We’re all Babylonians: The Land of Israel in the Talmud

The Talmud, comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara, is the foundation of Rabbinic Judaism and in that respect is also the foundation of Judaism as we know and experience it. One version of the Talmud was completed in Jerusalem around 400 CE, and the more authoritative version of the Talmud was completed around 500 CE in Babylonia (modern day Iraq), reflecting the shifting centers of Jewish life in those centuries. While sometimes referred to as “oral law,” the Talmud is much more than a legal text — it is the interpretation of all aspects of the תנ”ך (“TaNaKh”); i.e., the Torah, the books of the prophets, and the other canonical Jewish texts.  Together, the Mishnah and Gemara reflect millennia of discourse on the laws, stories, and traditions that together comprise Jewish life.

The Land of Israel, the diaspora’s relationship to the Land of Israel, the evolution of worship and practice in the absence of a Temple and a geographic religious center, the meaning of nationhood without a land, and the promise of return to that land — all of these “modern” topics that we face as Jews were confronted deeply and widely in the Talmud. The goal of our class is to explore these topics both because they are central to our lives as Jews but also because they are a path into the Talmud, one of the most unique documents in human history.  Employing methods of interpretation that are rooted in an understanding of the divine origin of the Torah, the Talmud can be simultaneously philosophical, radical, and fantastical.    

Although the Talmud is written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic (the lingua franca of the Middle East at the time) — our class will be using wonderful English translations that are now available. Each of our meetings will puzzle through a particular section of Mishnah and Gemara, so if you miss a class, don’t worry about it — you won’t fall behind.  Bagels and coffee will be served!