with women鈥撯�揳nd the same can be said of the literature produced in it. In the Yiddish epitaph he wrote for himself, the great Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem referred to himself as 鈥渁n ordinary Jew who wrote in Yiddish for women.鈥� Following the author鈥檚 death in New York in 1916, these words were engraved on his tombstone and can still be seen today. What prompted Sholem Aleichem to present himself as a 鈥渨omen鈥檚 writer,鈥� when we know for a fact that his popularity was in no way limited by gender? In this course, we will examine a variety of Yiddish stories, novels, films, oral history interviews, and other types of sources, that shed light on the nature and implications of this gendered view of Yiddish. What are its effects on readers, writers, and literary works? What role does the dichotomy between 鈥渇emale鈥� Yiddish and 鈥渕ale鈥� Hebrew play in all of this? What is behind such common tropes of Yiddish literature as 鈥渆ffeminate men鈥� and 鈥渢he Jewish mother鈥�? We will discuss Yiddish literature鈥檚 treatment of such subjects as education, romantic love and sexuality, wedding rituals and celebrations, family life, pregnancy and childbirth, religion and mysticism, patriarchy (and challenges to it), 鈥渇eminine modesty,鈥� marital unfaithfulness, domestic violence, and prostitution. All discussions and readings will be in English (with Yiddish originals available for anyone interested).

Selected Texts (in the Course Reader):

• Tsene-rene (Women鈥檚 Bible), Sholem Aleichem, The Letters of Menakhem-Mendl and Sheyne-Sheyndl
• 听I. L. Peretz, 鈥淰enus and Shulamith鈥�; Esther Singer Kreitman, The Dance of the Demons (selections)
• 听Itzik Manger, The Songs of the Megillah, Miriam Ulinover, My Grandmother鈥檚 Treasure; Chava Rosenfarb, Survivors
• 听Isaac Bashevis Singer, 鈥淵entl the Yeshiva Boy鈥�
• 听Chaim Grade, My Mother鈥檚 Sabbath Days; Kadya Molodowsky, Women's Songs.

Selected Films:

• Yiddle with Her Fiddle (1936)
• The Jester (1937)
• Menashe (2017)

Evaluation:
Attendance, Preparation & Participation (25%)
Short Reading Responses (25%)
Midterm Paper (20%)
Final Paper (30%)

Description: A survey of how liberal Jewish thinkers of the last sixty years have imagined God, related to Jewish law and ritual, responded to feminism and to the founding of the state of Israel. Thinkers to be studied include Mordecai Kaplan, Martin Buber, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Eugene Borowitz, Judith Plaskow, Rachel Adler, and Arthur Green.

Text:听A selection of articles and book excerpts from the thinkers studied (posted to MyCourses).

Evaluation: Short responses to assigned readings, book review (1800 words), 2 literature reviews (800 words each).

Description:听The objective is to master communication in Modern Hebrew language.

Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of basic structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and article analysis will be assigned in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language and the diversity of the Israeli society.

Texts:听Shlomit Chayat et al. Hebrew from Scratch, Part I + CD

Evaluation:听
48% - 4 Class Tests (6%, 10%, 14%, 18%)
12% - Quizzes
12% - 2 In-Class Essays
10% - Compositions
10% - Oral Presentation
鈥�8% - Class Participation

Description: In this course, we will study in depth the biblical book of I and II Samuel. We will explore matters of content, theme and style as well as questions regarding historical and cultural context, linguistic features, and authorship. We will pay special attention to the figures of Samuel, Saul and David as they emerge in the biblical narratives, and in later rabbinic midrashim, medieval commentaries, modern biblical scholarship, and even art and literature.
All texts will be examined in translation.

Texts:听Hebrew Bible in English translation. Other primary texts and secondary readings will be available on MyCourses or on reserve in the library.

Evaluation: Grades will be based on an annotated bibliography, a reading response, a longer research paper and several small homework assignments, in addition to readings for each class from the Book of Samuel itself, attendance and participation.

