REL 238.001
Philosophies of Judaism

Professor
Dr. Steven L. Jacobs
sjacobs@bama.ua.edu

Office: 201 Manly Hall
Office Phone: 348-0473
Office Hour: to be announced
Course: W 2:00-4:40
Location: 207 Manly Hall

About Online Readings

Some course readings are placed in a "secure" folder; you can only access these PDF files (Portable Document Format, that can be opened with the free Adobe Reader) by clicking each link and then entering your Bama User Name and Password. If you have difficulty accessing these readings, contact the instructor by email.

If you have forgotten your Bama ID, but know your Campus Wide ID (CWID), then go here.

Description

This course offers a survey of major philosophical formulations of the unique nature and role of Jews and Judaism by Jewish thinkers such as Judah Halevi, Moses Maimonides, Judah Loew of Prague, Moses Mendelssohn, and Martin Buber."

The orientation of this course is to follow a chronological/historical/ biographical approach in an attempt to answer four seminal questions: (1) What were the issues with which this particular philosopher was concerned? (2) What were his resolutions of those issues? (3) What was their impact and/or relevance, if any, to the Jewish community of his day? And (4) What was/is their impact and/or relevance to the contemporary Jewish weltanshauung ("worldview") and situation, if any, of our own day?

Syllabus

Fall 2006

Books (required)

Frank, Daniel. History of Jewish Philosophy.
New York: Routledge, 2004
ISBN 0-415-32469-6 (paper)

Frank, Daniel. The Jewish Philosophy Reader.
New York: Routledge, 2000
ISBN 0-415-16860-0 (paper)

Online Readings

Norbert M. Samuelson "The Death and Revival of Jewish Philosophy" (PDF)

Leon Roth, "Is There a Jewish Philosophy?" (PDF)

Ben Yagoda
"The Seven Deadly Sins of Student Writers" (PDF)