JEWISH HISTORY I
RELG 381/HIST 383
Dr. K. Vehlow ([email protected]) tel 803-777-1494
Office hours: MW 12-2 p.m, 324 Rutledge College (on the Horseshoe, 2 floors above the Chapel)
Please sign up for an appointment at http://vehlow.pbworks.com/. If you need to make alternative arrangements, email me
3 time blocks during which you are available.
Course description
This course surveys Jewish history from the Second Temple Period to
1492 and explores the religious, cultural, social, and political conditions
that shaped the experiences of the Jews living under western Christendom
and Islam.
We will begin in Late Antiquity, a period that set the stage for the
development of Judaism as we know it today and we will close with the
medieval Jewish experience and the expulsion from Spain. We will read
some of the foundational texts that determined the majority society's
stance vis-à-vis the Jewish communities (and vice versa).
Course texts

The Jews: A History by John Efron; Steven Weitzman; Matthias Lehmann, also available as an ebook. Note
that this book will also be used in Jewish History II (RELG 382 /HIST384).
 All remaining readings are on Blackboard.
Please bookmark
 The website of the Center for Online Jewish Studies http://cojs.org/
 The Internet Jewish History Sourcebook
 For general information on Jews & Judaism http://myjewishlearning.com and BBC on Judaism
Grade breakdown: 1 paper (5-7 pages) 20%; 2 Midterms: 20%; Final: 20%; 8 online quizzes: 20%
Grading scale: 100-90=A; 86-89=B+; 80-85=B; 76-79=C+; 7075=C; 66-69=D+; 60-65=D; < 59 =F
Dates to remember:
First Midterm: October 1
Paper proposal & annotated
bibliography: October 24
Second Midterm: October 31
Research paper: November 28
Learning objectives
By the end of the semester, a succesful student will :
 Be familiar with key events and figures of the Jewish Middle
Ages
 Have read and interpreted central primary texts of the period
 Consider the importance of context
 Address key methodological questions facing the study of Jewish history
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
Schedule of Readings
* Bring the assigned readings to class*
* You are expected to be familiar with the key terms listed below before class *
* indicates additional (voluntary) readings
DAT
TOPIC
PREPARE FOR TODAY
TODAY’S KEY TERMS
Welcome!
***** dates will be adjusted*****
For your information online: Reader 1-5 (Primer on
Judaism)
Jews, Judaism, religion, ethnicity,
identity, Ashkenazi (plural:
Ashkenazim), Sephardi (pl.:
Sephardim), Halakha, Diaspora
E
M,
8/27
Resources:
What is Judaism? and BBC on Judaism
W,
8/29
What is
history?
Why study
Jewish
history?
W,
9/5
Ancient
Israel and
Other
Ancestors
Ancient
Israel and
Other
M,
9/10
Ancestors
Reader 6-15 (Rosman. Writing Jewish History)
Guiding questions to consider:
1. What is post-modernism? What does it mean for
historians?
2. What is meant by "language is a cultural code"? (p. 2)
3. Does text--and note how text is defined here--still
reflect context?
4. What does it mean when knowledge "is always a tool
for gaining power"? (p. 6)
5. What is the difference between fiction and history?
6. So... how can we study Jewish history in a postmodern
age? Delineate some of the solutions given in this article!
Efron, 25-40
Study questions p. 48
History, historicism, postmodernism, code, text
Efron, 40-48
Apocrypha, Septuagint, Jewish
Culture, Elephantine Papyrii, Nile
Delta
The Elephantine Temple, 407 BCE, including at least
texts linked at the bottom of the page
http://cojs.org/cojswiki/The_Elephantine_Temple%2C_4
07_BCE
Study questions p. 48
Efron, 49-68
Study questions p. 68
W,
9/12
Jews &
Greeks
M,
9/17
No class Rosh
Hashanah
(Jewish
New Year)
Jews &
Romans
Use the time to review the class material. Make sure you
are familiar with all key terms!
