HEBREW 167: Prayer and Prayerbook (Tefillah and Siddur)

Faculty: David Stern
Location and Time: TBA

The institution of organized prayer—Tefillah be-Tzibbur—is one of the most complex phenomena in Judaism because it has served historically not only as a medium for worshipping God but also for expressing communal religious identity. In the first half of this course, we will study the development of prayer from the Bible until the medieval period through reading primary sources--select passages from the Bible, Talmud and midrash, Geonic literature and other rabbinic texts—as well as secondary works for historical and literary background. We will also trace the development of piyyut, Hebrew liturgical poetry, and what it can tell us about the character of Jewish prayer. In the second part of the course, we will study the history of the prayerbook as a physical, material object from the early medieval period into the modern. Special attention will be paid to the great illustrated Ashkenazi and Italian mahzorim (holiday prayerbooks) and siddurim, and to the place of the visual imagination in Jewish religious culture. One class will also be devoted to the development of the synagogue and sacred space. The course will also include visits to Houghton Library to view original editions and rare facsimiles of manuscripts.
 

While the class itself will be conducted in English, all primary sources will be read in Hebrew. Students should be able to read unpointed Hebrew texts.