JWST 7600

The Jewish Dead

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2024-2025 Catalog.

We will explore the thesis that far from being dead and therefore gone, the continued presence of the dead is absolutely foundational for the workings of Jewishness. What that "presence" could possibly mean, to us who do not usually think in terms of immortal spirit, will be a central puzzle for our discussions. We will also have scope for consideration of ways in which the continuing "weight" of the dead may inhibit needed change and rethinking. Readings will include selections from the Babylonian Talmud, work in early modern cultural history, and studies of the culture of death and dying in contemporary Jewish communities, including the life and culture of Jewish cemeteries, especially in the New York area.

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