Kabbalah: A Historical Introduction to Jewish Mythology

Catalog description

In modern Hebrew, the word kabbalah is a common noun which means, simply, receipt. But the proper noun Kabbalah refers to the received tradition of Jewish myth-making, which extends from early biblical interpretation and into the modern period. This lecture course will introduce undergraduates to the historical development and reception of this tradition. Principal themes for discussion will include (1) mythology in biblical exegesis; (2) rabbinic sources of Jewish mythology; (3) the role of myth in explaining the commandments; (4) mythology and messianic activism; (5) Jewish pietism and the resurgence of myth in the nineteenth century; (6) the political implications of transforming Jewish mythology into Jewish mysticism. Students will be asked to think critically about the connection between imaginative story-telling and ritual practice, the role of fantasy in regulating human behavior and the impact of modernity on the academic institutionalization and cultural diffusion of mythology. (HIST-HEU, HIST-HPE)