I recently wrote an essay for thegemara.com on the origins of Jewish betrothal. The primary but not only context for this essay is to provide a new, historical lens for those who, working through the "daf yomi" cycle of reading a page of Talmud each … [Continue reading] about On Jewish Betrothal
Who Read the Bible in Antiquity?
A video of the lecture that I gave at Trinity University on "Who Read the Bible in Antiquity" to kick off their Lennox Seminar. Meeting faculty colleagues there and interacting with the students in the seminar were both a lot of fun for me, although … [Continue reading] about Who Read the Bible in Antiquity?
Ezra: Role Play Exercise
Each time I teach "How the Bible Became Holy" I spend a day role-playing the response to Ezra's return to Jerusalem in 458 BCE. We focus on the aftermath of Nehemiah 8 but students have read all of Ezra and Nehemiah. This year we had to break the … [Continue reading] about Ezra: Role Play Exercise
And the Other…. Syllabus for course on the Mishnah and Tosefta
The second course I will be teaching this semester is a graduate student oriented course on the Mishnah and Tosefta. You can find a copy of the syllabus here. If you would prefer a copy in Word in order to modify for your own needs, please … [Continue reading] about And the Other…. Syllabus for course on the Mishnah and Tosefta
How the Bible Became Holy: Course Syllabus
This spring I will once again be teaching my course, "How the Bible Became Holy." This is an undergraduate survey that spans from the biblical period to around the third century CE. As always, I have tweaked a little. A copy of the syllabus is … [Continue reading] about How the Bible Became Holy: Course Syllabus