This course is no longer offered

10304 Topics in the World of the Sages

Credits: 6 advanced credits in Rabbinics or in History of the Jewish People

Prerequisites: 36 credits, including The World of the Sages,1 and one of the following courses: Midrash and Aggadah, or Introduction to Oral law or Selected Chapters from the Talmud. Students must also fulfill all English requirements.

Recommended: From Exile to Independence: From the Babylonian Exile to the Fall of the Hasmonean Kingdom and Jewish History during the Second Temple: Judea and Rome

The course is designed to provide a comprehensive survey of several key issues in the history of the Jewish people and in the history of the Halakhah (Jewish Law) in the Mishnah period. The course discusses issues raised in prior courses (The World of the Sages, Selected Chapters from the Talmud, From Jerusalem to Yavneh - no longer offered), emphasizing reading, analyzing, comparing and drawing historical conclusions from Talmudic sources. The course trains students to read and analyze research articles and to address the issues raised. Students will submit a seminar paper at the end of the course.

Topics: Conflict and struggles between the Nasi (Patriarch) and the Sanhedrin in the Mishnah period; The history of Rabbinics; the sermon (drasha) as the basis for Halakhah (Jewish Law), edicts and regulations (gzerot, takanot); The social standing of the Sages among the Jewish public before the destruction of the Temple and during the Mishnah period; The Sages’ attitude towards Roman rule and pagan culture; various social and public issues in the Mishnah period.

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1or From Jerusalem to Yavneh (no longer offered) for students who took it before 1998.