Description: We tend to think of Jews and Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa as enemies, not neighbours. This course examines the modern history of Jewish-Muslim relations beyond just conflict. Students will explore the interconnected and entangled worlds of Jews and Muslims鈥撯�揻rom Morocco to Iraq鈥撯�揳s the two communities navigated colonialism, nationalism, war, and decolonization. Through close readings of a wide variety of primary sources (including letters, memoirs, fiction, music, and film) and historical scholarship, we will approach Jewish-Muslim relations from a number of vantage points鈥撯�搃ncluding those of politics and culture. In doing so, we will seek to challenge our assumptions about the ways in which Jews and Muslims lived together in the not too distant past.

Texts:

• Edward Hallet Carr, What Is History? Vintage, 1967
• Jo毛lle Bahloul, The Architecture of Memory: A Jewish-Muslim household in colonial Algeria 1937-1962, Cambridge University Press, 1996

Evaluation:听Midterm, paper, and final exam.

Description:

Spinoza (1632-1677) is arguably the most notorious Jewish thinker. Excommunicated from the Jewish community in Amsterdam for "monstrous deeds" and "abominable heresies" at age 24, he was reviled (and, more recently, applauded) as an atheist ever since. Spinoza himself, however, categorically rejected the label and seems to have lived an almost saintly life devoted to science and philosophy--what he called the "intellectual love of God."

Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise (TTP) is likely the most scandalous book in the history of philosophy. When it came out in 1670, it was denounced as "a book forged in hell 鈥� by the devil himself." The text includes Spinoza鈥檚 notorious treatment of scripture and miracles as thoroughly natural phenomena, explicable like everything in the universe in terms of natural causes and effects. Although published anonymously, Spinoza was soon identified as the author and became infamous throughout Europe as a religious subversive and political radical who sought to promote atheism. The remainder of his work would have to be guarded by his friends and published after his death.

The goal of the TTP is a distinctly modern one: a defense of freedom of thought and expression against attempts of religious and political leaders to suppress them. Spinoza argues that, in a well-ordered state, citizens should not be persecuted for what they think and say. Besides miracles and scripture, the TTP critically discusses a wide range of other central Jewish themes, including prophecy, the election of the Jewish people, providence, the divine law, and the ancient Hebrew state. The TTP鈥檚 critique of religion also came to play an important role in the history of Jewish philosophy, marking the end of the interpretation of Judaism as a philosophical religion as set forth by the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Finally the TTP made a lasting contribution to fundamental issues in political theory: in addition to freedom of thought and expression, the relationship between church and state, religious pluralism, and toleration.

In this class we will closely read and discuss Spinoza's seminal work, and also consider select scholarly interpretations of the TTP.

Texts:

• Spinoza, Theological-Political Treatise

• Select secondary source

Evaluation:听

10% Participation
20% Short Paper 1 (800-1000 words)
20% Short Paper 2 (800-1000 words)
15% Oral presentation of final paper project
35% Final paper (ca. 2000 words)

Description: The objective is to communicate on familiar topics in Modern Hebrew language. Students will develop the four language skills of understanding, speaking, reading and writing through the acquisition of the advanced structures of the language, i.e., grammar, syntax, vocabulary, as well as idiomatic expressions, in order to be able to communicate in Modern Hebrew orally and in writing. Communicative activities, oral practice, written exercises and compositions will be assigned regularly, in order to help integrate skills and reinforce learning. In addition, because the acquisition of a modern language also entails awareness of the culture of its linguistic community, the students will become aware of cultural elements associated with the language.