The Bar
Kokhba
Revolt or:
Efron, 75-91
Babatha’s Scroll on PBS and in full text (launch the
interactive!):
W,
9/19
M,
9/24
Efron, 62-75
Study questions p. 91
Babylonia, Tanakh, Documentary
Hypothesis, canon
Hellenization, Koine, martyrdom,
Chanukkah/Hanukkah, menorah,
Hellenism, Esther, Purim,
synagogue, Antiochus IV,
Maccabees, Hasmonean
Flavius Josephus, Philo of
Alexandria, Herod the Great,
Jewish-Roman wars, Diaspora
Revolt, Churban, Destruction of the
Second Temple, Tisha be-Av (Ninth
of Av), 70 CE
Bar Kokhba, Bar Koziva, Babatha,
Diaspora Revolt, 130-132 CE
2
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
DAT
TODAY’S KEY TERMS
TOPIC
PREPARE FOR TODAY
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/scrolls/life.html
W,
10/3
the Second
JewishRoman
War
Yom
Kippur
(Day of
Atonement)
--no class-2-4 PM
Chat on BB
First
Midterm
--Sukkot-Dead Sea
Scrolls
M,
10/8
Rabbinic
Revelations
Efron, 92-104
Study questions p. 114
W,
10/10
Meanwhile,
in
Babylonia
…
Efron, 104-114, Reader 29-45 (Rabbinic stories)
M,
10/15
Jews in
early
Islamic
history and
in the
Qur’an
Andalusia
Efron, 116-127; Reader 46-48
622, Qur’an, Muhammad Ibn
Abdullah (d. 632), Caliph, Gaon,
Pact of Umar, Dhimmi, Saadia Gaon
Efron, 127-132; Reader 49-55
Golden Age, Andalusia, Moses
Maimonides (d. 1204), Samuel
Hanagid, 1085, 1492, Judah Halevi,
Karaites, Rabbanites.
M,
10/22
The
Community
in Cairo
Efron, Under the Crescent, 122, 127; Reader 56-71
Geniza, Old Cairo, Moses
Maimonides, Fatimids, Guide of the
Perplexed
W,
10/24
Looking
back at the
Islamic
Middle
Ages
Efron, Jewish lives, 132-145 ; Reader
***Paper proposal and annotated bibliography due***
Maimonides, Guide for the
Perplexed, Kabbalah, Zohar,
Hekhalot
E
W,
9/26
S,
9/30
M,
10/1
W,
10/17
M,
10/29
W,
10/31
M,
11/5
Online lecture. Watch at home: Professor L. Schiffman:
Judaism, Christianity, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92hyhBXLaWE
Respond to reading questions (available online)
Online chat review for the First Midterm with Dr.
Vehlow: Ask away!
The First Midterm is available on BB during our class
time.
Efron, 64-67; Reader 16-28 (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Qumran, Dead Sea Scrolls, Essenes,
Tefillin/Phylacteries, Community
Rule, Teacher of Righteousness
Yohanan ben Zakkai, rabbis,
Palestine, Rabbi Aqiva, Hillel and
Shamai, Yavneh, Byzantium, Islam
Yeshivot, Kallah, Oral Torah,
Written Torah, Midrash, Saadya
Gaon, Halakha, Mishnah, Talmud
Review
Second
Midterm
Entering
Europe
Efron, 147-148; 160-166; Reader 72 (Speyer)
Sh”um communities: Speyer,
Worms, Mainz, Rhineland; Gershom
(“Light of the Exile”, d. 1028),
Expulsion, Resettlement, Kiddush
3
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
DAT
TOPIC
PREPARE FOR TODAY
TODAY’S KEY TERMS
E
ha-Shem, 1096,
W,
11/7
The State
and the
Jews
Efron, 149-157; Reader 85-87 (Expulsions)
M,
11/12
The Church
and the
Jews
Efron, 147-148, 152-157; Reader 73-84, 88 (11th c. pope)
W,
11/14
Medieval
life: Rashi;
women
Looking
back at the
Christian
Middle
Ages
Beyond
Crescent
and Cross.
