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Syllabus Law concerning Jewish identity in Rabbinic Literature - 7106
עברית
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Last update 08-07-2018
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: Talmud & Halacha

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Yair Furstenberg


Coordinator Office Hours: Wednesday 11:00-12:00

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Yair Furstenberg

Course/Module description:
The course will explore rabbinic sources shaping basic issues of Jewish identity: How is the status of a newborn determined; What is the roots of conversion and what does the process include; What is the status of dissident Jews. We will examine the unique position of the Rabbis on these issues in comparison to other Jewish and other neighboring conceptions, and check the possibility of external influence.

Course/Module aims:
1. Exposure to historical and social background of rabbinic activity
2. identifying textual and legal developments.
3. examination of possible external influences upon rabbinic law-making
4. development of textual proficiency through close readings.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. characterize rabbinic policy
2. compare rabbinic sources to other Second Temple sources.
3. identify textual developments
4. discuss scholarship on this topic in a critical manner.

Attendance requirements(%):
85

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: close reading of rabbinic sources and discussion of scholarly literature.

Course/Module Content:
[1] Materilineal descent from Bible to the rabbis
[2] rabbis and Roman Law
[3] lineage quality
[4] Roots of Conversion
[5] conversion veremony
[6] Status of Samaritans
[7] Status of Apostates

Required Reading:
מ' סמט, "הגיור במאות הראשונות לספירה", בתוך: יהודים ויהדות בימי הבית השני המשנה והתלמוד, בעריכת מ' שטרן, י' גפני וא' אופנהיימר, ירושלים תשנ"ג, 316-343
ח' בירנבוים, "טומאת נוכרים בעת העתיקה", קתדרה 139 (תשע"א), עמ' 7-30
ד' פלוסר, "טבילת יוחנן וכת מדבר יהודה", יהדות ומקורות הנצרות, ירושלים תשמ"ב, עמ' 81-112
ל"ה פלדמן, "גיור וסינקרטיזם", בתוך: מחקרים בתולדות ישראל בתקופת הבית השני, בעריכת ד' שוורץ, ירושלים תשנ"ו, עמ' 344-369
י' אליצור, "הכותים בדברי התנאים: במשנה, בתוספתא ובברייתות", בתוך: ישראל והמקרא, עמ' 393-414
י' פורסטנברג, 'מעמד השומרונים בהלכה התנאית על רקע תפיסת האזרחות הרומית', ציון פב (תשע"ז), עמ' 157-192


S.J.D. Cohen, "The Origins of the Matrilineal Principle in Rabbinic Law", AJS Review 10/2 (1985): 19-53
R. Katzoff, "Children of Intermarriage: Roman and Jewish Conceptions", Rabbinic Law in its Roman and Near-Eastern Context, Tübingen 2003, 277-286
N. B. Dohrman, "Manumission and Transformation in Jewish and Roman Law", Jewish Biblical Interpretation and Cultural Exchange, edited by N.B. Dohrman and D. Stern, Pennsylvania 2011
S.J.D. Cohen, "From Ethnos to Ethno-Religion", Beginning of Jewishness, pp. 109-139
M. Lavee, "The 'Tractate' of Conversion: BT Yeb. 46-48 and the Evolution of the Conversion Procedure", European Journal of Jewish Studies 4,2 (2010), 169-213
A. Schremer, "Thinking about Belonging in Early Rabbinic Literature", JSJ 43(2012):249-275
Y. Furstenberg, “Initiation and the Ritual Purification from Sin: Between Qumran and the Apostolic Tradition”, Dead Sea Discoveries 23 (2016), pp. 365-394

Additional Reading Material:
ד' שוורץ, אגריפס הראשון מלך יהודה האחרון, ירושלים תשמ"ז, עמ' 137-143
י' מלז-מודז'ייבסקי, "Filios suos tantum": החוק הרומי והזהות היהודית", בתוך: לאוריאל: מחקרים בתולדות ישראל בעת העתיקה, ירושלים תשס"ו, עמ' 359-384
י' קויפמן, תולדות האמונה הישראלית, ח, עמ' 290-303
ש' יפת, אמונות ודעות בספר דברי הימים, עמ' 278-299
י' קורן, 'יצירת מעמד יהודי ערל בספרות התנאית', ציון פב (תשע"ז), עמ' 397-438
א' שמש, 'המבדיל בין בני אור לבני חשך, בין ישראל לעמים', ד' בויארין ומ' הירשמן (עורכים), עטרה לחיים, ירושלים תש"ס, עמ' 209-220
J.M. Baumgarten, "Exclusion from the Temple: Proselytes and Agrippa I", JJS 33 (1982):215-225
M. Goodman, Mission and Conversion, Oxford 1994, pp. 60-90
D. Boyarin, Border-Lines: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity, Philadelphia 2004, pp. 44-67, ("Yavne, Nicaea and the Rabbinic Rule of Faith")
M. Lavee, "The Samaritans May be Included: On the Rejection of Quasi-Jewish Identities in the Bavli", Samaritans - Past and Present: Current Studies, edited by M. Mor and F. V. Reiterer, Berlin 2010

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 75 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 25 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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