Texts: Edna Amir Coffin. Lessons in Modern Hebrew: Level II (2) Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Recommended Text: Hebrew Dictionary (Oxford, Eng-Heb, Heb-Eng Dictionary, Kernerman 鈥� Lonnie Kahn)

Evaluation:
48% - 4 Class Tests (6%, 10%, 14%, 18%)
12% - Quizzes
12% - 2 In-Class Essays
14% - Compositions
10% - Oral Presentation
4% - Class Participation

Description:听Based on an experiential approach, students will undertake their own project in Montreal or online (digital ethnography), and will present their findings in writing. In so doing, we will investigate how female Jewishness, in its various forms, takes on meaning in North American societies that try to both preserve and reject tradition: Do Orthodox Jewish women need 鈥渟aving鈥� by secular and liberal society? What is Jewish Feminism(s) and why should we care? Are Jewish women white and how do they fit into the intersectional feminist movements? Students will become familiarized with major texts and debates circulating in postcolonial, gender and women鈥檚 studies through ethnographic research.

Texts:听Sources will include anthropological, historical, and sociological materials as well as memoirs, political speeches, editorials, film, music, and theatre.听

Evaluation: Assignments will be geared toward honing reading, writing, and oral communication skills through essay writing and class presentations.

Description:听Between 1940 and 1942, the lives of half a million Jews in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia were dramatically altered by Vichy France鈥檚 implementation of racial quotas, ghettoization, deportation to labor and internment camps, spoliation (Aryanization), and in rarer cases, transport to Europe. Libyan Jewry faced equally draconian measures under fascist Italian rule. While the Allied landing in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942 brought some relief to the Jewish population there through the vanquishing of Vichy rule (but not its leadership nor all of its decrees), it also led to the to the direct Nazi occupation of neighboring Tunisia. Under German rule, Tunisian Jews endured forced labor, among other injustices, until their liberation in May 1943.

North Africa has for too long been considered marginal, if not irrelevant, to a Europe-focused history of World War II and the Holocaust. Recent scholarship, aided by the unearthing of archival material, the growing availability of memoirs from the period, and听an efflorescence of literature and film, is changing all of that. Through lectures and film, this course explores the entangled histories of France, North Africa, and World War II, itself a product of the layered history of racism, antisemitism, and colonialism.

Texts:

• Michael R. Marrus and Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France and the Jews, Basic Books, 1981
• The Holocaust and North Africa, edited by Aomar Boum and Sarah Abrevaya Stein, Stanford University Press, 2018.

Evaluation: Midterm, paper, and final exam.

Description: The notion of the divine will stands at the center of a great deal of religious thought, with implications ranging over the nature of creation, human freedom, divine freedom, the nature of prayer, and the source of both religious law and ethics. Despite this centrality, religious views regarding divine will are extremely wide-ranging, with fierce philosophical debates raging over questions such as: Can God create anything less than a perfect world? Is the whole world, in fact, no more than an emanation of God鈥檚 mind, or maybe God鈥檚 word? Can human will exist in the face of God鈥檚 overriding will? Can the divine will bring law, or even ethics, into being? Ought humans try to affect God鈥檚 will through prayer, and, indeed, can they? All of these fundamental questions in the philosophy of religion relate very deeply to the question of divine will. In treating these questions, we will draw upon the contemporary philosophy of religion, focusing particularly on the Jewish tradition and its various philosophical and theological texts, as well as others in comparative context.

Classes will consist of a short lecture and extended readings of relevant texts and discussions on the various topics. The goal of class discussion, and the course as a whole, is to pursue both exegetical and analytic analysis of the text and concepts at hand.

Texts:

• Genesis 1
• Psalms (selections)
• Proverbs (selections)
• John 1
• Rule of the Community (selections)
• Mishnah Avot 5:1 and commentaries
• Bavli Berakhot (selections)
• Augustine, The City of God (selections)
• Samuel Clarke and Gottfried Leibniz, The Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence (selections)
• D. Winston, Logos and Mystical Theology in Philo of Alexandria
• K. Seeskin, 鈥淢aimonides on the Origin of the World鈥�
• DP Hunt, 鈥淭he Compatibility of Divine Determinism and Human Freedom: A Modest Proposal鈥�
• John Calvin, The Institution of the Christian Religion
• David Basinger, 鈥淲hy Petition an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Wholly Good God?鈥�
• Alvin Plantinga, God, Freedom, and Evil (selections)

