Magda Teter :: Associate Professor of History

HIST247: JEWISH HISTORY: From "Biblical Israel" to Diaspora Jews

The course will explore the history of Jews from biblical times to the eve of modernity, the transformations from "biblical Israelites" to "Jews". It will address stereotypes and presuppositions of Jewish life and history, including -- what the historian Salo W. Baron dubbed -- the "lachrymose concept of Jewish history"�Jewish history as history of suffering. The course will illuminate experience of Jews whose lives, and deaths, demonstrate that they were active actors, rather than just passive victims, of historical events. The readings will consist mostly of historical sources on Jewish culture, politics, economic activities, social and legal status, and the Jews� relations with non-Jews�Christians and Muslims. It is a lecture course, but student participation is expected.

Course Requirements Course Readings

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1:

1. Wed. 09/07 Introduction

WEEK 2:

2. Mon. 09/12 The Bible and the �Biblical Period� (On E-RESERVES: Philip Davies In Search of Ancient Israel; chapter 1-2, pp. 11-46; Bible: Genesis; Kings II) Timetable

3. Wed. 09/14 The Second Temple and Hellenism Bible: Maccabees I and II; On E-RESERVES: Shaye Cohen The Beginnings of Jewishness, 25-68. Additional readings: H.H. Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 191-271

WEEK 3:

4. Mon. 09/19 Jewish Sectarianism (Gospels of Luke and Mark; ; On E-RESERVES: Texts and Traditions, pp. 266-300 ). Additional readings: Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 271-276

5. Wed. 09/21 Emergence of Christianity (the Gospels of Matthew and John; Letters of St. Paul: Romans, Corinthians, Galatians; On E-RESERVES: W. Meeks "Breaking Away" and S. Brandon "History or Theology" (Meeks and Brandon are also reprinted in Essential Papers). Additional reading: Edward Peters Europe and the Middle Ages, 25-51; Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 277-295.

WEEK 4:

6. Mon. 09/26 Emergence of Rabbinic Judaism Texts and Traditions, 117-120, 517-531; 535-537. Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 315-342, 373-382; FIRST PAPER ASSIGNED

7. Wed. 09/28 Roman Legacy: Roman Church and Empire. Jacob Marcus Jew in the Medieval World, Section I �State and the Jew� chapters 1-2; Section II �Church and the Jew�, chapters 19-20; Medieval Sourcebook: Justinian: Novella 146: On Jews. Additional reading: Peters Europe and the Middle Ages, 54-73.

WEEK 5:

8. Mon. 10/03 Church and the Jews I: The Church Fathers. Jacob Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World ch. 21; Augustine of Hippo (Hand-out); John Chrysostom, Homilies against Jews, nos. 1-4 at Medieval Sourcebook: Saint John Chrysostom: Homilies Against the Jews.

9. Wed. 10/05 Jewish Settlements in Western Europe and Byzantine Jewry Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 343-373, 385-402. Additional reading: Peter Europe and the Middle Ages, pp. 75-92, 105-117, 135-158.

FIRST PAPER DRAFT DUE on WEDNESDAY 10/05 by 5 PM

WEEK 6:

Jews under Islam:

10. Mon. 10/10 Emergence of Islam and the Jews' Legal Status Mark Cohen Under Crescent and Cross chapters: Introduction, ch. 1, 2, 4; the Qur'an Suras: 1-5, 17, 24, 26, 56, 63, 68, 75, 112, 114; Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 403-406. Additional reading: Peters, Europe and the Middle Ages, 93-104

11. Wed. 10/12 Jewish Culture and Intellectual Traditions Stillman: Part Two, ch. 2 pp. 171-189, 208-211, 226-229; 233-246; Jacob Marcus Jew in the Medieval World chapters 57,58,62,75; Judaism in practice pp. 186-190; Jewish Poetry. Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 421-432; 439-448.

WEEK 7:

Mon. 10/17 NO CLASS FALL BREAK

12. Wed. 10/19 Jews in Muslim Spain Stillman, Jews of Arab Lands, 211-225; Jacob Marcus Jew in the Medieval World ch.59, 63-I. Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 452-458; FINAL DRAFT DUE

WEEK 8:

13. Mon. 10/24 Messianic and Sectarian Movements Jacob Marcus Jew in the Medieval World ch.47; Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 448-452; Judaism in Practice pp. 229-265; On E-RESERVES: S.W. Baron �Messianic and Sectarian Movements�.

Jews in Christian Europe

14. Wed. 10/26 Legal Status: Protection and Vulnerability. Mark Cohen Under Crescent and Cross ch.3; Jacob Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World ch. 7,8; Robert Chazan Church, State and Jew, part II, chapter 5 "Local Charters," chapter 6 "General charters"; Peters, Europe and the Middle Ages, 196-211, 271-301.

