Description

Human love and friendship and love of Godhave been central themes in Hebrew poetry from the Bible down to the present day. How have Jewish attitudes to love and eros varied down the ages and across continents and in modern Israel? And how did the pious in medieval germany and Yementuse these themes in martyrdom and mystical ascent? Starting from the Song of Songs and David's Lament, which occupy a pivotal place in both Hebrew and Western literature, we shall closely ezamine the celebration of wine, beauty and the soul inf medieval spain and Renaissance Italy; the first stirrings of love poety in the Russian Shtetl; the emergence of the Israeli woman poet; and conclude with a special focus on Israel's most celebrated modernist poet, Yehuda Amihai.

*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, OUP, New York, 1999
• Scheindlin, R. The Gazelle: Medieval Hebrew poems on God, Israel, and the soul, OUP, New York, 1999

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

• Aberbach, David. Bialik. Grove Press: New York, 1988.
• Abramson, GlendaThe Writing of Yehuda Amichai: A Thematic Approach.Albany: SUNY Press, 1989
• Abramson, Glenda (ed.).The Experienced Soul: Studies in Amichai. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997.
• Amichai, Yehuda. Love Poems. Harper:NY, 1982.
• Biale, David. Eros and the Jews. Basic Books: New York, 1992.
• Halevi, Jehudah. (editor: Brody, Heinrich) 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.