RELS 130 Judaism From Exile to Diaspora

This course is a survey of Jewish communities in antiquity from the late Babylonian exile to the emergence of Jewish Academies in the Diaspora. The first half of the course will focus on the formation of Jewish identity and the rise of competing Jewish factions and movements. We will study the central religious beliefs, texts, practices, and institutions that were held in common, yet simultaneously the source of deep division between sects. We will also study how sectarian movements -such as apocalypticism and messianism- were formed in response to Empire (Greek and Roman). In the second half we will consider issues of orthodoxy and heresy, as well as categories of insiders and outsiders. Finally, we will study the crystallization of orthodoxy in the rabbinic movement, considering issues of conversion, inter-religious polemic, conflict, and persecution.

Throughout the course, students will engage with questions regarding Jewish identity and the evolving role of Jewish Scripture, its component parts, its interpretation, and its authority. Moreover, students will examine various models of religious leadership and practice, and various conclusions about the nature of God, the afterlife, the Messiah, and non-Jewish peoples.