Classical Rabbinic Thought

Catalog description

This course will delve in the philosophical worldview of Hazal as presented in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud and Midrash. We will cover the topics of predestination and fate versus freewill, forgiveness and repentance, suffering and punishment, reward and afterlife, marriage versus learning Torah, study of Greek, the evil inclination and the reasons for the commandments. For each topic we will analyze selected texts from across rabbinic literature in order to survey the range of opinions on each topic as well as appreciate the literary devices and arguments used in making each case. We will also trace the backgrounds of these opinions in Tanakh and in Second Temple literature as well as compare them with contemporary Greco-Roman philosophical schools and Persian sources.