RELIG 210: Introduction to Judaism



RELIG 210: Introduction to Judaism

Winter 2008: Paper 1

Professor Pianko

Instructions:

Answer the following two essay questions. Please write approximately four double-spaced pages for each essay (a total of seven to eight pages for the exam). For each question, make sure to provide close readings of primary sources to support your arguments. (You should try to cite at least three primary sources for each essay. Please cite sources using parenthetical notation.) In addition, please contextualize the primary documents you cite using details from the secondary reading and/or class lectures.

Final papers are due at 2:30pm on February 13th. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 of a point per late day.

Two one-page outlines (one for each essay) of your paper are due on February 4th at 2:30pm. Late outlines will not be accepted. Each outline should contain the following information:

• A short thesis statement

• A map of the major sections of your argument illustrating the organizational logic you plan to use (there is no required format, just make sure the reader can visually see the three or four major points you want to make supporting your thesis statement)

• At least three quotations from the sources you intend to use in your paper. Try to link the quotations to the appropriate section within the outline.

Questions

1. Rabbinic Judaism imagined a complex relationship between the Oral Torah (Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash) and Written Torah (TaNaCh) in which one could not be understood without the other. Describe the rabbinic understanding of this relationship. Be sure to explain how the rabbis of the oral tradition connected themselves to the biblical account of revelation at Mount Sinai, while at the same time reinterpreting, and even rejecting, aspects of scripture. Provide examples from the halakhic and aggadic sources we have read.

2. Conceptions of God in the Jewish tradition have undergone continuous theological reinterpretation from the Biblical to the Modern Period. At the same time, many of these interpretations have shared certain basic assumptions about the nature of God’s relationship to the Jewish people and the world outlined in the Bible. Compare and contrast the theologies introduced in three of the periods we have studied (Biblical, Rabbinic, Hellenistic, Kabalistic, or Modern). Make sure to include specific textual examples from the reading to illustrate your conclusions. For believers in any of these theological systems, what would some of the strengths and weaknesses be of each understanding of God?

Grading Criteria:

1. Is the essay well organized and well written?

• Outline your essay to ensure that you have a clear argument that develops through the presentation of supporting evidence.

• Make sure to have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

• Organize each paragraph to make a specific argument, with a topic sentence that introduces your position to the reader.

• Proofread your papers. I encourage you to go over a draft of your paper with the either the political science writing center () or writing tutors at the CLUE Evening Drop-in Writing Center

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2. Does the essay demonstrate mastery of the course material?

• Indicate that you have read and comprehended the primary and secondary sources. The essay should cite but not be composed primarily of the texts we have read.

• Demonstrate your ability to synthesize the secondary readings with the primary sources.

3. Does the essay illustrate an ability to critically analyze the course material?

• Model your analysis of sources after the types of critical discussions we have had in class.

• Consider the authors’ motivations, influences, and internal contradictions.

• Include your own opinions about the material and defend your positions.

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