A pdf has been placed on Moodle with selections from Jewish Scriptures and other writings. Read Psalm 137, which appears on the 12th page of this pdf, p. 364 of the text reproduced there. Explain the historical and spiritual context of this text. In particular, explain why singing a song of Zion in an alien land an issue for the Jewish author of this text. And if it’s not the place where they are that is the issue, why can’t Jews just sing some other song? What’s so important to them about singing what is here called “a song of the Lord?” Be as specific as possible in sketching in the background of sorrow expressed here.

2 pages, typed and double-spaced.

Due Tuesday January 27th.

first paper topic

Strategies for writing short papersGood Strategies

Trust your own ability to read and interpret the text.

Read the text carefully, and make use of relevant sections of the textbook to help make sense of the context in which the text you are considering appears.

Put your explanation in your own words. Think of how you might explain what you’ve learned to a friend who asked you about the class you’re taking.

Bad Strategies

Quoting the powerpoint slides used in class.

Going online to find how others have interpreted this text.

Plagiarizing online sources.

Forgetting to provide the explanation asked for in the assignment.

Optional readings on MoodleThe pdf of readings on Moodle includes a selection from Philo of Alexandria (pp. 15 – 16 of the pdf); examples drawn from Mishnah and Talmud are on pp. 19 – 21; Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles are on p. 22. This is followed by selections from the Kabalistic text Zohar.

Shema: The Daily Prayer of JudaismHear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and

with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them

when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. [Deut. 6:4-9]

And it shall come to pass if you surely listen to the commandmentsthat I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul,

That I will give rain to your land, the early and the late rains,that you may gather in your grain, your wine and your oil.

And I will give grass in your fields for your cattle and you will eat and you will be satisfied.

Beware, lest your heart be deceived,and you turn and serve other gods, and worship them.

And anger of the Lord will blaze against you, and he will close the heavens and there will not be rain,and the earth will not give you its fullness,and you will perish quickly from the good land that the Lord gives you.

So you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them for signs on your hands, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

And you shall teach them to your children, and you shall speak of themwhen you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.

And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. In order to prolong your days and the days of your children on the land that the Lord promised

your fathers that he would give them, as long as the days that the heavens are over the earth. [Deut. 11: 13-21]

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying... And they shall be tzitzit for you, and when you look at them you will remember all of the Lord's commandments

and do them and not follow after your heart and after your eyes, which lead you astray.

In order to remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God. I am the Lord, your God, who led you from the land of Egypt

to be a god to you. I am the Lord, your God. [Numbers 15: 37-41]

Prayer: “Tefilah”• Prayer reminds us of G*d’s presence in our lives and

our relationship to Him.

• Prayer requires a special kind of concentration known as kavanah, which involves an intensifying of our awareness of G*d

• Prayers are most commonly said in a group, known as a minyan; this “quorum” requires at least 10 adult Jewish men.

Tefillin These are leather boxes worn on the

forehead and strapped to the upper arm during daily recital of shema.

Also known as phylacteries, they contain written copies of the shema which guard against the temptation of sin.

Preparing for prayer, with tefillin on head and arms and wearing Tallit shawl.

Mezuzah (plural: Mezuzot)• These are small scroll cases

mounted on the doorposts of Jewish homes.

• The name “mezuzah” applies to both the scroll and the case which holds it.

• The scroll contains part of the text of the shema, and it should be hand-written, not mechanically made.

• A dedication ceremony is held when the mezuzah is installed on the house, and the mezuzah should be removed when the family moves away so that nothing disrespectful may be done to the scroll.

Outward signs of Judaism Circumcision of males. Tallit and Tzitzit: The tallit is a shawl worn during prayer; tzitzit are

the fringes tied onto the corners of this shawl. The tying of fringes onto four-cornered garments is specified in the Torah as a reminder of the mitzvot. (This is also part of the Shema)

Yarmulke: a small cap, also worn during prayer.

Differing views of scriptures The traditional Jewish view is that Moses wrote the

Torah after receiving its contents as a revelation on Mt. Sinai.

Modern scholarship holds that the text of Torah is a redaction, a reconstruction done after the return from Babylon which united several strands of literature into one document. This view is known as the documentary hypothesis (see p. 94 of Religions of the West Today for a more detailed account of this viewpoint).

Judaism in a Hellenic world• As a result of the Diaspora, Jews found themselves scattered across the

Hellenized Mediterranean world.

• Ideas drawn from Greek philosophy, mathematics, and science dominated this era. The application of reason (logos) as part of a systematic investigation of nature was the ruling principle, while the guidance provided by prophetic revelation was seen as limited in scope. Given the differences between Hellenic and Judaic cultures, questions of how to maintain Jewish identity outside of the traditional homeland became more pressing and difficult to answer.

• Some Jews became assimilated to the wider culture, while others formed isolated Jewish communities, such as the Essenes.

