Religious Studies 6938
University of South Florida
Tampa
Jacob Neusner
Department of Religious Studies
Fri 2-4:50 p.m. Office: CPR 315
CPR 315 Phone: 974-2221
Office Hours: Fri. 11-12 A.M. And any time, by appointment, at USF/St. Pete Campus (Davis 134)
A Judaism is a theory of the social order that sets forth a world view, way of life, and theory of the social entity ("Israel") that is coherent and that addresses an urgent problem and solves it. In this course we examine two such Judaisms, which are connected in their literary expression; we see how the first document set forth a philosophical system of Judaism, and successor-documents, in the form of commentaries to that writing, set forth a religious system of Judaism. It is the formation of Judaism through the transformation from philosophy to religion that defines the problem of this course.
The purpose of this course is to show how we may uncover the historical unfolding of a religion through the documents of that religion. Our case in point is the formation of a particular kind of Judaism, the kind represented by the writings of the rabbis of the first seven centuries of the Common Era (C.E.=A.D.). This course explains how early writings, in particular, the Mishnah, ca. 200 C.E., which had a strongly philosophical character in the context of Greco-Roman philosophy, set forth a Judaic theory of the social order — world view, way of life, theory of the social entity — very much within an Aristotelian framework, with a philosophy ("world view"), an economics ("way of life"), and a politics ("theory of the social entity") in accord with Aristotle’s modes of thought and his economics and politics. Then, we shall see, the writings that took shape as commentaries and extensions of the Mishnah and of Scripture, with special attention to the Talmud of the Land of Israel, a sustained commentary to the Mishnah, received the philosophical system of the Mishnah and set forth, alongside that Judaism as a philosophical system, a second and autonomous system, which we call religious (what differentiates a philosophical from a religious system is spelled out). We examine the Judaic theory of the social order — its counterpart categories, providing answers to the same questions that the Mishnah’s philosophy, economics, and politics address — and we see how that new theory of the social order corresponds to the account of the social order put forth by St. Augustine in the same period as the Talmud of the Land of Israel. We see that, though profoundly different, Augustine and the Talmudic rabbis of the fifth century addressed a common agenda of questions.
Class Assignments
1. After the first session, all reading must be done in advance of the class meeting; lectures will take for granted the contents of the reading. Most of the class session will be devoted to the reading and analysis of texts, with questions and answers forming the basic teaching method of the course.
The class sessions will be devoted partly to lecture-discussions but mostly to the analysis of texts. Students will read and interpret texts (given in English translation). The task then is to find out how these texts yield answers to the questions that occupy us, on the formation of the social order.
The work for the course consists of a paper to be read aloud in class and a final paper, the former about 4-5 pp., the latter about 10-15 pp. In both cases, the procedure for writing the paper involves one or more meetings with me, first of all to submit an outline for approval, the second meeting to submit a first draft; if further drafts are needed, you will plan on further appointments. It is wise to start work on the paper long in advance, to take advantage of my Tampa campus office hours; otherwise we may meet nearly any time on the St. Pete campus.
2. The class paper, to be read aloud, will take a particular text and analyze it from the perspectives of the course. Bring copies of the text you plan to examine for every member of the class.
3. Mid-semester examination. In class. Two hours.
4. A term paper, in place of a final, to be submitted in writing at the final session of the course, is to set forth and argue a single proposition, or answer a question, showing how you can clearly and accurately express your idea(s) in a cogent way, selecting relevant evidence, putting forth persuasive arguments, making a case. The paper should follow an outline that is readily apparent to the reader. Notes and bibliography should be kept to a minimum, and the paper should not be padded with quotations; the professor in this course is not to be quoted in your paper. You are advised to consult the instructor well in advance of writing the paper, at a regular office hour, on your proposed paper. The purpose of this assignment is to help you learn how to present your ideas cogently and in an economical manner.
Rules of conduct in this class room
1. Students are expected to attend all sessions and to remain, beginning to end. Students who miss any meeting of the course, or who attend the first hour but not the second, are asked to drop the course immediately and will not be called upon again. Exceptions can be made only in advance and with written permission of the instructor.
