Required texts:
Neusner, J. There We Sat Down
Schiffman, L. From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Referred to as FTT.
Schiffman, L. (ed.)Texts and Traditions: A Source Reader for the Study of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Referred to as TT.
Steinberg, M. As A Driven Leaf

On reserve:
H. H. Ben-Sasson & S. Ettinger (eds.) Jewish Society Through the Ages

UNIT I. Biblical Background to the Destruction of the First Temple
Aug. 31 -- Introduction
Though this course is primarily a history of Judaism in the Rabbinic era, it is necessary to scan some of the major themes of Biblical history and Israelite religion. We are ultimately interested in tracing the transformation of Biblical (or "Israelite") religion -- centered around the Temple and a sacrificial cult -- into a universal, world religion grounded in day-to-day law (halakhah) and faith.

Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 1-16
2. Schiffman TT: 2.1.1-2.4.4
Israel Map

Sept. 7
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 17-32
2. Schiffman TT: 2.5.1-2.6.6
Map of Divided Monarchy

UNIT II. The Second Temple: Exile and Restoration

The impact of the two conquering cultures of Persia and Greece on Jewish society was enormous, containing both positive and negative elements. Most importantly, except for an occasional revolt (most notably that of the Maccabees), the Jewish people lost their independence. The prophet/king/priest triad of Biblical times came to an end. During this period, the religion of the nation ceased to be Biblical; at some unspecified point, it became Judaism. The chief character in the transformation from Israelite religion to Judaism is assumed to be Ezra.

Unfortunately, our knowledge of this period is the most clouded. The Biblical texts are unclear and later Jewish memory of these crucial times is exceedingly spotty. Much of what you will read is nothing more than hypothetical reconstructions of Jewish history.

Sept. 9 & 14 -- The Persian Period
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 33-59
2. Schiffman TT: 3.1.1-3.7.4

UNIT III. Hellenism and Revolt

Persia was not nearly as important as Greece; with the appearance of Alexander the Great in 322 bce the nation moved under a Western influence. Hellenism transformed the Jews.Under the pious leadership of the Maccabees, the nation attempted to cast off Greece; their revolt was only a partial success. Of vast consequence was the Great Revolt in the first century ce, and the attendant calamity of the destruction of the Second Temple.

This period is the most decisive for the development of Rabbinic Judaism.During this period the Second Temple parties of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes struggled for the religious heart of the nation. A messianic sect arose within the people, centered around the Jew Yeshua of Nazareth, and would soon go its own way. In Egypt a more wholeheartedly Hellenist interpretation of Judaism arose in the philosophy of Philo of Alexandria. Meanwhile in Palestine, the center of religious life moved to a new institution, the sanhedrin, and a new kind of religious leader, the sage or rabbi. By the time of the disastrous Great Revolt, all the founding institutions of Talmudic Judaism were in place.

Sept. 16 & 21 -- The Hellenistic Age
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 60-79
2. Schiffman TT: 4.2.1-4.5.1

Sept. 23 -- The Hasmonean Dynasty & Diaspora Developments
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 80-97
1. Schiffman TT: 4.6.1-4.6.5; 5.1.1-5.6.6
*2. Menahem Stern, "The Hasmonean Revolt and its Place in the History of Jewish Society and Religion," in Jewish Society Through the Ages, ed. by H. H. Ben-Sasson & S. Ettinger (New York: Schocken, 1969), pp. 92-106
 

Oct. 5 & 7 -- Sectarianism in the Second Commonwealth
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 98-119
2. Schiffman TT: 6.1.1-6.3.6

Oct. 19 & 21 -- Literature: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and the DSS
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 120-138
2. Schiffman TT: 7.1.1-7.3.7
3. Schiffman, "Origin and Early History of the Qumran Sect" ASOR web site

Oct. 28 -- Jewish-Christianity
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 139-156
2. Schiffman TT: 8.1.1-8.6.3

Nov. 2 -- The Great Revolt
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 157-176
2. Schiffman TT: 9.1.1-9.7.2

UNIT IV. The Oral Torah

This unit is devoted to the age of the Tannaim (singular: Tanna), or sages of the first two centuries of the Common Era, and the Amoraim (singular: Amora), or sages of the Talmud. The literary creation of these generations of rabbis is a document called the Mishnah, the first fundamental code of rabbinic legislation and faith, and its commentary, the Gemara. Doctrinally, however, it is not the case that the Mishnah and Gemara were regarded as rabbinic creations; rather, it was believed that rabbinic scholarship was nothing more than a progressive uncovering of a "second Torah" (traditionally called the Oral Torah) that was revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai at the same time as the written Pentateuch. This is a difficult concept to grasp, but the concept of Oral Torah is a fundamental basis for all of Rabbinic Judaism.

Nov. 4 -- The Two Torahs
Required:
1. Steinberg, As A DrivenLeaf
2. Schiffman TT: 10.1.1-10.2.7
*2. Urbach 286-314

Nov. 9 & 11 -- Tannaitic Literature: Midrash Halakhah, Mishnah, Tosefta’
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 177-200
2. Schiffman TT: 10.3.1-10.7.5

Nov. 16 & 18 -- Amoraic Literature: The Talmuds, Midrash Aggadah
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 201-239
2. Neusner, There We Sat Down 19-71
3. Schiffman TT: 11.1.1-12.5.6

UNIT V. Rabbinic/Talmudic Judaism

The Rabbis of the Talmudic Age were responsible for a number of radical changes in theology and doctrine which resulted in the transformation of the religion of the Twelve Tribes from an Israelite sacrificial cult to a world religion grounded in prayer, good deeds, and faithfulness to halakhah. In theology the Rabbis shunned the mythless and abstract Creator-God of Genesis for a more immanent, personable, and caring "Holy One Blessed Be He." In doctrine, the Talmudic Sages created an insightful psycho­logy of human behavior, the Oral Torah concept, belief in resurrection of the dead, and hope in a Messianic salvation at the end of time. This growing interest in theology, developing hand-in-hand with the halakhah, gave rise to Gnostic and even mystical trends.

We cannot cover the entire range of Rabbinic normative law. Nevertheless, it is useful to examine two of the great institutions of halakhah which were fully worked out during this period: the Sabbath and the dietary laws.

Nov. 30 & Dec. 2, 7 & 9
Required:
1. Schiffman FTT: 240-269
2. Schiffman TT: 12.6.1-14.1.3
3. Neusner, There We Sat Down 72-140