India and
Ethiopia
TBA
Efron, 161-163, 164-166; Reader 88-105
Check out http://rasreader hisdaughters.com/
M,
11/26
M,
11/28
W,
11/28
M,
12/3
W,
12/5
Reader
Study questions: 1. Why were medieval Jews so
fascinated by the Khazars? 2. Why were Christians
fascinated by Kabbalah?
Jewish serfdom, Expulsion, 1290,
1306, 1492, Bishop Rudiger,
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain,
Speyer, Synagoga and Ecclesia,
usury, York, devil, Anti-Christ,
money lending, blood libel
accusation
Paul, Augustinian doctrine, forced
baptism, Sicut Judaes, Pope Gregory
, Innocent III, Toledot Yeshu,
Disputation, Abner of Burgos,
Nicholas Donin, Burning of the
Talmud, 1215
Rashi (Rabbi Shelomo ben Yitzhak,
d. 1105), Troyes, Genesis, exegesis,
two faces, midrash, Shabbat
Khazars, kehillah, Christian
Kabbalah, Takkanah (plural:
Takkanot)
Efron, 166-172
*** Research Paper due***
TBA
TBA
Final Review: Revise material as covered until now.
Make sure you are familiar with all terms from the
midterm onwards. Formulate and post 3 analytical
questions that you think address central aspects of Jewish
history to BB before class. Be prepared to think about
how you would respond to them. Bring these questions to
class, as photocopies/printouts for yourself and your
study group
Final
Please note...
*** If I catch you cheating, for instance plagiarizing, you will
automatically receive an F in the assignment and, depending on the
severity of the case, fail the course, receive a note on your transcript, and
have a serious chat with your Dean. So don’t do it: it’s not worth it! ***
4
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
I take attendance and will, as is USC policy, notify the Student Success Center after 2 absences. You automatically fail the
class with more than 5 absences. Religious observances are exempt, but you need to notify me within the first two weeks
of class. If you have special needs, make sure you are registered with the Student Disability Services and notify me early
on in the semester. I like to know what I can do to make this class a success for you. If you are an out-of-state student,
have transferred, are a scholarship recipient, a sophomore or a student of color and think you need assistance, contact the
Student Success Center.
5
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
Midterm and Final instructions
Section 1 contains short identifications. You will be asked to identify and explain the importance of a number of terms
and names in 2-3 sentences or sentence fragments. NOTE: These are not paragraph answers and longer answers do not
earn more points.
Section 2 requires you to analyze a number of primary texts.
Section 3 consists of 1 or 2 essays, culled mostly from questions addressed in class. Here you should strive to
give as full an answer as is possible in the time allotted without flowery prose or lengthy introductions. Please answer the
questions in a full and informative essay and read the prompt carefully.
How to read a primary text
Primary texts are open windows into the past. Yet, they often appear opaque, their meaning obscured by sets of norms,
expressions, and ways of thinking that are alien to us. In order to approach them, I suggest to answer the following
questions:
1. What kind of text is this? This passage comes from the book of xy, written around xy.
2. What’s going on here? A very concise 1-2 sentence summary of the passage.
3. What does it mean? This passage addresses the following issues/questions:…. The passage’s goal is… It does so by
(narrative technique, genre)… (3-5 sentences)
4. Why should I care? This book is significant because xyz…. (2 sentences)
5. What do I think? Does the passage succeed? Explain! Is its argument convincing? (max. 2 sentences)
Reading quizzes
You will have to take a minimum of eight quizzes before class on BB (if you take more, your lowest grades will be
dropped). These quizzes are surveys of each day’s assigned readings and usually ask you to explain the significance of
this day’s key terms. You have one attempt and about 10 minutes for each quiz.
Research Paper
You will be expected to formulate, research, and write an individual research project (1,500-2,000 words) that examines a
topic of your choice related to the major questions of our class.
Thesis statement (1-2 paragraphs) and annotated bibliography
 In this paper, I will analyze xyz. I will approach this topic with the following questions in mind: …
Refining a Topic:
 Consider your personal interests
 Browse encyclopedias or dictionaries, review class readings.
 Think about significant terms, concepts, and keywords that describe your topic. These terms will become the key for
searching for information about your subject in library catalogs, online databases, and other resources.
