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Course Catalog

Spring 2025 Courses (PDF)

Summer 2024 (PDF)

HARRY FISCHEL SCHOOL FOR HIGHER JEWISH STUDIES AT BERNARD REVEL GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH STUDIES

Revel is offering an online summer program this year.

Apply online here: .

Course registration will be done online. Please go to: BR Student Resources. Scroll down and click: Instructions for Web Registration.

Classes for credit are open to qualified graduate and advanced undergraduate students in Jewish Studies and related fields at Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ and other academic institutions. (Appropriate documents must be filed in the Office of the Dean, Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies). Students at Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ may take these courses toward fulfilling degree requirements. Students from other institutions may take the courses as transient students for possible transfer credit at their home institution. Qualified individuals who do not fit into these categories may register with permission of the Dean.

*All entries are subject to updates

SCHEDULE OF COURSES

Courses that are starred (*) do not require Hebrew 

9:00am-10:40am Dr. Joseph Angel

*BIB 5201 Beginners Biblical Hebrew I (CRN 60624)

This course introduces students to Standard Biblical Hebrew (SBH) and lays the foundation for direct study of the Hebrew Bible. Working systematically through a textbook, students are introduced to the alphabet and vowel system and to the basic elements of the language, grammar, and vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible. By the end of the course, students will have studied numerous samples of biblical texts and be able to read, analyze and understand a number of biblical narrative passages.

9:00am-10:40am Dr. Shalom Holtz

BIB 7401 Book of Jeremiah (CRN 60625)

Study of selected chapters in the book of Jeremiah, with the goal of gaining familiarity with modern historical and philological tools and methods of exegesis. Topics considered will include: the historical events surrounding the decline and fall of biblical Judah, the composition of the book, and Jeremiah's description of the prophetic experience.

11:00am-12:40am Dr. Malka Simkovich

*JHI 6244 Diaspora and Exile in Ancient Jewish Thought (CRN 60626)

This course will explore how early Jews understood the categories of sacred space, exile, and diaspora, and how Jews within and without the Land of Israel related to one another in the ancient world. We will begin by studying biblical texts that address the Babylonian exile and the question of whether God would fully restore the Land of Israel and its Temple to their former glory after the exile came to an end. We will then consider how Jews throughout the ancient world developed strategies to accommodate the realities of global Jewish life, and close with an examination of how the early rabbis developed new approaches to the exile and God’s place within it.

11:00am-12:40pm Revel Faculty

*JST 6001 Reflections on Jewish-Christian Relations [HEBRAIC STUDIES CAPSTONE] (CRN 60719)

This team-taught course is the culmination of the Hebraic Studies Program for Christians. As such, it will explore central aspects of the historical and theological relationship between Judaism and Christianity. Areas of study include biblical interpretation, the relationship of Jews and Christians in various historical periods, and Jewish and Christian attitudes towards key theological themes. Instructors will include specialists in both Judaism and Christianity.

6:00pm-7:40pm Dr. Daniel Rynhold

*The Early Modern Period: Spinoza and Mendelssohn (JPH 6860)

JPH 6860 (CRN 60628)

Whether Baruch Spinoza can be thought of as a “Jewish philosopher” has always been subject to debate. This course will analyze his key philosophical ideas in relation both to his medieval Jewish forebears and the major Jewish thinker who followed him - Moses Mendelssohn. Topics to be covered will include: the nature of God; the immortality of the soul; the status of Jewish Law; Philosophy & Theology in the Bible; and the relationship between religion and state.

7:50pm-9:30pm Dr. Josh Karlip

Secularism and Religion in Zionism and Israel

JHI 6508 (CRN 60627)

From its inception, the Zionist movement has been divided between competing secularist and religious visions of Jewish national renaissance. In this course, we will explore this tension from an historical perspective. The first half of the semester will discuss rabbinic attitudes toward Ḥibat Zion and Theodor Herzl; the conflict between cultural and religious Zionism; the theological arguments of both anti-Zionist and Zionist rabbis; the religious Zionist drashah as synthesis of traditional Judaism and Zionism; and the rise of Mizraḥi as a political movement. During the second half, we will explore the tensions between secularism and religion in the State of Israel. Topics will include: The attitudes of the founders of the State of Israel toward Judaism and the question of the halakhic or secular nature of Israeli law; the compromise achieved at the founding of the State; differing attitudes within the ḥaredi world toward the state; and the transformation of religious Zionism following the Six Day War. The course will end with a look at the contemporary tensions between ḥilonim and ḥaredim in Israel today.

All classes will meet on Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­â€™s Zoom platform.

For further information contact:
Office of the Dean
Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies
Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­
500 West 185th Street, Furst Hall Third Floor
New York, NY 10033-3201
Email:reveladmissions@yu.edu

 *All entries are subject to updates

Fall 2024 Courses (PDF)