1 Course Syllabus and Curriculum Talmud for Nachshon Students

Course Syllabus and Curriculum

Talmud for Nachshon Students

Spring Semester 2020

Instructor: Nechama Goldman Barash

Requirements:

Attendance and Participation in class including havruta study sessions (60%)

Mid-term assignment (20%)

Final assignment (20%)

Description: In this class students will be studying Talmud text in Seder Nashim to both develop and advance Talmud study skills and appreciation for Talmudic methodology and get a sense of how the Talmud related to the institutions of marriage and parenthood. The main tractate studied will be Kiddushin but relevant texts in Ketubot will also be referenced both in havruta study and class discussion.

The class will be focusing on the legal relationship between men and women which is conducted through the act of acquisition known as kiddushin and learn how the Talmud took pains to both legally structure the ritual of marriage while also distinguishing it from other acts of acquisition such as those involved in purchasing land or slaves. Both the language and the object used to facilitate the transfer of a woman from a single to married state will be examined minutely in the Talmud text and most importantly, the intent of both man and woman will be considered.

In addition to marriage, the relationship between fathers and daughters, namely the rights and incumbent responsibilities of fathers towards their minor daughters will be examined in the tractates of Kiddushin and Ketubot. Fathers are entitled to their daughter’s bride price but how can the law make sure that a father will have his daughter’s best interest at heart? Later on in the semester, the obligation and duties of fathers towards their sons will be examined as well.

The central mitzva of Torah study and its role in both the family and community will be the focus of some of the later classes. Fathers are obligated to teach sons Torah but not all sons are able to learn. And fathers are also obligated to fulfill their own commandment to study Torah. The tension of being both the teacher and one obligated on his own to study creates various complicated scenarios that heavily impacts the normalcy of family life. In addition, a husband is supposed to provide for his wife sexually and financially but if this gets in the way of his studying Torah, he will may have to choose. Does the law make allowances for abandoning a family if it is for the sake of Torah? 2

Finally, honor thy father and mother is one of the ten commandments but how far does one have to go to fulfill this mitzva? What if the parent is not worthy? What if the commandment interferes with one’s work, marriage and children? What are the boundaries of this important commandment?

In the end, students will be able to appreciate the skillfully woven textual fabric of Talmudic discourse while also appreciating some of the deep insights shown towards human behavior and interaction specifically with regard to our most intimate relationships.

List of Key Books

Alexander, Elizabeth Shanks, Gender and Timebound Commandments in Judaism, Cambridge, 2013.

Baskin, Judith Reesa and Tenenbaum, Shelley (eds), Gender and Jewish Studies: A Curriculum Guide, Biblio Press, 1994.

Blidstein, Gerald J., Rabbinic Judaism and General Culture: Normative Discussion and Attitudes, pp. 1-65, in Judaism’s Encounter with Other Cultures, ed. Schacter Jacob J., Maggid, 2017.

Carmell, Aryeh, Aiding Talmud Study, Feldheim, 1998.

Cohen, Shaye J.D., The Beginnings of Jewishness, California Press, 1999.

Fishman, Talya, Becoming the People of the Talmud, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.

Frank, Yitzhak, The Practical Talmud Dictionary, Ariel Institute, 1994.

Holtz, Barry W., Back to the Sources, Simon and Schuster, 1984.

Rubenstein, Jeffrey L., Talmudic Stories: Narrative Art, Composition and Culture, The John Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Saimen, Chaim N., Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law, Princeton University Press, 2018.

Steinsaltz, Adin, Reference Guide to the Talmud, Koren, 1989.

Week One: Introduction

History of rabbinic text

The Art of Talmud study

Seder Nashim and Tractate Kiddushin

What Makes a Jewish Marriage? First Mishna in Kiddushin

Relevant Reading:

Biale, Rachel, Women and Jewish Law, Schocken Books, 1984. 3

Hauptman, Judith, Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice, Westview, 1998.

Week Two

Is a Woman Like a Field? Looking more closely at the act of acquisition in marriage.

Talmud text: Kiddushin 2b-3a

Relevant Reading:

Wegner, Judith Romney, Chattel or Person: The Status of Women in the Mishnah, Oxford University Press, 1992.

Weeks Three and Four

Fathers and Daughters

Talmud texts: Kiddushin 3b

Ketubot 46b

Weeks Five and Six

Language Matters: What Words Effect Kiddushin?

Talmud Text: Kiddushin 5b-6b; 7b

Weeks Seven and Eight

Objects matter: If I don’t have a ring, what can a man use to effect marriage?

Talmud Text: Kiddushin 8a-9a

Relevant Reading for weeks three through eight:

Baskin, Judith, Midrashic Women, Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature (HBI Series on Jewish Women), Brandeis University Press, 2002.

Biale, Rachel, Women and Jewish Law, Schocken Books, 1984.

Hauptman, Judith, Rereading the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice, Westview, 1998. 4

Wegner, Judith Romney, Chattel or Person: The Status of Women in the Mishnah, Oxford University Press, 1992.

Midterm Evaluations: In class mid-term assignment

Week Nine

Fathers and Sons: Who is obligated to whom? The obligations of being a parent

Kiddushin 29a-29b