Rabbinical School RB-JTHT-100: Theology of Jewish Prayer Ebn Leader 2 graduate credits Spring 2019 Mondays 9:45 am – 11:15 am
Contact Information: Phone: 617-559-8635 Email: [email protected]
Course Description: A semester-long course for rabbinical students in their first year. In the context of the Shanah Aleph theme of tefillah this course provides exposure to Jewish writings on the inner life of prayer as taught by various masters and the theologies that both underlie prayer and proceed from it. While there is a historical element to the course (particularly in the first half) it is also meant to provide an opportunity for students to think through, articulate, and discuss with others their own theology of prayer. The course will thus hopefully provide a bridge between the theoretical study of the traditions and history of prayer and the student’s personal practice.
Assessment: Students should read and think about the listed readings in preparation for each session. In the week following each session students should reflect on the implications of the discussion for their personal practice. Due March 25: Mid-term paper, critique and personal response to The Art of Public Prayer by Lawrence Hoffman. 5 pages. Due May 16: Final paper describing your own thoughts on the theology of prayer. 10-15 pages.
Course Accommodations for Disabilities: Hebrew College is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in programs. Accordingly, if a student has a documented disability, and as a result, needs a reasonable accommodation to attend, participate or complete course requirements, then he or she should inform the instructor at the beginning of the course. For further information, see the Student Handbook at http://hebrewcollege.edu/sites/default/files/student_handbook.pdf.
If you require course accommodations because of a documented disability or an emergency medical condition, please email your instructor as soon as possible. We are happy to work with you on any issues you have to ensure that you can participate fully in the class and complete the course requirements. Please do not wait until the assignments are due for a retroactive accommodation, but discuss the situation with your instructor before you experience difficulty.
Course Structure (Dates, Topics, Readings and Assignments):
Session 1, Feb. 4 – WHAT IS PRAYER? “Prayer” from The Encyclopedia of Religion. Selection of prayers (to be distributed).
Session 2, Feb. 11– BIBLICAL PRAYER Moshe Greenberg – “On the Refinement of the Conception of Prayer in Hebrew Scriptures”. Selection of biblical prayers (to be distributed).
Session 3, Feb. 25 – RABBINIC PRAYER: THE PRECEDENT OF THE TEMPLE AND THE STRUGGLE OVER “KEVA”. Raphael Patai – “Symbolism and Function of the Temple”. Joseph Heinemann - “The Statutory Prayers: Their Nature, Origin and Content”. Mishna Berachot, Ch. 4.
Session 4, March 4 – DIFFERENT MODES OF RABBINIC PRAYER Selection of talmudic texts (to be distributed).
Session 5, March 11 - JEWISH PHILOSOPHY: MAIMONIDES ON PRAYER Kenneth Seeskin – “Why is Anyone Perplexed” and “Describing God”. Marvin Fox – “Prayer and the Religious Life”. Maimonides – The Guide of the Perplexed, 3:51.
Session 6, March 18 – MYSTICAL PRAYER: THE ZOHAR Green Arthur – “Teachings of the Kabbalists: The Ten Sefirot” and “Avodah: The Life of Worship”. Isaiah Tishbi – “Prayer and Devotion”.
Session 7, March 25 – PRAYER IN HASSIDUT: THE BAAL SHEM TOV Louis Jacobs – “The Nature of Hassidic Prayer”. Selection of Hassidic texts (to be distributed).
Session 8, April 1 – THE REFORM MOVEMENT Guest teacher: Rabbi Dr. Michael Shire. Texts for preparation will be announced.
Session 9, Apr. 8 – LOVE AND FEAR: SOLOVEITCHIK AND HARTMAN Joseph Soloveitchik – Reflections on the Amidah”. David Hartman –“Fundamentals of a Covenantal Anthropology” and “The Spirit of Judaic Prayer”.
Session 10, Apr. 15 – OBEDIENCE VS. COVENANT: LEIBOWITZ AND HARTMAN Yeshayahu Leibowitz – “Religious Praxis: The Meaning of Halacha” and “Of Prayer”. David Hartman – “Individual and community in Prayer”.
Session 11, Apr. 29 – DAVVENOLOGY: REB ZALMAN R Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, The Gates of Prayer, chapters 1-3, 5.
Session 12, May 6 - PRAYING TO THE ONE: GREEN AND FALK Marcia Falk – selections from The Book of Blessings. Arthur Green – Radical Judaism p. 1-78. and “The Life of Prayer”.
Articles for the Course (posted on Schoology)
1. Mircea Eliade ed., “Prayer”, The Encyclopedia of Religion (Macmillian Publishing Company, NY, 1987) Vol. 11 pp. 489–493. 2. Greenberg Moshe, Studies in the Bible and Jewish Thought, (The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia/Jerusalem, 1995) pp. 75–108. 3. Raphael Patai, Man and the Temple, (Thomas Nelson & Sons LTD, London and New York, 1947) pp. 105–139. 4. Heinemann Joseph, Prayer in the Talmud (Walter De Gruyter, Berlin/New York, 1977) pp. 13– 36. 5. Seeskin Kenneth, Maimonides – A Guide for Today’s Perplexed (Behrman House Inc. New Jersey, 1991) pp.3–15; 19-39. 6. Fox Marvin, Interpreting Maimonides (The University of Chicago Press, Chicago/London, 1990) pp. 297-321. 7. Green Arthur, A Guide to the Zohar ( Stanford University Press, Stanford California, 2004) pp. 28-59; 134-144. 8. Tishby Isaiah, The Wisdom of the Zohar (Oxford University Press, 1991) pp. 941-974; 998-1007. 9. Jacobs Louis, Hasidic Prayer (The Jewish Publication Society, New York, 1973) pp. 17-35; 167- 169. 10. Hartman David, A Living Covenant (The Free Press, New York, 1985) pp. 21-41; 131-149; 160- 179. 11. Soloveitchik Joseph B (Carmy Shalom ed.) Worship of the Heart (KTAV Publishing House, 2003) pp. 144-182. 12. Leibowitz Yeshayahu (Goldman Eliezer ed.) Judaism Human values and the Jewish State (Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1992) pp. 3-36. 13. Schachter-Shalomi Zalman, The Gates of Prayer (Albion-Andalus, Boulder CO, 2011) pp. xi-55; 75-94. 14. Falk Marcia, The Book of Blessings (Beacon Press, Boston, 1999) pp. 18-21; 417-423; 428-431; 514- 515. 15. Green Arthur, Radical Judaism (Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2010) pp. 1-78; 167-176. 16. Green Arthur, EHYEH: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow (Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock Vermont, 2003) pp. 153-165.