 Browse the shelves for books on your subject (see call number guide or talk to a librarian to know where to look).
If your topic seems too broad, consider questions like:
 What do you already know about the subject?
 Is there a specific time period or issue you would like to cover?
 Is there a geographic region on which you would like to focus?
 Is there a particular aspect of this topic that interests you? For example, historical influence, sociological
aspects, specific groups or individuals involved in the topic.
If your topic is so specific that you can't find sources that specifically address it, consider questions like:
 Could you think more broadly about this topic? Give thought to the wider implications of your research.
 Who are the key players or what are the key issues?
Annotated bibliography



Check out http://jnul.huji.ac.il/rambi/, an online database for articles of Jewish Studies.
You should use a minimum of 5 peer-reviewed articles or three books.
Any book, book chapter, article, essay, etc., or primary source qualifies BUT
o 4 must originate from outside of our class
o Only 2 references can be from online sources that are not peer-reviewed, that is, assessed by qualified
researchers. That means: no blogposts, no The State articles, Wikipedia, or articles from missionary
6
Jewish History I (Fall 2012)

sites.They cannot include an encyclopedia entry, Wikipedia, or our textbook (though any of these can be
critically used in the pre-research stage).
o If you use non peer-reviewed online material, you must evaluate each site according to the guide lines given
below.
o Articles should not be older than 10 years, books not more than 20. (You wouldn’t go to a physician who used
a handbook written in 1920, would you?)
Quote according to MLA or Chicago.
How to use web resources
If you decide to use an online source, you will have to include the following in the bibliography
a. The website address
b. One-line description of the website
c. One-line description of the website’s target audience
d. One-paragraph description of the contents of the website
e. Your recommendations of who might benefit from the website
f. The owner of the website
g. Your name and the date you accessed the page
The information for each item should follow these guidelines:
 The website address. The website address should be recorded in any of the accepted style manual citation formats
(MLA, Chicago, etc.). It does not matter which one you choose. What does matter is that you choose one and use
it consistently throughout the journal.
 One-line description of the website. The description of the website should include the general topic as well as the
form in which the information is presented (Is the information presented in the form of an academic journal? Is it
a newsletter? Is it a collection of texts from various sources?).
 One-line description of the website’s target audience. Different websites will be more accessible to some groups
of people than to others. A website containing technical language may attract an audience that is more specialized
than one containing little or no technical language. You may want to ask questions such as: What level of
education would someone need to benefit from this website? Does the website require that people obtain a
membership name and password? If so, what criteria are used to determine whether or not someone may obtain
access to the website’s contents?
 One-paragraph description of the contents of the website. You should explain not only the general topic(s)
covered in the website, but also the extent to which the website engages the topic(s). Does the site offer
introductory information on a wide variety of topics, or does it offer in-depth treatment of one narrowly focused
topic?
 Your recommendations of who might benefit from the website. Taking many factors under consideration (owner,
target audience, content, form, etc.), decide who would benefit from visiting the website.
 The owner of the website. Evaluating an online resource should include finding out who owns the website. This
will help you determine what sort of information the website offers, as well as the motivation behind the existence
of the website (business, evangelization, etc.).
The paper itself:
Your paper must be typed and double-spaced, and use a format of your choice (APA, MLA, Chicago etc.). You must
spell-check, include a bibliography, and refer to your sources in footnotes or endnotes.
Your paper has to be turned in on time for full credit (if you turn in your paper a day later, an A will become a B+, a B
will be turned into a B-, etc.). Your grade for the class will be at risk if you hand in late assignments, or an un-typed or
undeveloped paper.
Any case of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean and Academic Integrity Committee, and will result in a zero on
the assignment, possible failure of the course, and suspension or expulsion from the university. It is essential that you give
full credit to ALL your sources, including anonymous web sources, whether you directly quote, loosely paraphrase, or are
even more generally inspired or shaped by an idea or statement made by someone else.
For assistance


The library offers an online tutorial for paper writing or look here.
USC research guides for History
7

Jewish History I (Fall 2012)
USC research guides for Religious Studies or speak to a librarian online
8