Description

Human love and friendship and love of God have been central themes in Hebrew poetry from the Bible down to the present day. A range of poems will be studied closely in English translation, examining themes, forms and attitudes as influenced by time and locale, and linking these to traditional and more recent Jewish and Israeli attitudes to love, eros and mysticism. Particular attention will be given to the Song of Songs and David's Lament, which occupy a special place in both Hebrew and Western literature; and to the influential Israeli poet Amihai. Other poets studied include Yehudah HaLevi,AlHarizi, Bialik and Ravikovitz.

*No knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish life is required.

There will be a midterm and a final take-home examination, each consisting of thematic essays and explications of individual poems; the midterm (50% of the grade) will cover the material of Weeks 1-5, while the final (50%) covers the material of weeks 6-10. There will also be a number of assignments.

I encourage students with disabilities, including invisible disabilities like chronic diseases, learning disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities to discuss with me after class or during my office hours appropriate accommodations that might be helpful to them.

The following books are required and can be purchased at the bookstore:

• The Bible (Old Testament)
• Amichai. Yehuda. Poems of Jerusalem and Love Poems. Sheep Meadow Press, 1988.
• Carmi, T. The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, London: Penguin.
• Gross, David C. Hebrew Love poems, New York, Hippocrene, 1995.
• Scheindlin, R. Wine, women, and death: Medieval Hebrew poems on the good life, JPS, Philadelphia, 1986
• Scheindlin, R. The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew poems on God, Israel, and the soul, JPS, Philadelphia, 1991

The following books have been placed on 24-hour reserve in Baker Library:

• Aberbach, David. Bialik. Grove Press: New York, 1988.
• Amichai, Yehuda. Love Poems. Harper:NY, 1982.
• Biale, David. Eros and the Jews. Basic Books: New York, 1992.
• Brody, Heinrich (ed.) Selected Poems of Jehudah Halevi, NY:JPS.
• Burnshaw, Stanley et al. The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself. Harvard U Press, 1989.
• Carmi, T. The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, London: Penguin.
• Chazan, Robert. European Jewry and the First Crusade. Berkeley: U of California P, 1987.
• Cohen, Arthur A. & Paul Mendes-Flohr (eds) Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought.
• Falk, Marcia. Love lyrics from the Bible : a translation and literary study of the Song of Songs Sheffield : Almond Press, 1982.
• Gross, David C. Hebrew Love poems, New York, Hippocrene, 1995.
• Scheindlin, R Wine, women, and death: Medieval Hebrew poems on the good life, JPS, Philadelphia, 1986
• Scheindlin, R. The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew poems on God, Israel, and the soul, JPS, Philadelphia, 1991
• Shir Hashirim/Song of Songs. Mesorah, 1977
• Spiegel, S The Last Trial.

Regular and punctual attendance is expected. If there are unavoidable reasons to miss a class, please inform me at least a day in advance.

• Readings should be completed by the date specified.
• There will be no class on Thurs Apr 20 and Thurs Apr 27. Substitute classes will tentatively be the x-hr (Wed 4:15-5:05) for Apr 12, May 3, 10, 17 -- unless mutually agreed otherwise.
• Please do your reading well in advance for those weeks in which we have three classes on three successive days.

Week 1: Human love and friendship in Jewish life
	March 28	INTRODUCTION
	March 30	The Song of Songs [use the Soncino ed of The Five Megilloth] , David's Lament (2 Samuel 1:17-27, use the Soncino ed. of Samuel ) Cohen, Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought. 'Eros, Sex and Body' (pp 177-182), 'Sanctification of the Name' (pp. 849-854) Biale, Eros and the Jews, introduction
Week 2: Biblical love and friendship
	April 4	Hosea, ch 1,2,3 [use Soncino ed. of The Minor Prophets] Falk, Love Lyrics from the Bible, ch 3-5 Phyllis Trible 'Depatriarchalizing in Biblical interpretation', JAAR 41(1), 1973, especially pp. 42-48.
	April 6	Psalms 45, 63 [use Soncino ed. of Psalms], Proverbs 31:10-31 [use Soncino ed. of Proverbs] Biale, Eros and the Jews, ch. 1 Scheindlin, Wine, women and death , pp 3-17, 77-134
Week 3: The Golden Age of Spain
	April 11	Brody, Selected Poems of Jehudah Halevi, poems #23, 24, 37
	April 12	The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, pp. 298, 312, 324-5, 328, 360-2
	April 13	Scheindlin, The Gazelle 3-12, 33-51, poems #1 to 7, 16 to 23
Week 4: Medieval mysticism and martyrdom
	April 18	The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, pp. 195-201 top, 215-6, 370, 372-5, 377-9, 384-8 Spiegel The Last Trial ch 3, 10 and Appendix (Akedah) Chazan ch 5
Week 5: Renaissance Italy and the kabbalists of the East
	April 25	The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse, pp. 421-3, 432-5, 454-7, 465-8 (Zarco), 471-2, foot of 481-2, 487-8, 494-5
Week 6: Breaking free: The new love poets of the Shtetl
	May 2	MIDTERM The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself, pp 18-9, 28-30.
	May 3	Gross, Hebrew Love Poems, pp. 5, 13, 16-19, 27, 30-2, 58- 63, 67-71, 74-77, 80-1, 85-88
	May 4	Eros and the Jews, ch. 7
Week 7: Comradeship and love in a new land
	May 9	The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself, pp.62-4, 112-122, 136-8, 170-3, 182-3, 198-210
	May 10	Gross, Hebrew Love Poems,pp. 1-4, 8, 11, 29, 33, 38-9, 48-9, 52
	May 11	The songs Re'ut, Dudu and further poems (hand-outs) Eros and the Jews, ch. 8
Week 8: Modern Israel's love poet laureate: Yehuda Amichai
	May 16	The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself, pp. 160-3, 166-7
	May 17	Amichai: Poems of Jerusalem & Love Poems, [selections]
	May 18	More of Amichai
Week 9: The voice of women in contemporary Israeli love poetry
	May 23	Hebrew Love Poems, pp. ...
	May 25	Hand-outs: Bat-Miriam, Goldberg, Raab, Zelda, Wallach, Hess, Ravikovitch, Ayalon, Bejerano
Week 10: What continuity? What changed?
	May 30