Teaching Biblical Interpretation

Catalog description

The objective of this course is to obtain an in-depth knowledge of the substantive and methodological characteristics of medieval Biblical exegesis (Parshanut Hamikra') and a pedagogical awareness of how to best utilize it in teaching Tanakh. We shall focus, initially, on those parshanim who appear in the Mikra'ot Gedolot: Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, Radak and Ramban. Next, we will look at the uses to which these (and other) parshanim have been put in contemporary Bible study, focusing on the contributions of Nehama Leibowitz and the Da`at Mikra series. We will also explore several of the online data bases that provide information and direction for teachers of Tanakh, including: data.ac.il; alhatorah.org; hatanakh.com; mgketer.org; and the VBM. Students will be required to submit a detailed plan of a Tanakh lesson they would teach to a class of their choice. This plan should delineate their objectives in terms of both the text (content) and the students (skills, beliefs, dispositions), the difficulties they present, the strategies they will employ to overcome those difficulties, and the role to be played by parshanut in the process.