Yeshiva University – Stern College for Women

Classical Jewish History – Fall 2015

JHIS 1201

Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-1:15PM

Professor Richard Hidary

                                                                         email the whole class

            This course will survey the history of the Jews during the Diaspora, Second Temple and Rabbinic periods (600BCE-600CE). This period is witness to the development of many aspects of Judaism as we know it today, such as, the holidays of Purim and Hanukkah, the fast days, the canonization of Tanakh, the publication of the Mishnah and Talmud, and the rise of the Rabbis. But this period is also interesting for the variety of forms of Judaism and groups of Jews that did not gain hegemony: Samaritans, Hellenists, Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and the Dead Sea sect, among others. Each of these groups had to respond to and a find a way to survive two destructions and exiles, many wars and revolts, strong influences from foreign cultures, and internal strife while at the same time remaining committed to monotheism and the Biblical tradition. Not all of these groups were successful; we will try to figure out why. The relevance of this material for understanding our own identities and for evaluating the current state of Judaism and its future prospects will become obvious.

            In addition to these themes and questions, class discussion will focus on historical analysis and critical evaluation of primary sources. We will learn to think and write like historians. By identifying all relevant literary and archeological sources, recognizing the interpretive difficulties presented by these sources, and evaluating the methodological issues confronting the modern historian, we will be able to formulate not only what we know, but also how we know it, how sure we are of it, and what gaps are there in the historical record. As with everything in life, you’ll only get as much from this course as you put into it, so let’s dig in!

Required text books: (available on Amazon)

Schiffman, Lawrence. From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Hoboken: Ktav Publishing House, 1991. (FTTT)

 ---------. Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Hoboken: Ktav Publishing House, 1998. (T&T)

Some of the information in these textbooks is also available at the Center for Online Judaic Studies -COJS

Requirements:

(1)   Attendance, prompt arrival and class participation are assumed. Anything more than two absences will lower your grade. Three lates are equivalent to one absence.

(2)   Preparation and Participation: Reading assigned primary and secondary texts is essential for you success in grasping the wide survey of history we are covering in this course. Primary texts are important so that you learn the methodology of how historians use these sources to construct the past. Secondary texts help in presenting, organizing and helping us remember important historical data. I may assign written and electronic homework assignments and quizzes based on the readings. Students may also be selected randomly each class to read and explain the required texts or to summarize the assigned reading. (10%)

(3)   Exams. A midterm (35%) and a final (45%) will assess your grasp and retention of material as well as give the class an opportunity to review and notice patterns that recur through many topics.

(4) Writing Project, see under class 22 below, due on December 17th. (10%)

Office hours: Thursday 12:00-2:00PM or by appointment. Please email rhidary@yu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Unit I - Introduction

1. T. August 25 - Slides

Periods and Sources

• Overview of the periods and topics to be covered
• What primary sources can we use to reconstruct history and how do we evaluate those sources?
• Methodology and Themes

2. Th. August 27

When Did Exodus Happen? - Slides

Reading:

COJS - http://cojs.org/overview-_jews_and_judaism_in_the_greco-roman_period/

and http://cojs.org/overview-_jews_in_the_persian_period_-520-332_bce)/
FTTT 1-32 (this pdf only starts on page 17.)

Unit II – Persian Period

3. T. September 1 -Slides for classses 3 -4 (pdf)

The Babylonian Period and Chronology

Reading:

FTTT 33-45

T&T 65-73

Read 2 Kings 24-25 and Jer 52 carefully. Make note of dates. Bring a Tanakh.

Read Wikipedia on “Neo-Assyrian Empire” and “Neo-Babylonian Empire”

• How do historians calculate when important events happened? Where do the dates of our fast days come from?
• What are the events at the end of the First Temple that set the stage for the Second Temple period?

