The aim of this course is to acquaint students with some of the main features of early Rabbinic literature by means of selected texts which will be read in English translation. (The original Hebrew texts will be reproduced for those who are able to read Hebrew.) The first class will be devoted to a discussion of the historical background of the sources. In subsequent classes selected texts drawn from the entire range of rabbinic literature will be analysed with consideration of their content, literary structure and historical 'Sitz im Leben.' Students should prepare the set texts together with the relevant secondary literature in advance of each class. This course will be examined by means of a three-hour written examination to be held at the end of Trinity Term.

Located at the intersection of Cultural History and Literature, this course aims to provide an overview of Eastern European Jewish culture from medieval times to the eve of the Second World War. The course is centred around the intricate interrelations between tradition, crisis and innovation, and informed by the understanding that tradition is constantly changing and re-invented, rather than a set of passively inherited customs. The course traces the dramatic religious and political transformations experienced and created by the Eastern European Jewish society in the early-modern and modern periods by exploring a variety of Eastern European Jewish sources, including prose and poetry alongside religious literature (such as interpretations of the Bible and women’s prayers) and political essays. We will consider the historical significance of these sources and the socio-political contexts behind them, as well as their literary style and form, and their contribution to the creation of modern Jewish literature. Students with Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Polish or Russian language competency will be encouraged to read primary sources in the original languages. The course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

This course aims to provide an introduction to and overview of the discipline of Near Eastern Archaeology with particular reference to the Iron Age and the Persian Period. The course will provide the student with the archaeological background to the historical events of the Iron Age (1200-586 B.C.E.) and the Persian period (537-332 B.C.E.); equip the student with the basic elements of the subject, including the role of excavation, the limits of time and space, basic terminology, important sites and personalities, significant finds, and the relevance to the biblical account; and to enable the student to assess the right and wrong uses of archaeology. This course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

This course covers the political, social, economic, and religious history of the Jews from 200 B.C.E. to 70 C.E. The set text will be Josephus, The Jewish War, but students will also be expected to learn how other literary sources, archaeological material and religious texts can be used to understand the history of this period. This course will be examined by a three-hour written examination to be held at the end of Trinity Term.

This course will focus primarily on the way the traditional liturgy for home and synagogue encapsulates biblical themes and rabbinic thinking about the world. We will consider key scriptural scenes and their midrashic interpretations, in order to define some of the core ideas of the sacred narrative from creation to the messiah, and will then trace their language and motifs in liturgical passages. It will become clear that central rabbinic ideas are explored in the liturgy in occasionally subversive ways, as the prayer book interprets human experience from birth to death. This course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

A survey course covering the period from the mid eighteenth century to the Second World War. The course aims to provide an overview of the Jewish experience as a minority group in Europe and Russia, introducing students to the main themes, ideologies and movements of modern Jewish history. Among the topics examined are emancipation and the Enlightenment, Jewish politics, migration, antisemitism and the Holocaust. This course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

The texts are chosen for their exegetical and/or text-critical interest, and for their relevance to formative Judaism and Christianity. The course covers general issues of the historical origins of the Septuagint version in the Alexandrian Jewish Diaspora and its subsequent revisions in Palestine, the translation technique of the individual books studied, textual criticism and exegesis of the original Hebrew. Relevant texts in Hebrew and Greek from Qumran will also be taken into consideration. The aim of the course is to demonstrate the value of the Septuagint and the three later Jewish revisions (Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion) for textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, and the importance of Greek renderings of the Hebrew Bible for Hellenistic Judaism and the Greek-speaking Church. Students are expected to have a good grasp of Greek and Hebrew, and to have prepared the texts in advance of each session, which will take the form of a lecture on broad topics and a separate class to examine the set texts in detail. This course will be examined by a three-hour written examination to be held at the end of Trinity Term.

This course explores the Jewish diaspora which was spread over large parts of the Greek-speaking eastern half of the Roman Empire, and is also found in the city of Rome, and later in the Latin-speaking west. It is well-known from pagan, Jewish and Christian literature, especially the Acts of the Apostles, and from inscriptions, papyri and the archaeological remains of synagogues. For the first three centuries C.E. both Judaism and Christianity, which grew out of it, were minority beliefs, tolerated and on occasion persecuted. With the conversion of Constantine in 312, the relations of the three religions changed dramatically. This course will be examined by two pre-submitted essays.

The aim of this course is to consider the historical, theological, and social motivations behind the development of the three major religious movements of Modern Judaism: Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox. The focus will fall on their emergence in the nineteenth century in Western Europe. The subsequent development of Progressive and Orthodox forms of Judaism in America will also be studied. In addition, the division of Orthodoxy into a modernist and traditionalist camp will be examined particularly with reference to Anglo-Jewry. A number of primary texts will be examined through the course requiring advance preparation and students will be expected to make a short oral presentation on selected topics. The course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

This course explores the Jewish mystical tradition, including rabbinic esotericism, Kabbalah, and Hasidism. We will explore the historical, literary, and phenomenological approaches to the Jewish mystical tradition. Topics will include the nature of mysticism, the origins of Jewish mysticism, the major teachings of the Kabbalah including the doctrine of divine calculi (Sefirot), the feminine aspect of divinity, the soul, kabbalistic rituals, and Jewish meditation. Participants will engage also in close reading of primary kabbalistic texts including the Zohar and other works (in the original or in translation). This course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

This course is intended to explore the religion of Israel during the Iron Age, from c. 1200-500 BCE. In biblical terms, this covers the period between the appearance of the Israelites in Canaan and the early post-exilic period. The course will be examined by means of two pre-submitted essays.

Elementary:
The course is designed to enable those with little or no experience in Biblical Hebrew to become conversant in reading basic narrative texts and to translate short passages from English into Hebrew.

Intermediate:
The course is designed for those students who are already conversant in reading narrative Biblical Hebrew. Through a study of a variety of set texts the students will become familiar with more advanced methods of Biblical Hebrew narrative as well as being introduced to some poetic texts. The students' knowledge of Biblical Hebrew grammar and syntax will constantly be reviewed and deepened as the set texts are studied and as they prepare Hebrew prose compositions.

Advanced:
This course is designed for those who already have considerable experience in Biblical Hebrew prose as well as some background in Classical Hebrew poetry. This course will, therefore, focus on developing these skills through reading more difficult Biblical texts, as well as some inscriptions. The majority of these texts will come from the earliest strata of the language.

Elementary:
The aim of this class is to help students to acquire proficiency in reading, writing, comprehending and translating comparatively simple texts, as well as acquiring conversational skills.

Intermediate:
The aim of this class is to give students proficiency in reading, writing, comprehending and translating more complex texts, as well as acquiring conversational skills.

Advanced:
The aim of this course is writing, reading and comprehension at an advanced level with a particular focus on academic and related texts.

Elementary:
This course is aimed at students with no prior knowledge of Yiddish (although knowledge of the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet is highly desirable). The course is designed for students to develop basic reading, writing and conversational skills, as well as mastering some basic grammar. It will provide a historical and cultural context of the Yiddish language.

Intermediate:
This course is aimed at intermediate students of Yiddish (after one year of Yiddish at university level). The course is designed for students to develop more advanced reading and writing skills, as well as mastering some more advanced Yiddish grammar. It will also provide a basis for reading Yiddish literature and articles from the Yiddish press.

Advanced:
This course is aimed at students who have had at least two years of Yiddish at university level. The course is designed for students to develop more advanced reading and writing skills, as well as mastering some more complex Yiddish grammar. We will be reading Yiddish literature (both poetry and prose) and articles from the Yiddish press. The course will be entirely conducted in Yiddish.