Religious Studies 469.03: Midrash and Jewish Biblical Interpretation

Prof. E. Segal
Department of
Religious Studies
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive N. W.
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2N 1N4

Office: SS 1302
Phone: (403) 220-5886
Fax: (403) 210-0801
Email: elsegal@ucalgary.ca

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Religious Studies 469.03	Course Outline, Fall 2003
Advanced Studies in Judaism Midrash and Jewish Biblical Interpretation	Class time: MW 9:00 - 10:15
Instructor:	Eliezer Segal
Office:	Social Sciences 1301
Office hours:	W 10:15 - 11:00; or by appointment
Telephone:	220-5886
Internet:	E-mail: eliezer.segal@ucalgary.ca
Internet:	World-Wide Web: Material related to this course can be found at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/MidrashExegesis/

Textbook:

A Course Pack of selected primary and secondary readings will be distributed

Course Description:

The Hebrew Bible is the central document of Jewish religion, and Jews throughout history have looked to the Bible as a source of guidance, understanding and inspiration.

This seminar will examine the major Jewish approaches to interpreting their sacred scriptures.

Among the topics to be dealt with in the classroom or in the students' research are the following:

Midrash--The study of the Bible during the Second Temple and Talmudic eras:

Halakhic Midrash: The Torah as a source of religious law.
Aggadic Midrash: Narrative and homiletical interpretation.
Midrash as interpretation and as a rhetorical art
Midrash in modern and post-modern scholarship.

Biblical interpretation:

The rise of "peshat" (literal, contextual) exegesis
Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi).
Rabbi Moses Nahmanides (Ramban).
Philosophical-Allegorical exegesis (Maimonides)
Kabbalistic-Symbolic exegesis (Zohar)

Core Competencies:

The course's principal pedagogic objectives will be those of an upper-year seminar. As such, it will place a strong emphasis on the analysis of texts, and the critical assessment of scholarly literature. Students will further their skills in the various aspects of scholarly research, including the collecting of information; independent evaluation from a variety of methodological perspectives; and orderly presentation of their conclusions in written and oral form.

Course Requirements:

	Item	Date Due	% Weight
1.	Paper #1 Research paper on a topic in Midrash.	Due November 12 2003	35%-40%^*
2.	Paper #2 Research essay on a topic in Jewish exegesis.	Due December 8 2003	35%-40%^*
3.	Oral Presentation of one of the written papers.	To be scheduled individually	10 %
4.	Class Participation Including preparation of assigned readings.	Continual	15%

^* Note: The paper with the highest grade will count for 40% of the final mark.

There will not be a Registrar's office scheduled final examination in this course.

Grading:

A numerical mark will be given for each course requirement. Following the final examination, a letter grade will be assigned on the following number and letter grade scheme (standardized within the Department of Religious Studies).

A+	100 - 96	A	95 - 90	A-	89 - 85
B+	84 - 80	B	79 - 75	B-	74 - 70
C+	69 - 65	C	64 - 60	C-	59 - 55
D+	54 - 50	D	49 - 45	F	44 or less

Plagiarism:

Students should be familiar with University regulations regarding academic integrity, as set down in the University Calendar.

Academic Accommodation

It is a student's responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre, please contact their office at 220-8237. Your academic accommodation letters should be provided to your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the commencement of this course. Students who have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre are not eligible for formal academic accommodation.

(DRC web address is: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC/.)

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