HISTORY OF JUDAISM

The class “History of Judaism” is part of the formative activities of the M.A. degree in Religious Studies (SDR) and of the similar and integrative activities of the M.A. degree in Language and Civilization of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (LICAAM), course Near and Middle East. The class will prepare students to engage critically with a range of historical and cultural issues and, therefore, provide them with theoretical, methodological, and analytical tools which are fundamental in the study of religious phenomena and, specifically, of Judaism in its many archaeological-historical, philological-linguistic, philosophical, literary and artistic expressions.

The primary goal of the class is to offer the students a detailed overview of the history of Judaism from antiquity to the early modern era through the study of the Jewish magical tradition and its impact on the religious, cultural, and social life of Jews in different chronological and geographical contexts.

Through weekly readings, frontal lessons with PowerPoint presentations, seminar discussions, as well as guided readings of relevant literary texts, historical sources, and documents, the students will develop analytical and critical-thinking skills which will allow them to recognize central themes in the millenarian history of the Jewish people; to identify the many inter-cultural and inter-religious contacts between the Jews and their neighbors over time; and to understand the relevance of Jewish culture within the history of the Near and Middle East and in the European area.

Knowledge abilities on the course:

At the end of the course, the students will:
- have a basic understanding of the cultural and religious history of the Jews from antiquity to the early modern era, with special attention to the Jewish magical tradition;
- be familiar with the celebrations, the most important texts, and the fundamental terminology/concepts of Judaism;
- recognize the major trends in Jewish thought and the central questions of Jewish history in relation also to the neighboring cultures;
- know how (a) to examine material and textual Hebrew sources from antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the early modern era, which are relevant for studying Jewish history and, specifically, the Jewish magical tradition; (b) to contextualize these materials; and (c) to relate them one with another in comparison also with contemporaneous texts and archaeological materials of non-Jewish origin.

Communicative and learning abilities:

The students will learn to:
- read and critically elaborate the reading materials proposed during the lessons and assigned in preparation;
- autonomously study topics not covered during frontal lessons;
- understand academic contents in English and read academic papers/books in English;
- know the terminology, themes of, and the fundamental approaches to Jewish Studies in order to orientate themselves in the field at both a conceptual and historical level;
- develop an oral (and written) clarity which will enable them to formulate autonomously evaluations and interpretations of the course-related topics with the appropriate terminology.

There are no particular prerequisite courses that are required, only a fair knowledge of English. During the class, the students will read, analyze, and discuss Jewish literary and documentary sources: although the lecturer will constantly refer to the original texts in Hebrew and Aramaic, the students will be able to follow through translations into English or Italian prepared by the lecturer; therefore, knowledge of Hebrew/Aramaic is not required.

The class introduces the students to the cultural and religious history of the Jews from antiquity to the early modern era, also touching upon less known aspects which are not usually treated in traditional scholarship. Specifically, during the lessons, students will study the Jewish magical tradition and will read literary (e.g. the Bible, Talmud, Sefer ha-Razim, Ḥarba de-Moshe, Sefer Yuḥasin, Sefer Raziel ha-Malakh), documentary (e.g. magical recipe books, letters, inquisitorial files) and material (e.g. gems, amulets, Babylonian incantation bowls) sources. The analysis of these sources and the discussion of the different magical traditions will be the starting point for examining various relevant topics, such as the varying trends in Jewish thought, the encounter/clash with non-Jewish populations, the relationship between religion and science, gender issues, etc.

After an initial introductory lecture on the history and historiography of Judaism in general and on the meaning(s) of religion and magic in the field of historical-humanistic studies, the students will be presented with the most relevant events in Jewish history as well as with its most important literary and artistic expressions. The approach will be chronological – from ancient Israel to the early modern era – but with attention also to analogous phenomena which developed diachronically in the different parts of the Jewish diaspora. Particular attention will be devoted to the history of the Jews of Italy, especially for the Middle Ages and the early modern era.

Lesson 1: Religion, magic, and science; Judaism, Judaisms

Lesson 2: The religion of Israel before the exile
- Ancient history of Israel
- The religion of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible
- Magical traditions in the Hebrew Bible

Lesson 3: Second Temple Judaism
- The Babylonian exile
- The Persian period
- The Hellenistic period
- Magical traditions in the Hebrew Bible, the Gospels, Apocalyptic Literature, Qumran scrolls, Philo, Flavius Josephus, early rabbinic literature; amulets and archeological sources
- Angelology, demonology, and exorcism

Lesson 4-7: Late antique Judaism
- Rabbinic literature; halakhah and haggadah
- Jewish communities in Sasanian Babylon and in Roman Palestine
- Rabbinic culture and “non-rabbinic culture”
- Magical traditions in rabbinic literature
- Magical texts and objects in Hebrew and Aramaic (e.g. metallic amulets, Babylonian incantation bowls, Sefer ha-Razim, Ḥarba de-Moshe), in comparison with coeval non-Jewish textual and material sources
- Demonology: Lilith

Lesson 8-11: Medieval Judaism
- The Jews in Palestine and in the Islamic Countries; the Jews in Europe
- The Cairo Genizah
- Rationalism and reactions to the Jewish magical tradition
- Mysticism
- Magical traditions in Sefer Yuḥasin (Megillat Aḥima‘az), Sefer Ḥassidim, in the fragments from the Cairo Genizah and in medieval European manuscripts, in comparison with coeval non-Jewish textual and material sources

Lesson 12-15: Early modern Judaism
- From the Spanish period to the Ghetto
- Trends in Jewish Kabbalah
- The Jews in early modern Italy
- The blood libel and the case of Simon of Trent
- The Jews and the Inquisition(s)
- Early modern European and Oriental amulets, manuscripts, and printed books of Jewish magic, with particular attention to those of Italian provenance. These sources will also be compared with coeval non-Jewish textual and material sources
- Judaism and science; Jewish physicians and intellectuals in early modern Italy and their relationship with magic
- Survival of Jewish magical traditions and practices in the modern and contemporary period

Mandatory readings:
- Cristiano Grottanelli, Paolo Sacchi, Giuliano Tamani, Ebraismo (edited by G. Filoramo), Bari: Laterza, 32007 (pp. 3-123; 187-202).
- Martin Goodman, A History of Judaism, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018 (pp. 223-352) (or the Italian translation, Storia dell'ebraismo, Torino: Einaudi, 2019, pp. 249-382).
- Other texts and didactic material will be provided by the lecturer on the website of the course.

Additional mandatory texts for students who do not attend lessons:
- Gideon Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

The final grade is obtained as follows:

Students who attend to the lessons:
40 % - attendance to classes and active participation in class discussions.
60 % - oral exam which examines the historical-cultural knowledge of the topics presented in class and in the preparatory readings.

Students who do not attend to the lessons:
40 % - writing a review of a book from a list of relevant readings prepared by the lecturer.
60 % - oral exam which examines the historical-cultural knowledge of the topics presented in class and in the preparatory readings.

The course includes 30 hours of frontal didactics alternated with readings of primary sources and discussions/exam of the topics presented in class and treated in the assigned reading material.

English

oral