| Course title | History of the Jews - Optional Seminar |
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| Course code | JUD/1D6 |
| Organizational form of instruction | Seminar |
| Level of course | Bachelor |
| Year of study | not specified |
| Semester | Winter and summer |
| Number of ECTS credits | 4 |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Status of course | Compulsory-optional |
| Form of instruction | Face-to-face |
| Work placements | This is not an internship |
| Recommended optional programme components | None |
| Course availability | The course is available to visiting students |
| Lecturer(s) |
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| Course content |
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1. Introduction: "Bio-politics" and "bio-history" in Jewish context: From Foucault to Kabbalah (sovereignty vs. life management, discourses on sexuality, Kabbalah as a Jewish discourse on sexuality; Hebrew text reading) (Reading: Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, pp. 133-159) (Text: Prager, Zera' kodesh, 24c-d, 13a-b) Film: Ha-Sodot (The Secrets) (directed by Avi Nesher, 2007) 2. The concept of love in 16th century Jewish thought (love as a medical problem, love-sickness and marriage, restructuring the concept of love: amor, charitas, and l'amour, love in Leon Ebreo's thought, Eliezer Eilburg: a non-conformist intellectual in Moravia, divine love in Eliezer Eilburg's thought, Maimonides vs. Eilburg) (Reading: Guidi, Amour et Sagesse, 103-120 [recommended], Davis, "The Ten Questions") 3. Divine marriages and Jewish prayer: Natan Nata Hannover's Kabbalistic prayerbook (Basic concepts of Lurianic Kabbalah, sefirot vs. partzufim, Rahel and Leah, tikkune hatzot, A Polish refugee in Moravia: Natan Nata Hannover, Kabbalistic prayers, Hebrew text reading) (Reading: Magid, From Metaphysics to Midrash, pp. 18-33) (Text: Hannover, Shaarei Tziyyon, title page, 2b-3a) 4. Finding your soulmate: Love and marriage in Kabbalah (halakhic background of marriage: shiddukhin, qiddushin, nisu'in, the Zohar's theory of the soul, marriage as an attempt to find your other half, basherter and basherte, matchmaking and matchmakers, segullot, bad marriage as a punishment, reincarnation and remarriage, levirate marriage, Hebrew text reading) (Reading: Katz [recommended] Scholem, Kabbalah, 155-161) (Text: Eldabi, Shevilei emuna, 21a) 5. From Straznice to Safed: Shloml ben Hayyim Meisterl's quest for the teachings of Yitzhak Luria (printing the Zohar and its influence on the development of Kabbalah, the emergence of Safed as Kabbalistic centre, the spread of Lurianic Kabbalah to Europe, Shloml ben Hayyim Meisterl: biography and significance, Hebrew text reading) (Reading: Giller, Reading the Zohar, pp. 3-33)(Text: Joseph Delmedigo, Matzref le-hokhma, 40a-49b). 6. Va-yahel Moshe I: Kabbalah and everyday life in early modern Moravsky Krumlov (Kabbalah and halakha in the 16th century: Yosef Karo, Moshe Isserles, Shlomo Luria, Maharal of Prague, popularization of Kabbalah in the 17th century: Shnei luhot ha-brit and Hemdat Yamim, Judah Altschuler and his compendium Va-yahel Moshe, translating and popularizing Zohar, sin and punishment, transmigration of souls, Hebrew text reading) (Text: Altschuler, Va-yahel Moshe, title page, 2b-3a, 59d-60a [#393], 61a [#401], 62b [#416], 62d [#426]) 7. Va-yahel Moshe II (demonology, topography of hell, repentance and penitence, Hebrew text reading) (Text: Altschuler, Va-yahel Moshe, 22a-24a)
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| Learning activities and teaching methods |
| Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook) |
| Learning outcomes |
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Kabbalah originated as an esoteric mystical lore in the Middle Ages but became the dominating force of Jewish religious thought in the Early Modern period and it influenced immensely popular religion. The purpose of the seminar is to explore the presence of kabbalistic ideas and practices in early modern Moravia.
Familiarity with the basic concepts of Kabbalah and the basic outlines of Jewish intellectual history in early modern Moravia, ability to identify kabbalistic influences in literary and religious texts as well as social institutions and religious artifacts, ability to analyze kabbalistic ideas and texts in terms of Foucault's concept of "biopolitics." |
| Prerequisites |
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none
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| Assessment methods and criteria |
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Student performance, Dialog, Seminar Work
On the basis of individual agreements (possible alternatives include: text reading in classes, written test, oral exam, paper) |
| Recommended literature |
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| Study plans that include the course |
| Faculty | Study plan (Version) | Category of Branch/Specialization | Recommended semester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Jewish Studies. Jewish History and Culture (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Jewish and Israeli Studies (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Jewish Studies. Jewish History and Culture (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Jewish Studies. Jewish History and Culture (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |
| Faculty: Faculty of Arts | Study plan (Version): Jewish and Israeli Studies (2019) | Category: Philosophy, theology | - | Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: - |