The Talmud: A Methodological Introduction
Northwestern University
Informações sobre o curso
The Talmud is one of the richest and most complicated works of literature the world has ever known. Since being composed around 1500 years ago it has inspired not only religious reverence but significant intellectual engagement. In this course learners will be introduced to the unique characteristics of this text and the challenges that inhere in studying it while studying a chapter of the Talmud. Students of the course can expect to develop an appreciation for how the Talmud works and why it continues to inspire religious and intellectual devotion. They will be challenged to employ critical reading skills and to analyze legal and historical concepts.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
1
Section
Introducing the Talmud
The Talmud is a canonical work of Jewish literature that collects the ideas and arguments of rabbis who lived between the first and eighth centuries CE. This module explains the basics of how the Talmud was composed, why the Talmud matters and how it is accessed today.
5 videos (Total 33 min), 9 readings, 1 quiz
5 videos
Video 1 Why Study Talmud?5m
Video 2 Where Does the Talmud Come From?5m
Video 3 How the Talmud Works-An Overview6m
Video 4 The Talmud's Interpreters11m
9 readings
Meet Your Professors10m
Grading & Logistics10m
Additional Resources10m
Special Thanks & Permissions10m
Full Glossary10m
Module 1 Glossary10m
Module 1 Rabbi Genealogy & Maps10m
Video 2 Texts & Translations10m
Video 3 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 1 Quiz12m
2
Section
False Testimony From Bible to Rabbis
The Talmud relies heavily on the authority and substance of its canonical predecessor, the Hebrew Bible. This module charts a trajectory from the biblical origins of the treatment of false testimony in Deuteronomy through its treatment within the second temple apocryphal book Susannah and the early Rabbinic law code, the Mishnah.
4 videos (Total 31 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz
4 videos
Video 6 Evolution of Testimony Scenarios in Biblical, Second Temple and Rabbinic Literature8m
Video 7 Overview of Mishnah - What it is and how it works6m
Video 8 How Was the Mishnah Organized8m
5 readings
Module 2 Glossary10m
Video 5 Text & Translations10m
Video 6 Texts & Translations10m
Video 7 Texts & Translations10m
Video 8 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 2 Quiz12m
3
Section
Reading the Bible & Rabbinic Logic
Interpretation is a major component of Rabbinic literature and the Talmud. This module introduces the specific features of Rabbinic interpretation of the Hebrew Bible—its assumptions and its reading tools.
3 videos (Total 28 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
3 videos
Video 10 Using Logic in Reading Critically7m
Video 11 Reading the Bible Like a Rabbi9m
4 readings
Video 9 Texts & Translations10m
Module 3 Glossary10m
Video 10 Texts & Translations10m
Video 11 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 3 Quiz10m
4
Section
Redaction & Textual Witnesses
Textual Criticism is a form of reading that looks to explain the meaning of a text by figuring out aspects of its composition history. This module will show how Talmudic passages are typically constructed and what scholars can do to figure out the original meaning of a text.
3 videos (Total 26 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
3 videos
Video 13 How Loyally Were Materials Transmitted7m
Video 14 How Redactors Built a Talmudic Passage7m
4 readings
Video12 Texts & Translations10m
Module 4 Glossary10m
Video 13 Texts & Translations10m
Video 14 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 4 Quiz8m
5
Section
The Stam as Reader and Writer
The historical range of the different centuries of rabbinic literature makes it possible to take note of changes in the ways the different rabbis thought about the Bible and law. This module will demonstrate how later rabbis have a more abstract way of thinking about law while simultaneously having a more restrictive way of reading the Bible.
3 videos (Total 25 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
3 videos
Video16a What is Legal Midrash?5m
Video 16b Mah Hatzad: Applying a Rabbinic Logical Tool8m
3 readings
Video 15 Texts & Translations10m
Module 5 Glossary10m
Video 16b Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 5 Quiz10m
6
Section
Tosefta, Tannaitic Midrash and Palestinian Talmud
Rabbinic literature consists of multiple works in three genres—Midrash, Mishnah and Talmud. This module introduces each of these different genres with a comparative analysis of texts related to false testimony in works of each type.
4 videos (Total 35 min), 5 readings, 1 quiz
4 videos
Video 18 Mishnah-Tannaitic Midrash Comparison9m
Video 19 Palestinian Talmud9m
Video 20 Rabbis and Romans9m
5 readings
Module 6 Glossary10m
Video 17 Texts & Translations10m
Video 18 Texts & Translations10m
Video 19 Texts & Translations10m
Video 20 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 6 Quiz14m
7
Section
Narrative and History
The Talmud contains many stories that feature historical figures from the rabbinic period. In this module we will demonstrate the difficulty of reading these stories as history and model the use of literary tools for reading such materials.
3 videos (Total 23 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
4 readings
Video 21 Texts & Translations10m
Module 7 Glossary10m
Video 22 Texts & Translations10m
Video 23 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 7 Quiz12m
8
Section
Conclusion
While some of the material we have studied is unsettling, we need to bear in mind that much of it is rabbinic idealization or fantasy. This module goes through both the fantasy of rabbinic power and the realities of the importance of the Talmud in the post-Talmudic age.
3 videos (Total 74 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
3 videos
Video 25 Reception and Impact4m
The Talmud MOOC - Live!1m
3 readings
Video 24 Texts & Translations10m
Module 8 Glossary10m
Video 25 Texts & Translations10m
1 practice exercises
Module 8 Quiz8m
4.6
Top Reviews
By KR•Jan 20th 2017
Best course I've experienced on Coursera so far! Really engaging and not 'dumbed down'. Fantastic and charismatic professor and assistant. Already recommended the course to many friends.
By BL•Jan 8th 2017
This course is both a traditional and non-traditional Talmud course. The non-traditional gives a historic prospective of the basis of Talmud with a modern view of its derivation.
Instructor
Barry Scott Wimpfheimer
Associate ProfessorAbout Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university with campuses in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, and Doha, Qatar. Northwestern combines innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative environment that transcends traditional academic boundaries.
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