2. Auditors and senior citizens are expected to do all the reading and writing assignments of the course; they are expected to participate in class discussions and will be called upon to answer questions. Everything expected
3. No note-taking. Just think thoughts.
Grade
The grade will be based on the quality of contributions to class discussion, 25%, the mid-semester, 25%, the written work, 25% on the class paper, 25% on the final.
The Reading
Books for this course will be on reserve in the library, so it is not necessary to buy any of them. The book store will have a few copies in stock.
1. Neusner, The Mishnah. An Introduction (Jason Aronson)
2. Neusner, Judaism as Philosophy (Univ of South Carolina Press)
3. Neusner, The Economics of the Mishnah (Univ of Chicago Press)
4. Neusner, Rabbinic Political Theory: Religion and Politics in the Mishnah. (Univ of Chicago Press)
5. Neusner, Judaism and Society (Univ of Chicago Press; second printing: Scholars Press)
6. Neusner, Transformation of Judaism (Univ of Illinois Press)
7. Brown, Peter, Augustine (Univ of California Press)
The Program of the Course
I.
Friday, January 10, 1992
Judaism and the Social Order
Introduction to the course
Part One
The Mishnah’s Philosophical Conception of the Social Order
II.
FRIDAY, January 17, 1992
A Vision of the Social Order: Way of life, World View, Theory of the Social Entity
Neusner, The Ecology of Religion, pp. 17-93
III.
FRIDAY, January 24, 1992
World-View: The Mishnah
Reading: Neusner, The Mishnah. An Introduction, pp. 1-40, 149-199
IV.
FRIDAY, January 31, 1992
Judaism as Philosophy: The Method of the Mishnah
Reading: Neusner, Judaism as Philosophy, pp. 55-140, 212-242
V.
FRIDAY, February 7, 1992
Judaism as Philosophy: The Message of the Mishnah
Reading: Neusner, Judaism as Philosophy, pp. pp. 1-55, 243-277
VI.
FRIDAY, February 14, 1992
Mid-semester Examination
VII.
FRIDAY, February 21, 1992
Way of Life: The Economics of the Mishnah
Reading: Neusner, The Economics of the Mishnah, pp. 1-144
VIII.
FRIDAY, February 28, 1992
Theory of the Social Entity: Rabbinic Political Theory
Reading: Neusner, Rabbinic Political Theory: Religion and Politics in the Mishnah, pp. 1-110
IX.
FRIDAY, March 7, 1992
Theory of the Social Entity: Rabbinic Political Theory
in Systemic and Philosophical Context
Reading: Neusner, Rabbinic Political Theory: Religion and Politics in the Mishnah, pp. 111-228
X.
FRIDAY, March 14, 1992
The Transformation of Judaism [1]
Categories, Category-Formation, Transforming Categories
Reading: Neusner, Ancient Judaism and Modern Category Formation, pp. 1-12
Neusner, Transformation of Judaism, pages to be assigned.
X.
FRIDAY, March 21, 1992
No class. Semester break.
XI.
FRIDAY, March 28, 1992
The Talmud’s Transformation of Judaism [2]
The Talmud’s Reception of the Philosophical System
Reading: Neusner, Transformation of Judaism, pages to be assigned.
XII.
FRIDAY, April 4, 1992
The Transformation of Judaism [3]
The The Formation of Counterpart Categories
Reading: Neusner, Transformation of Judaism, pages to be assigned.
XIII.
FRIDAY, April 11, 1992
The Transformation of Judaism [4]
Enchanted Judaism: The New Structure
Reading: Neusner, Transformation of Judaism, pages to be assigned.
XIV.
FRIDAY, April 18, 1992
The Transformation of Judaism [5]
Enchanted Judaism and The City of God
Reading: Neusner, Transformation of Judaism, pages to be assigned.
Peter Brown, St. Augustine, pages to be assigned
XV.
FRIDAY, April 25, 1992
Judaism in Society: The Evidence of the Yerushalmi
Reading: Neusner, Judaism in Society, pp. 3-26, 198-255
Final papers due.