Evaluation:
Attendance and participation: 20%
Five 1 page reflections on reading: 25%
Two 3-5 page short essays: 20%
12-15page final essay: 35%

Description: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), better known simply as 鈥淭he Rav,鈥� was perhaps the leading rabbinic scholar and theologian active in the second half of the twentieth century. A rabbinic figure of the very first rank鈥攊ndeed, many consider him to have been the outstanding traditional rabbinic scholar and jurist of the second half of the twentieth century鈥擲oloveitchik was also a creative theologian and philosopher who mastered the entire western tradition of philosophical and scientific thought. Indeed, perhaps not since Maimonides has there arisen a figure who, like Soloveitchik, combined mastery of the rabbinic tradition and philosophy in equal measure, and was creative in both areas. The range of genres in which Soloveitchik reigned sovereign鈥攔abbinics, Jewish thought, Biblical interpretation, and homiletics---is astounding.

In this course, we will read selected texts of Soloveitchik that represent that range. All readings will be in English. We are very fortunate that many important works of Soloveitchik have recently become available, whether edited from manuscripts in varying stages of preparation and completeness or transcribed from tapes. In addition, Soloveitchik鈥檚 classic Hebrew essay, U-Vikashtem mi-Sham has been recently translated into English鈥�And From There You Will Seek. (I will make available to students my own corrected copy of the translation.) I also hope to address the issue of differing scholarly interpretations of Soloveitchik鈥檚 work.

Texts:

• The Lonely Man of Faith
• 鈥淐辞苍蹿谤辞苍迟补迟颈辞苍鈥�
• 鈥淎dam and Eve鈥�
• Emergence of Ethical Man; Halakhic Man
• And From There You Will Seek
• Out of the Whirlwind
• 鈥淭he Voice of My Beloved Knocking鈥�

Evaluation:听
Course Participation: 20%
Seminar Paper: 80%

Description:听The aim of this course is to expose students to the various aspects of contemporary Israeli society and culture through films, music and other media, as well as academic, journalistic, literary, art historical and dramatic texts (all texts are in Hebrew).听

Texts: TBA

Evaluation:听
40%听 听听-听听听听听听听 Essay听听 (1500 words min.)
30%听听听 -听听听听听听听 2 In-Class Essays
15%听听听 -听听听听听听听 2 quizzes
10%听听听 -听听听听听听听 Text Preparation Assignments听听听 (to be marked at random)
鈥� 听5%听听听 -听听听听听听听 Class Participation and presentation 听

Description: Focusing on four locales, this course will survey social, cultural, and political Jewish history across the region during the 1920s and 1930s. This time, marked by profound contradictions, contained growing economic and political distress, yet concurrently, an incredible resourcefulness and vitality. We will interrogate the internal developments within various Jewish communities, studying the diversity of Jewish religious, linguistic, cultural, political, and secular expressions. Through film, Jewish press across four languages: Yiddish, Polish, Hebrew and Russian (translated), advertisements, autobiographies of Jewish adolescents, selections from cookbooks, and literary sources, we will further consider everyday life in large Jewish metropolises, vis-脿-vis the realities of shtetlekh (small towns). Throughout this course, we will also examine the economic and social conditions, as well as various increasing pressures that Jewish citizens were experiencing from society at large, namely rampant nationalism and antisemitism.

Texts:

• Ezra Mendelsohn, The Jews of East Central Europe, Between the World Wars, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983.
• Zvi Gitelman, A Century of Ambivalence: The Jews of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1881 to the Present, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.
• Course Reader

Evaluation:听
Attendance and participation: 15%
Primary Source Analysis (3-4 pg.): 25%
Research Essay: 30%
Final Exam: 30%