4. Th. September 3

`Return from Exile, Counting 70

Activities of Ezra and Nehemiah

 Reading:

FTTT 47-59

T&T 80-92, 104-5

Ezra 1, 7-10, Nehemiah whole book especially chs. 8 and 10. Bring a Tanakh

2 Chron 36, Haggai 1, Is 44:28-45:1, Jeremiah 29, Zechariah 7-8, Daniel 9

Recommended Reading at COJS , COJS

Wikipedia on “Achaemenid Empire”

Menachem Leibtag article - http://tanach.org/special/purim.doc

• How did the exile end and what happened when the Jews were allowed to return to Israel?
• How do you count the 70 years prophesied by Jeremiah?
• What is the historical setting of Megilat Esther and how can history help us better understand Purim?
• What did Ezra and Nehemiah do to ensure the survival and growth of the Jews and Judaism?
• How do they turn to for guidance when the age of prophecy ends?

5. T. Septempber 8 - Slides, handout

Samaritans

Reading:

FTTT 45-47

T&T 92-103

2 Kings 17, Ezra 4

Encyclopedia Judaica - "Samaritans" and "Samaritan Pentateuch"

Recommended Readings at COJS

On DNA research of Samaritans

Robert T. Anderson, "The Elusive Samaritan Temple," The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Jun., 1991), pp. 104-107.

Feldman, Louis. “Josephus’ Attitude Toward the Samaritans: A Study in Ambivalence.” Studies in Jewish Civilization 3 (1992) 23-45.

• Who are the Samaritans and where did they come from?
• What are their beliefs and practices?
• What has been their relationship with the Jews?
• Where are they today?

6. Th. September 10

Elephantine Papyri - Slides, Temple Papyrus,http://youtu.be/JCPCbE4xhcc

Reading:

Purvis and Meyers, "Exile and Return: From the Babylonian Destruction to the Reconstruction of the Jewish State," in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple.

Passover, Temple

Recommended Reading:

Bezalel Porten “The Jews in Egypt” in The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume One, The Persian Period, pp. 378-400.

• Why are there Jews making sacrifices in Egypt?
• What can we learn about these documents about Judaism during this period?

Unit III – Hellenistic Period

7. Th. October 8 - Slides

Alexander the Great, Hellenism

Reading:

                 FTTT 60-79,COJS

Recommended Reading T&T 121-150

• Did Alexander the Great visit Israel?
• What is Hellenism and how did it effect Judaism?
• How did Israel get stuck between two warring empires again?

8. T. October 13

Maccabees, Hanukkah, Hasmonean Dynasty

Reading:

            T&T 151-169

Recommended Reading at COJS

• Why did Antiochus IV issue decrees against the Jews?
• What does this incident reflect about varying degrees of Hellenization among the Jews?
• Did everyone accept Hasmonean rule?
• How did Hannukah develop into what it is today?

9. Th. October 15 - 10. T. October 20

The Legacy of the Hasmoneans

"Hellenism." in Encyclopaedia Judaica.

 COJS

• What were the lasting effects of Hellenism on Judaism?

• How have the Maccabees been remembered through the centuries?

• How were the Maccabees used by Zionists?

• Why is our basketball team called the Maccabees? And what about the Maccabeats?

11. Th. October 22

Ethiopian Jews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5QNOq_EWhc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUXB1Ebe8RI

sources

12. T. October 27

Sectarianism and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Intro Slides, Sects handout, MMT Slides, MMT handout

Reading:

            Magen Broshi, A Day in the Life of Hananiah Nothos: A Story”

             FTTT 98-119, 120-138

             T&T 266-299, 340-1, 363-6

             http://blip.tv/file/1888211/

• What were the major sects competing during the late Second Temple?
• What were they fighting about?
• Did they all share a common Judaism or were these sects multiple “Judaisms”?
• What can we learn from the library of a long-extinct group of isolationist Jews with strange practices who lived near the Dead Sea?

