
This is an introduction to the course, Jewish Studies 102: Intro to Jewish Literature.
This lecture shows the students how to access Jewish literature online, by using the website Sefaria.org. Having the skill of accessing Jewish literature online is essential to getting the most out of this course.
This lecture introduces the concept of the Written Torah.
This lecture explains the difference between the two "Torahs" in the Jewish religious tradition, which are the Written Torah and the Oral Torah.
This lecture gives a general breakdown of the Written Torah, which is the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh.
This lecture explains to the students the role of the Written Torah in the day-to-day lives of people who observe the Jewish religious tradition. The main thing is the chanting of the "parashat hashavua" on Shabbat, which is explained in the lecture.
This lecture will introduce the students to the Oral Torah.
This lecture will explain to the students the role of the Oral Torah in the day-to-day life of people who follow the Jewish religious tradition.
This lecture goes into the Medieval developments of the Rabbinic tradition.
This lecture gives an overview of the Kabbalah literary tradition.
This BONUS lecture introduces the students to Kabbalistic Astrology, a wonderful and beautiful spiritual practice (in my humble opinion).
This lecture is a conclusion to the course, and provides the students with an overview of the main topics covered in the course.
This course serves as an introduction to both Jewish Studies and Jewish Literature. Jewish Literature/Text is the primary essential way to connect with the Jewish Tradition. Traditionally, much of Jewish Text is considered to be sacred and spiritual. From an academic perspective, there can be subjective religious bias in the traditional Jewish understanding of Jewish Literature, so, it can also be analyzed and deconstructed in a non-Jewish Academic way. In this course, you will gain a foundational understanding of BOTH the spiritual AND academic perspectives on Jewish Literature. You will not only understand the basics of Jewish literature, but you will also learn how to access the literature online, and you will also be able to understand how Jewish literature is utilized as a way of celebrating Jewish holidays and commemorating dates on the Hebrew Calendar. This information is useful for anybody looking to incorporate Jewish literature as a spiritual practice, OR for anybody who is just interested in learning about a very complex and beautiful literary tradition that can bring meaning to lives of all people. I highly recommend learning a bit about Jewish History before learning about Jewish Literature, although the two subject completely go hand in hand.