• Intellectually, allegorical interpretation was developed as a means of integrating Judaism with Greek philosophy; this is a method of reading texts symbolically. Philo of Alexandria is a good example of a Jewish thinker who engages in this kind of reading of the traditional scriptures.

Apocalyptic Judaism

• “Apocalypse” is a Greek word meaning “unconcealed” or “out of hiding.”

• In the centuries following the return from exile, as Jewish communities came into contact with other cultures to a greater extent than before, some Jews withdrew into isolated communities. In these communities, the idea that God’s plan for the world was still in place (and hence yet to be revealed) led to a variety of apocalyptic traditions.

• It was in this context that the traditions surrounding the coming of the Moshiach developed.

Moshiach: the anointed one• The Moshiach (or Mashiah) will be both a spiritual and a secular

ruler, a human appearing in the end times. Jewish eschatology holds that this will inaugurate “The World To Come,” not an afterlife but rather a period of peace and prosperity for the world.

• He will restore the temple in Jerusalem.

• He will be of the line of David.

• He will be a great military leader, and also a judge who establishes Jewish Law.

• In every generation, the potential exists for the Moshiach to arise, should conditions on Earth call for it (either great sinfulness or great goodness).

• Christians believe that Jesus was the Moshiach, but Jews do not accept this claim, believing instead that The World To Come still lies in the future.

The “Dual Torah”

Jews believe that in addition to the written Torah handed to Moses at Sinai, there was an oral tradition also transmitted at Sinai but never written down until after the destruction of the second temple. This oral tradition became the Mishnah. Not all movements of Judaism accept this tradition, as some movements focus simply on the traditional written Torah.

More Texts of Judaism• Mishnah: written down around 200 c.e., these are rabbinical

commentaries on the Torah (also believed to be the oral Torah).

• Gemara: These texts are completed between 400 and 600 c.e. by Jewish communities in Jerusalem and Babylonia (there are two distinct collections of commentary). These are Rabbinical commentaries on the Mishnah.

• Talmud: Talmud comprises both Mishnah and Gemara. The Talmudic tradition of commentary and interpretation continues to this day. While it is mainly a scholarly tradition, the idea that continual discussion and debate over the meaning of scriptural texts is at the heart of Jewish experience for anyone who identifies as a Jew.

• Midrash: these “investigations” are commentaries written by Rabbis in the early centuries of the common era. Midrash has come to be a general term for any commentary on scripture intended to provide advice for Jews seeking guidance in life.

Halakhah: Jewish Law“the path that one walks.”

– Mitzvot: commandments from the Torah.– Gezirah: (“a fence around the Torah”) laws instituted by

Rabbis to help uphold the Mitzvot (e.g., a requirement to not even handle implements of work on Shabbat, things like pencils, calculators, etc.).

– Takkanah: laws instituted by Rabbis, but with no special reference to the Torah (e.g., the requirement to light candles on Hanukkah).

– Minhag: customs which have been recognized as having the status of law (e.g., extending the observance of holidays to a second day so that the astronomical timing of the day will not be interfered with).

Rabbinical Judaism

• The age of cogency (640 – 1800 c.e.) saw a growth in the power of Rabbis (teachers) within the Jewish community. Rabbis are authorities on Halakhah, and they advise Jews on difficult questions of legal and moral interpretation.

• It is the Rabbis who develop and maintain the Mishnah and Talmud, systematizing the substance of Jewish belief.

• The 13 principles of faith developed by Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides) is an emblematic statement of Rabbinical authority.

Officials of the Jewish Community Kohein: a priest who is charged with the duty of

carrying out sacrifice in the Temple; traditionally identified as descendants of Aaron. (Levites were also charged with special duties pertaining to the maintenance of the temple.)

Rabbi: a teacher; someone well-versed in halakah; Rabbis are not necessarily kohein and so do not perform any sacrificial rituals.

Chazzan: a cantor who leads the group attending synagogue in singing and prayers.

Synagogue:The House of Assembly and Prayer

• Synagogue is the term used by Conservative Jews to refer to the place of worship; this word literally means “house of assembly” (Hebrew: beit k’nesset).

• Reform Jews call it a temple, since they believe that the ancient temple is remade wherever and whenever they gather.

• Orthodox Jews call it a Shul (derived from the German word for school; a place of learning).

The synagogue is the center of the Jewish community, and it serves as– The place of worship

or prayer

– The place for rituals, such as the Bar Mitzvah

– A place for social gatherings

A Torah Scroll Every Synagogue has a Torah scroll

(called a Sefer Torah), kept in an Ark (Hebrew: aron kodesh, or holy cabinet). This Ark has both a curtain and doors, which are opened and closed as part of worship services. The ark usually faces Jerusalem. In front of this is an oil lamp, satisfying the mitzvah to keep a light burning outside the Ark. A bimah (altar) is placed in front of the Ark, and the scroll is placed here to be read from during services.

In Orthodox synagogues, women are separated from men, sometimes by a curtain or a wall. (This is meant to minimize distraction for the men while they are praying.)

Aron Kodesh Torah Scroll on Bimah