Modern Judaism is a relatively small religion that nonetheless holds a major place in the consciousness of much of the world (even in countries with no Jews). Jews trace their own history back thousands of years, through major shifts and changes that brought them from a small, tribal federation rooted in a specific time and place in the Ancient Near East to a modern, “western” religion that retains notions of ethnic, cultural, political, and territorial allegiance.

In this course we will be examining how ancient Jewish life, religion, society, and culture were transformed from approximately 500 BCE to 500 CE.* During this period we begin to see a shift from Jewish ethnicity, rooted in land, culture, and traditions, to forms of “Judaism,” religious identities that can be transported and reshaped in different cultural and social locations. 

Jewish identity was remarkably flexible and dynamic in the ancient world, so that we might do better by thinking of a variety of “Judaisms,” ways of expressing cultural, political, social, and religious affiliation that might vary from place to place and from time to time. By studying the texts and other remains from these varieties of ancient Judaism, we will ask the following questions about ancient Jews:

• Where did Judaism come from, and how did it change throughout antiquity?

• Was Judaism primarily a religion, an ethnicity, a culture, a political identity—or some combination of  all of these?

• How were different place-oriented aspects of Jewish religion—such as Temple and land—conceived of in relation to non-place-oriented aspects of the religion—such as scripture and ritual?

• What are the origins of modern “descendants” of ancient Judaism, such as Christianity and Rabbinism?

We will also attempt to use ancient Judaism as a “test case” to explore various aspects of religious studies in general, especially concepts such as sacred scriptures, holy places, rituals, and sectarianism.

The format of the class will be lecture with discussion.  You are expected to have reviewed the week’s readings before coming in to class, so that you may get the most out of lectures and contribute profitably to discussion.  Bring questions, ideas, comments, concerns, and curiosity to each class.  Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

1.  Participation:  10%.  Class attendance is mandatory (yes, I will take attendance).  Missing more than five classes will result in a lowering of your participation grade.  In addition, you are expected to participate fully in class discussions. 

2. Analysis papers: 15%.  You will turn in analysis papers of specific readings (assignments will be posted on the course website) due in weeks three, six, and nine.

3. Book report: 15%. You will write an analytical report on the novel As a Driven Leaf to be turned in at the end of the quarter (in week 10). You should be working on this report, and reading the novel, throughout the quarter (we may be discussing it in class, as well). Guidelines for the final book report will be found on the course website.

4.  Midterm examination:  30%.  You will have a two part midterm (one part take home, one part in class) in week five (April 30).

5.  Final examination:  30%.  At the end of the quarter you will have a final, take-home examination due on the day of the final exam (June 12) at noon at the professor’s office. There will be no in-class final examination.

You should be familiar with UCR’s regulations on academic honesty and plagiarism (available online: http://senate.ucr.edu/bylaws/PDF Files/P3 Ch6.pdf); any instance of cheating or plagiarism will be punished with a zero grade and will be referred to the University administration for reprimand

There are three required books for this class, available at the UCR bookstore:

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

This is the textbook for the class: it gives a simple, straightforward overview of the historical, cultural, religious, and political developments of Jews in this time period. This textbook is not the best in the land (we will hopefully discuss its perspectives throughout the course), but it is generally reliable. Information in lectures and discussions will build on and supplement information in the textbook.

Lawrence Schiffman, Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Hoboken, NJ: Ktav, 1998)

This is a sourcebook designed to accompany the textbook:  yes, it is very long, and very heavy. We will not be reading all of the sources in it, but we will be reading a lot of them. The introductions to the various “chapters” are also useful in gauging the types of sources presented. It is important to have read through the assigned sources before each class day, as we will be drawing on and discussing these sources in class.

Milton Steinberg, As a Driven Leaf (Springfield, NJ: Behrman House, 1996).

This novel, written in the 1930s, tells the story of Elisha ben Abuya, a curious figure from the Talmud who is known as the greatest “heretic” of the period of the writing of the Mishnah. Steinberg’s novel is a sympathetic portrait of Elisha ben Abuya that frames his story in terms of modern debates over Jewish assimilation and accommodation to the non-Jewish world (as well as more general questions of ethnic-cultural-political identity and assimilation).

In addition there will be a few photocopied readings available on the Blackboard site for the class (log in to [link removed] and click on "Readings"; or click directly on the links on the Syllabus page of this website.)

If you have any trouble locating resources for this course, please contact the instructor immediately.