13. Th. October 29

Midterm

Midterm Review Sheet - current to 2015

 14. T. November 3

 Septuagint – “The Most Important Translation Ever Made”

Sources, letter of aristeas, powerpoint

Reading:

            FTTT 80-94

            T&T 211-220

            Letter of Aristeas, BT Megillah 9a-b

• Why does Elias Bickerman call the  Septuagint, “the most important translation ever made”?
• What are the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Massoretic Text?
• What was the status of the Septuagint in the eyes of the Rabbis?

15. Th. November 5

 Apocrypha – Tobit and Esther Additions

powerpoint

Reading:

            FTTT 120-130

            T&T 306-307, 330-333

            Book of Tobit – pdf or http://www.ebible.org/kjv/Tobit.htm

Recommended Reading at COJS

• What can we learn from the Apocryphal books about the religion and culture of the Jews in Judea and in the diaspora?        
• What was the view of the Rabbis towards the Apocrypha?

16. T. November 10

Philo Judaeus

Reading:

            FTTT 139-149

            T&T pp. 369-407, esp. 385-395, COJS

 Suggested Reading: Wolfson, Harry A. Philo: Foundations of Religious Philosophy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1948.

• Who was Philo, how Jewish was he, and did he even read Hebrew?
• Why did the Christians preserve his writings?
• What can we learn from his writings?
• What shul would Philo go to if he were alive today?

Unit V – Roman Period

17. Th.  November 12

Herod, Roman rule - Slides

Reading:

            FTTT 139-149

            T&T pp. 369-407, esp. 385-395

• What was life like in Judea under the Herod and the Roman procurators?
• What is the historical background for the Jesus movement?
• Did Jesus ever intend to start a new religion?
• Who really killed Jesus?

18. T. November 17 - 19. Th. November 19

 The Beginnings of Christianity (Slides)

Reading: T&T 407-414, 149-156.

             T&T 414-427

E.P. Sanders. “The Life of Jesus.” in Shanks, Hershel, ed. Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Washinton D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1992, 41-83.

Recommended: Gospel of Mark

• When and how did Christianity become a separate religion?
• How were the early Christians treated by the Roman empire?
• How antagonistic were relations between Jews and Christians?

20. T. November 24

 Destruction of Temple II (Slides, Josephus and The Talmud)

Reading:

            FTTT 157-164

            T&T pp. 429-469, esp. 446-457

Recommended Reading:

            Feldman, Louis. Judaism and Hellenism Reconsidered. Brill, 2006, pp. 763-782.

Rubenstein, Jeffrey. Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition, and Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, pp. 139-173.

• What were the different views about the revolt among the Jews?
• How does Josephus describe his own experiences during the war?
• How do the Rabbis recall these events and what lesson do they take from them?

Masada

21. T. December 1

Reactions to Destruction

Development of the Synagogue

Reading:

            FTTT 164-171

            T&T 118-120, 469-479

Steven Fine, “From Meeting House to Sacred Realm: Holiness and the Ancient Synagogue” in Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World, 21-47.

Mosaics         Word

• What were the economic, political, religious, and theological reactions to the destruction of the Temple?
• How did the decision of the Rabbis at Yavneh ensure the continuity of Judaism without a Temple?
• What institutions and rituals replaced the functions of the Temple?

Unit VI – Tannaitic Period & Rabbinic Judaism

22. Th. December 3

Bar Kokhba Revolt (Slides)

Reading:

            FTTT 171-176

            T&T 487-495

• Why did the Jews decide to revolt again?
• What was the opinion of the Rabbis about the revolt?
• What were the effects of the revolt’s failure on Jewish society and where they lived?

Writing Assignment, due December 17th

Write a 5 page essay on:

• Choose a topic from COJS that we have not covered in class, read all of the primary and secondary sources (texts and images) on that topic and write a paper analyzing what you have read.

• Or choose topic of your choice. It should include at least 5 primary sources and three secondary sources. Please approve the topic with me first.

