Textbook:

• A Course-Pack for this course is available for purchase from the University Book Store.

Course Description:

Recent decades have witnessed a renewed appreciation of the importance of liturgy as a key to understanding core Jewish aspirations, beliefs and communal dynamics. The traditional Jewish prayer service was intended for use by all Jews, and formulated values that were accepted by the entire community. This set it apart from works like the Talmuds, or treatises on theology and mysticism, which were addressed to intellectual elites, and often reflect the views of specific individuals or movements within Judaism.

The standard prayers of traditional rabbinic Judaism are first attested in the latter part of first century C.E. and discussed in detail in Talmudic literature. The earliest formal prayer-books do not appear, however, until the early medieval era.

Current research has been stimulated by newly discovered documents whose publication has revolutionized our understanding of the development of prayer in Judaism. The liturgical texts from Qumran (among the Dead Sea scrolls) provide us with new information about prayers that were in use before the formulation of rabbinic worship--though it is very unclear how these traditions relate to one another. Furthermore, the Cairo Geniza (a vast repository of discarded documents from the Middle Ages) has preserved hundreds of liturgical texts that attest to a surprising diversity in the rites. In particular, the immense corpus of Piyyut (liturgical poetry) has fuelled scholarly controversies over the degree of improvisation that was permitted or encouraged in classical Jewish worship.

This seminar will familiarize the students with the main elements of the Jewish liturgy, focusing on the Tefillah (i.e., the "prayer" par excellence, also known as the "Eighteen Benedictions"). This prayer is the foundation of organized daily worship and contains a valuable summary of Judaism's theological, eschatological and ethical tenets. The seminar will introduce the students to major issues in the history of Jewish liturgy through the reading of representative primary texts and scholarly publications.

Core Competencies:

In addition to acquainting students with the specific subject matter related to the study of Jewish liturgy, the course's principal pedagogic objectives will be those of a graduate seminar. As such, it will place a strong emphasis on the analysis of texts, and the critical assessment of scholarly literature. Students will further their skills in the various aspects of scholarly research, including the collecting of information; independent evaluation from a variety of methodological perspectives; and orderly presentation of their conclusions in written and oral form.

Course Requirements:

There will not be a Registrar's office scheduled final examination in this course.

Plagiarism:

Students should be familiar with University regulations regarding academic integrity, as set down in the University Calendar.

Academic Accommodation

It is a student's responsibility to request academic accommodation. If you are a student with a disability who may require academic accommodation and have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre, please contact their office at 220-8237. Your academic accommodation letters should be provided to your instructor no later than fourteen (14) days after the commencement of this course. Students who have not registered with the Disability Resource Centre are not eligible for formal academic accommodation.

(DRC web address is: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC/.)

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