Professor Steven Fine

Belfer Hall 524

Fall, 2012
W 3-5

JHI 6461: Seminar in Historiography:

19th & 20th Century Perspectives on Classical Jewish History

This seminar explores ways that modern historians have formed their visions of
Jewish history within their own cultural contexts, as they set their focus upon the Greco-
Roman period. Our focus with by the land of Israel from the Maccabees to the rise of
Islam.

1. Active participation in each session of this course is vital for your success. You are
expected to complete each reading and written assignment in its entirety, and be
prepared to discuss its contents. Punctual attendance and participation are mandatory and
count for 15% of your grade.
2. Historiographic assignment. You will apply the methods discussed in sessions 1-3 to
a short historical document to be chosen in consultation with the instructor. 7-10 pages.
35% Due Oct. 31.
3. Research Paper and PowerPoint Presentation. 50%. You will find the archives of a
major historian of ancient Judaism or early Christianity in the Northwest corridor, and
thoroughly review that archive. The question you will ask is how this material better
informs your understanding of that historian and his world. You will prepare a 15 minute
presentation of your work for the seminar, which will include a PowerPoint presentation.

Frequent meetings with Professor Fine to discuss your work are encouraged, by
appointment. I will also be available each week for the hour after class.

You are invited to visit my website at: http://yeshiva.academia.edu/StevenFine/About

Books: You are encouraged to acquire many of the books listed below.

This syllabus is subject to refinement throughout the semester.

1. Introduction.
Review the materials posted at http://cojs.org/cojswiki/Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_Greco-
Roman_Period
2. Getting Started: Contemporary Textbooks
L. H. Schiffman, From Text to Tradition
S. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah
Jess Olson, The Use of Jewish History Survey Texts in Jewish Secondary Schools,
posted at: http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42d75369d58243808395
d25925b85eaf%7D/JEWISHHISTORYSURVEYTEXTS.PDF

3. What is History: 20th Century Perspectives

E. H. Carr, What is History?, posted at: http://abuss.narod.ru/Biblio/eng/carr.pdf
M. Bloch, The Historians Craft.

4. Jewish History in the 19th and 20th Centuries

H. Yerushalmi, Zachor, ch. 1.
S. Baron, "Ghetto and Emancipation," The Menorah Journal 14, no. 6 (June 1928), 515-
26.
A. Funkenstein, Perspectives on Jewish History, 1-21.

5. The Post-Modern Turn

D. Carradine, ed., What is History Now?, each student will present one or more chapter.
M. Rosman, How Jewish is Jewish History?, pp. 1-81.
S. Fine, Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World, ch. 1-3.

6. The Maccabean Revolt

V. Tchernikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews, 117-234.
E. Bickerman, God of the Maccabees
M. Himmelfarb, Elias Bickerman on Judaism and Hellenism. D. Myers, ed., The
Jewish Past Revisited (1998) 199-211
A. Baumgarten, Elias Bickerman on the Hellenizing Reformers: A Case Study of an
Unconvincing Case, Jewish Quarterly Review 97.2 (2007) 149-179.
All relevant primary sources.

7. Sectarianism During the Second Temple Period: Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls,
and Does it Matter?
M. Smith, Palestinian Judaism in the First Century, in M. Davis, ed, Israel: Its Role in
Civilization (New York, 1956).
L. H. Schiffman, The New Halakhic Letter (4QMMT) and the Origins of the Dead Sea
Sect, Biblical Archaeologist 53.2 (1990) 64-73
N. Golb, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? A new answer suggests a vital link between
Judaism and Christianity, The Sciences 27,3 (1987) 40-49
A. Baumgarten, Graeco-Roman voluntary associations and ancient Jewish sects,
Jews in a Graeco-Roman World (1998) 93-111.
8. Jesus in Jewish Historiography
S. Heschel, Abraham Geiger on the Origins of Christianity: The Political Strategies of
Wissenschaft des Judentums in an Era of Acculturation, Studies in Jewish Civilization 2
(1992) 110-126.
D. Berger, Religion, Nationalism, and Historiography : Yehezkel Kaufmanns Account
of Jesus and Early Christianity, Scholars and Scholarship (1990) 149-168.
D. Boyarin, Borderlines, tba
P. Schafer, Jesus in the Talmud, all.

9. Masada
Read Josephus accounts of Masada
H. Graetz, History of the Jews, s.v. Masada
Y. Yadin, Masada (skim)
S. Cohen, Masada: Literary Tradition, Archaeological Remains, And The Credibility Of
Josephus, Journal of Jewish Studies 33,1-2 (1982) 385-405
N. Ben-Yahuda, The Masada Myth: Collective Memory and Mythmaking in Israel.
S. Hoenig, Historic Masada and the Halakhah, Tradition 13.2 (1972) 100-115.

10. Rabban Yohanan b. Zakkai Leaves Jerusalem.

G. Alon, Mehkarim be-Toldot Yisrael, 1: 219-253, tr. In his Jews, Judaism, and the
Classical World, but study the primary sources in his Hebrew edition.
J. Neusner, A Life of Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai (1970), 145-96.
J. Neusner, Development of a Legend: studies on the traditions concerning Yohanan ben
Zakkai (1970), introduction and chapter 1. Look over the rest.
A. Tropper, Yohanan ben Zakkai, Amicus Caesaris: a Jewish hero in rabbinic eyes,
JSIJ 4 (2005) 133-149.

11. The Rabbinic Class?

L. Levine, The Rabbinic Class of Roman Palestine, all.
S. Miller, Sages and Commoners in Late Antique Erez Israel, 1-30, 446-66.
S. Cohen, The Place of the Rabbi in Jewish Society of the Second Century, The
Galilee in Late Antiquity (1992) 157-173.

12. Rabbis and Archaeology: Beth She'arim

N. Avigad and B. Mazar, Beth She'arim, New Encyclopedia of Archaeological
Excavations in the Holy Land.
S. Cohen, Epigraphical Rabbis, Jewish Quarterly Review 72, 1 (1981) 1-17.
S. Miller, "Epigraphical" Rabbis, Helios, and Psalm 19: Were the Synagogues of
Archaeology and the Synagogues of the Sages One and the Same?, The Jewish
Quarterly Review , 94, 1 (2004), pp. 39-48.
T. Rajak, The Rabbinic Dead and the Diaspora Dead at Beth Shearim, The Talmud
Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman Culture I, ed. P. Schfer (1998) 349-366.
L. I. Levine, Bet Shearim in Its Patriarchal Context, The Words of a Wise Mans Mouth
are Gracious (QOH 10,12): Festschrift for Gnter Stemberger on the Occasion of His
65th Birthday ed. M. Perani (2005), 197-225.

13. Rethinking the Byzantine Period

O. Irshai, The Role of the Priesthood in the Jewish community in Late Antiquity: A
Christian Model?, Jdische Gemeinden und ihr christlicher Kontext in kulturrumlich
vergleichender Betrachtung, von der Sptantike bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, eds. C. Cluse,
A.Haverkamp, I J. Yuval. (Hannover: Hahn, 2003), 75-85.
Fine, BetweenLiturgyandSocialHistory:WhatofPriestlyPowerinLateAntique
Synagogues?
S. Miller, Priests, Purities, and the Jews of Galilee, Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in
Ancient Galilee; a Region in Transition, eds. J. Zangenberg, H.W. Attridge, and D..
Martin (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 375-402.
E. Horowitz, Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence, 21348.