• Or write on this topic: What was the level of acculteration of the Rabbis during the Talmudic period compared with the acculteration of American rabbis. Did the ancient Rabbis speak Greek? Did they read the Greek literature of their day? Were they acquainted with Greco-Roman mythology, science, history, and philosophy? Choose one of these fields, cite relevant primary and secondary sources, and discuss. What was the the Rabbis' attitude towards the outside culture? Do you think their approach to outside culture is similar or different from modern Rabbis in America? In your opinion, to which modern denomination of Judaism, if any, were the ancient Rabbis most similar? Sources and Articles:

  Greek Language:

  Did the Rabbis Study Greek? - Sources

  Reading: H. A. Fischel, Encyclopedia Judaica, “Rabbinic Knowledge of Greek and Latin Languages”

  Lieberman, Saul. Hellenism in Jewish Palestine. New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary, 1962, 100-114.

  Daniel Sperber, A Dictionary of Greek and Latin Legal Terms in Rabbinic Literature (1984).

  Greek Fables

  Aesop's Fables - Sources

  Reading: Yassif, Eli. The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning. Translated by Jacqueline Teitelbaum. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999, 191-209.

  Greek Science - The Sun’s Path

  Reading: Nathan Slifkin, “The Sun’s Path at Night.”

  Suggested Reading: Simon-Shoshan, Moshe. “'The Heavens Proclaim the Glory of God': A Study in Rabbinic Cosmology.” Bekhol Derakhekha Daehu; Journal of Torah and Scholarship 20: 67-96.

   

23. T. December 8

The Publication of the Mishnah and the Patriarch

History of Palestine until the Muslim Conquest (Slides, Mishnah Slides)

Reading:

           FTTT 177-213

T&T 537-559, 609-612, esp. 537-543

Recommended Reading: T&T 571-596 and at COJS

*Oral Presentation: Iggeret haRav Sherira Gaon

• What literature did the Tannaim produce?
• What was the leadership structure of the Jews?

24. Th. December 10

Sanhedrin

Recommended Reading:

Levine, Lee. The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine in Late Antiquity. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Press, 1989, pp. 76-83.

Hezser, Catherine. The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1997, pp. 186-195.

• What did the Sanhedrin look like before the destruction of the Temple?
• Was there a Sanhedrin after the destruction? Where was it?
• Were the Houses of Shammai and Hillel an example of sectarianism? What kept them from splitting apart?

25. T. December 15

Roman Attitudes Towards Judaism (Slides)

Reading:

            T&T 568-570

       http://www.livius.org/am-ao/antisemitism/antisemitism01.html - and continue to page two and read especially http://www.livius.org/am-ao/antisemitism/antisemitism-t.html

• What did Romans think of Judaism? What were their popular stereotypes? Which of these were true?
• What did Roman writers admire and despise about Jews and Judaism?

26. Th. December 17

Rabbinic Thought (Slides)

Jews in Babylonia and the Exilarch (Slides)

Readings: FTTT 214-219

            T&T 596-617, esp. 605-609

Recommended Reading:

Gafni, Isaiah. "Babylonian Rabbinic Culture." In Cultures of the Jews, edited by David Biale, 223-65. New York: Schocken, 2002.

·        How were the Jews treated under Parthian and Sassanian Empires?

·        How much interaction was there between the Jews and their Zoroastrian and Christian neighbors?

The Talmuds and the Yeshivot

From Priest to Rabbis - sourcesheet (pdf)

            FTTT 220-239

            T&T 605-609, 613-616

Final Review

Final – Tuesday January 5 at 9:30AM

Readings in one pdf.

Students with disabilities who are enrolled in this course and who will be requesting documented disability-related accommodations should make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services, (646) 592-4132, rkohn1@yu.edu, during the first week of class.  Once you have been approved for accommodations, please submit your accommodation letter to ensure the successful implementation of those accommodations.