Devotional and Ascetic Practices and Ideals in Medieval Ashkenaz

Catalog description

Rabbinic culture in Germany and northern France during the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, quite apart from the teachings and doctrines of the German Pietists, espoused a series of devotional prayer rituals, eating practices, and other acts of self-abnegation (perishut) which are not easily located within talmudic and halakhic literature. This course will look at several examples of these religious behaviors throughout the period and region, seeking to identify earlier literary sources (such as the Hekhalot corpus), parallels and possible influences from the surrounding Christian society, and the role of Hasidei Ashkeuaz in these developments.