Part B (40 points; 20 points per question):
Answer 2 of the 3 questions (500 words per question)
2. Compare and contrast how an Orthodox Jew and a Reform Jew will respond to the Torah’s statement that “the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work.”
Relevant readings:
• George Robinson, Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs, Customs and Rituals (Atria, 2015) 81-91 (from Ch. 2 Rejoice in Your Festivals). • Mark Dov Shapiro, Gates of Shabbat (Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2016) 91- 106 (Establishing Definitions for Work and Rest)
• Miri Freud-Kandel, “Modernist Movements,” in Modern Judaism: An Oxford Guide, Nicolas de Lange and Miri Freud-Kandel, eds. (Oxford University Press, 2005) 81-92 • Shabbat in-class PDF 3. Discuss the Orthodox and non-Orthodox response to the feminist revolution of the last 50 years. Relevant readings: • Judith R. Baskin, “Women in Contemporary Judaism,” in Modern Judaism: an Oxford Guide, Nicolas de Lange and Miri Freud-Kandel, eds. (Oxford University Press, 2005) 389-400 • Dana Evan Kaplan, Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal (Columbia University Press, 2009) 249-257 (from Ch. 5 Inclusivity as a Social Value) • Feminism in-class PDF 4. Discuss the different ways Jews have understood the purpose of the Jewish dietary laws and the ritual of Brit Milah (circumcision) from the Hebrew Bible until the present time. Relevant readings: • Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief and Practice (Routledge 2003) 554-558 (Ch. 87 Dietary Laws) • Ronald L. Eisenberg, The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions (Jewish Publication Society, 2004) 7-13 (Brit Milah) • Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Judaism: History, Belief and Practice (Routledge 2003) 533-537 (Ch. 83 Life Cycle Events) • Dietary laws and Brit Milah in-class PDFs Your responses should be as specific as possible and draw from both the assigned course readings and materials shown in class. In assessing your work, we will consider the following: • Exactness of content (is your presentation of the articles accurate?) • Breadth of content (Do you interact with both assigned and in-class materials? Do you draw examples from multiple articles?) • Strength of argument (Is your answer a good response to the question? Is it based on the most relevant ideas in the course readings? Do you explain, for example, how Maimonides’ perspective on revelation is different from Heschel’s?)
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