WEEK 9:

15. Mon. 10/31 MIDTERM EXAM.

16. Wed. 11/02 Church and the Jews II: Papal Attitudes. Chazan Church, State and Jew, ch. 7 "Pope Alexander II" and "Pope Gregory IX", Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World ch. 22, 27, 30; Boniface VIII Unam Sanctam On E-RESERVES: Bernard Bumenkranz "The Roman Church and the Jews;" Solomon Grayzel "The Papal Bull Sicut Judeis" (both reprinted in Essential Papers); Peters Europe and the Middle Ages, 213-225, 250-269.

WEEK 10:

17. Mon. 11/07 The Crusades and the Aftermath Eidelberg, The Jews and the Crusaders, 21-72, 99-115, 117-133; On E-RESERVES: Y. Yerushalmi Zakhor ch.2. Peters, Europe and the Middle Ages, 225-229. BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE DISCUSSED YOUR TEXT OF CHOICE WITH ME

18. Wed. 11/09 Jews and Christians: Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World, ch. 25, 26, 28, 31; Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 477-487; On E-RESERVES: Jacob Katz "Social and Religious Segregation";Ivan Marcus "A Jewish-Christian Symbiosis: The Culture of Early Ashkenaz"; Yeshu and Joshua b. Perachiah ; Baraitha Sanhedrin 43a ; Toledoth Yeshu; (+Handout, Midrash) ). PAPER TOPICS (TEXTS) DUE

WEEK 11:

19. Mon. 11/14 Church and the Jews III: Friars, the Popes and the Jews � New Anti-Judaism. (Jeremy Cohen "Scholarship and Intolerance in Medieval Academy" American Historical Review 91 (1986):592-613; reprinted in Essential Papers on Judaism and Christianity in Conflict ch.11, Chazan Church, State and Jew, ch. 16 "Attack on the Talmud," ch.18 "Forced Sermon;" Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World ch. 28-29). Peters Europe and the Middle Ages, 231-248.

20. Wed. 11/16 Church and the Jews IV: Jewish-Christian Polemic and Debates in the Middle Ages. Mark Cohen Under Crescent and Cross ch.9; Chazan Church, State and Jew, ch.19 "Forced disputation"; On E-RESERVES: D. Berger "Jewish Christian Debate in the Middle Ages: Introduction" (also reprinted in Essential Papers), PAPERS DUE

WEEK 12:

21. Mon. 11/21 Jews in Medieval Economy Cohen Under Crescent and Cross ch. 5-8; Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 462-476; On E-RESERVES: Jacob Katz "Economic Intercourse and Religious Factor".

Wed. 11/23 NO CLASSES THANKSGIVING RECESS

WEEK 13:

22. Mon. 11/28 Age of Expulsions: France and England. Marcus Jew in the Medieval World ch.5; Chazan Church, State and Jew, ch. 22: all documents except the last one.

23. Wed. 11/30. Medieval Jewish Community and Culture: Communal Organization and Rabbinic Culture. Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 432-438; 458-461; Marcus The Jew in the Medieval World ch. , 49, 50, 60, 61, 63-II,74,77; Judaism in Practice, pp. 191-202 ;Medieval Sourcebook: A Rabbinic Responsum: The Shabbat Goy: Angevin England ; Medieval Sourcebook: Rashi: Jewish Community in Troyes, c.1100 ; Intellectual and Mystical Heritage (On E-RESERVES: G. Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism ch. 3;) Medieval (Christian) Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library; + HANDOUT in class.

WEEK 14:

24. Mon. 12/05 Medieval Jewish Community and Culture III: Jewish Family and Rituals (Ivan Marcus The Rituals of Childhood; Judaism in Practice, pp. 99-114; 131-142); Medieval Sourcebook: Reciting the Grace after Meals: The Status of Jewish Women, from Berakhot, chapter 7; ), Peters Europe and the Middle Ages, 119-134.

25. Wed. 12/07 Between Ashkenaz and Sepharad: the Maimonidean Controversy (Marcus Jew in the Medieval World , ch. 39) FINAL DRAFTS PAPERS DUE.

26. Th. 12/12 Rise and Decline of Iberian Jewry Ben-Sasson History of the Jewish People, 487-489; J. Marcus Jew in the Medieval World ch.7, 11, 12. See also: Medieval Sourcebook: Jewish Community of Barcelona: The Book of Document Forms; Medieval Sourcebook: Barcelona Jewish Court Documents, 1293: A Daughter's Inheritance; Medieval Sourcebook: Barcelona Jewish Court Documents: A Jewish Widow and her Daughter, 1261-1262; HANDOUT Barcelona Haggadah

TAKE HOME FINAL EXAM DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL. DUE VIA EMAIL ON THE DAY OF THE REGISTRAR'S SCHEDULED EXAM.