RELST 4711

The Formation of the Babylonian Talmud

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2016-2017.

The Babylonian Talmud is one of the most significant and influential books that the Jews of the ancient world produced. This complex and multi-faceted work comprises over five thousand pages of intricate argumentation on law and ritual; fantastic narratives of ancient rabbis; and practical advice on many diverse topics. Yet, for all of its wide-ranging concerns, the Talmud does not explain its own history. It emerged around the tenth century C.E., but no record was kept of how it came to be composed and written down as a complete text.  How was the Talmud created? Who preserved the teachings of the ancient rabbis that it contains? In this seminar, students will read the Talmud in its original Hebrew and Aramaic in light of modern scholarship in order to understand the emergence and importance of this seminal Jewish work.

When Offered Spring.

Breadth Requirement (GHB)
Distribution Category (CA-AS)

Comments Some reading knowledge of Hebrew and/or experience reading Talmud in its original language required.

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