Fall 2024 Jewish Studies GU4147 section 001

Between Tradition & Innovation: Readings

Between Tradition & Innov

Call Number 14137
Day & Time
Location
M 4:10pm-6:00pm
201B Philosophy Hall
Points 3
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Elly Moseson
Type SEMINAR
Method of Instruction In-Person
Course Description

The popular eighteenth-century mystical revivalist movement known as Hasidism transformed the religious and cultural life of Eastern European Jewry and remains a vibrant form of Judaism to this day. This seminar will introduce students to the history, ideology and major personalities of the Hasidic movement through a close reading of a broad selection of primary texts, including mystical tracts, collections of sermons, spiritual directives, hagiographical tales and polemical writings. We will explore the mystical ideas and practices taught by the founders of the movement, the new forms of leadership they developed and the fierce controversies they aroused. We will also consider the role played by Hasidic literature in the formation and spread of the movement and the tensions it embodied between tradition and innovation, elitism and populism, and oral and written modes of communication.   

This course is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates may register with permission from the instructor.

Web Site Vergil
Department Institute for Israel & Jewish Studies
Enrollment 9 students (15 max) as of 3:05PM Monday, December 2, 2024
Subject Jewish Studies
Number GU4147
Section 001
Division Interfaculty
Section key 20243JWST4147W001