[Jewish] Jewish Studies Class

[zhc00 at hampshire.edu]

Dear Everyone,
In the next week or so  I will be starting a textually based class in Jewish 
studies.  The content of the class has not yet been decided, so now is the time 
for anyone interested in taking the class to give me input on what they would 
like to study.  We have three choices (in chronological order):
1-Pirkei Avot- 
Literally "Chapters of the Fathers", I've also heard it called Ethics of the 
Fathers/Sages.  This is a tractate of the Mishna, the earliest codification of 
the oral tradition (200-400), which deals primarily with reaching a higher 
spiritual state.  We would use the translation of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch 
(1808-1888) and various modern and medieval commentaries.

2-The Biblical Commentary of Nachmonides-
Nachmonides (1194-1270) is the classical medieval kabbalist.  His commentary on 
the Bible, a seminal work in the incorporation of kabbalist thought into 
broader Torah study, is a wealth of both philosophical and textual insight.  We 
would focus chiefly on philosophical and ideoligical sections.

3-Siporei Maseot-
"Tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov"  Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) was 
the founder of the Breslover Chassidic sect.  An undeniably brilliant although 
persistently mysterious man, in his short lifetime Rebbe Nachman produced a 
tremondous amount of Chassidic/Kabbalist study.  These stories are short 
parables that are meant to impart lessons or general insights into the 
Torah/world.  We will study from either the Kaplan or Steinzalstz text.

Please email me or call me (X5034) with any input.
Zvi Citron