JEWISH LITERATURE 2

The course is one of the core courses in the curriculum of the program “Languages, Cultures, and Societies of Asia and Mediterranean Africa.” Its educational objectives fall within the area of cultural and humanistic skills.

Student will be introduced to the literature, the piety, and the morals of classical rabbinic Judaism (from the 4th cent. BCE to the Middle Ages) by reading and analyzing (in the Hebrew original) Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, an early rabbinic homiletic commentary ot the Biblical book of Genesis.

Communicating capabilities:
- capability to express and process the contents of the course and the topic of the papers in written form (in Italian or in English for non-Italian speaking students).

Learning capabilities:
- efficiently taking lecture notes in classroom;
- critically integrating different teaching materials (class notes, slides, handbooks, academic papers);
- independent, critical study of course-related topics not dealt in class;
- improving the student's capability to read and process materials in English.

One year of study of Hebrew, both classical and modern.

“Midrash” (“investigation”) is the name of a vast literary genre belonging to the Jewish rabbinical tradition. It consists of commentaries on the books of the Hebrew Bible, characterized by a complex system of rules, and often highly independent and creative in their interpretation of the sources they comment on. These commentaries are homiletic in nature, meaning that they are intended to identify the fundamental ethical values contained in the biblical text that should be transmitted to the community of believers and perpetuated through the generations. Through reading selected passages from the Biblical book of Genesis and the related rabbinical commentary, the Midrash Bereshit Rabbah, students will be introduced to the literature and conceptual system of “classical” Jewish religion.

The Hebrew texts will be made available on the course Moodle.

Instructional tools:
1) G. Stemberger, "Introduzione all'ebraistica", Ital. transl. Morcelliana, Brescia 2013.
2) • M.S. Jaffee – Ch.E. Fonrobert (eds.), "Il Talmud e la letteratura rabbinica", Ital. transl. Paideia, Brescia 2013.
3) M. Pérez Fernández, "An Introductory Grammar of Rabbinic Hebrew", Engl. transl. Brill, Leiden/New York/Köln 1995.
4) M. Jastrow "A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature", Luzac/Putnam, London/New York 1903 and repr. (https://lahavlearning.com/jastrow/ )

Oral exam on the course content. Participation in lectures and preparation of translations from Hebrew assigned from lesson to lesson will be taken into the utmost consideration.

written

17 FAIL
18-20 PASS Limited comprehension of notions, limited skill of exposition and reflection, no critical capacity
21-23 SATISFACTORY Sufficient comprehension of notions presented in an unclear and reflexive manner; difficulties in elaborating, and synthesizing ideas
24-26 GOOD Good comprehension of notions but limited capacity of exposition, reflection, and synthesis
27-28 VERY GOOD In-depth comprehension of notions that are presented in a clear and articulated manner; remarkable synthesizing capacity and critical reflection
29-30 VERY GOOD Broad and in-depth comprehension of notions that are presented in an articulated and sophisticated manner. Excellent ability in exposing ideas synthetically, and critical ability
30 CUM LAUDE EXCELLENT Broad and in-depth comprehension of notions showing an advanced knowledge of broader disciplinary and interdisciplinary debates, a mastery of academic language, and a capacity for original and critical thinking.

Classroom lectures. The translation of the texts will be assigned as homework and checked in class.