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HU Credits:
4
Degree/Cycle:
2nd degree (Master)
Responsible Department:
Talmud & Halacha
Semester:
Yearly
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Yakir Paz
Coordinator Office Hours:
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Yakir Paz
Course/Module description:
Song of Songs supposedly describes human love and passion, yet it was interpreted by both Jewish and Christian commentators as the holiest of texts which deals mainly with the relation between God and his believers (as community and individuals), and thus became a focal point of exegetical and theological polemic and dialogue in Late Antiquity. This course will focus on close readings of Tannaitic interpretations to Song of Songs as well as of Song of Songs Rabbah alongside Christian exegesis, mainly Origen’s great commentary, but also commentaries by other Christian authors such as Gregory of Nyssa. During the course we will also discuss some central issues, such as the nature of allegorical interpretation, the Jewish-Christian polemic in Antiquity and Song of Songs’ importance for the development of mystical thought.
Course/Module aims:
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Acquaintance with the different commentaries of Song of Songs in antiquity, learning how to compare Jewish and Christian interpretations and to distinguish between different kinds of Allegorical readings.
Attendance requirements(%):
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Course/Module Content:
During the reading we will discuss the following topics:
Allegorical reading in antiquity: From Homeric commentaries to Biblical exegesis
The tannaitic interpretation to Song of Songs
The characteristics of Song of Songs Rabbah
Christian commentaries on Song of Songs in antiquity
Origen and his hermeneutic world
Biblical exegesis in Caesarea
Gregory of Nyssa and his commentary to Song of Songs
Song of Songs and the development of mysticism
Required Reading:
Bibliography
א"א אורבך, "דרשות חז"ל ופירושי אוריגינס לשיר השירים והויכוח היהודי נוצרי", תרביץ ל (תשכ"א), עמ' 170-148.
ד' בויארין, "שני מבואות למדרש שיר השירים", תרביץ נו (תשמ"ז), עמ' 500-479.
ד' בויארין, מדרש תנאים: אינטרטקסטואליות וקריאת מכילתא (ירושלים תשע"א).
א' גושן-גוטשטיין, "פולמוסומניה - הרהורים מתודיים על חקר הויכוח היהודי-נוצרי בעקבות פירושי חז"ל ואוריגנס לשיר השירים", מדעי היהדות 42 (תשס"ג-ד), עמ' 190-119.
ש' ליברמן, "משנת שיר השירים", בתוךG.G. Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkaba Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition, 2nd ed., New York 1965, Appendix D, pp. 118-126.
ת' קדרי, "'תוכו רצוף אהבה' על התורה כרעיה בדרשות תנאים לשיר השירים," תרביץ עא (תשס"ב), 404-391.
F. B. A. Asiedu, “The Song of Songs and the Ascent of the Soul: Ambrose, Augustine, and the Language of Mysticism,” Vigiliae Christianae 55 (2001), 299-317
E. A. Clark, “Origen, the Jews, and the Song of Songs: Allegory and Polemic in Christian Antiquity,” In: A. C. Hagedorn, ed., Perspectives on the Song of Songs: Perspektiven Der Hoheliedauslegung (Berlin: de Gruyter 2005), 274-293
R. E. Heine, “Gregory of Nyssa's Apology for Allegory,” Vigiliae Christianae 38 (1984), 360-370
T. Kadari, “Rabbinic and Christian Models of Interaction on the Song of Songs,” In: M.J.H.M. Poorthuis, J. Schwartz and J. Turner, Interaction between Judaism and Christianity in History, Religion, Art and Literature (Leiden: Brill 2009), 65-82
R. Kimelman, “Rabbi Yohanan and Origen on the Song of Songs: a third-century Jewish-Christian Disputation,” Harvard Theological Review 73 (1980), 567-595
R. A. Layton, “Hearing Love’s Language: The Letter of the Text in Origen’s ‘Commentary on the Song of Songs’,” In: L. DiTommaso, Ch. Kannengiesser, and L. Turcescu, eds., The Reception and Interpretation of the Bible in Late Antiquity (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 287-315
P. C. Miller, “‘Pleasure of the Text, Text of Pleasure’: Eros and Language in Origen's ‘Commentary on the Song of Songs’,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 54 (1986) 241-253
L. Perrone, “‘The Bride at the Crossroads”: Origen's Dramatic Interpretation of the Song of Songs,” Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 82 (2006), 69-102
D. Stern, “Ancient Jewish Interpretation of the Song of Songs in a Comparative Context,” In: D. Stern and N. B. Dohrmann, eds., Jewish Biblical Interpretation and Cultural Exchange: Comparative Exegesis in Context (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008), 87-107
Additional Reading Material:
Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 20 %
Participation in Tutorials 20 %
Project work 60 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %
Additional information:
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