Course information
Judaism has been called a religion of law, and the system known as halakhah did indeed govern religious and communal life for most Jews in pre-modern times, much as it continues to inspire and animate Jewish life for many today. But what exactly is halakhah? How and why did Jewish law thrive for thousands of years independent of a state structure? And what can we learn from legal texts about the ways Jews actually lived and practiced Judaism? This course will survey the development of Jewish law from the Bible to the State of Israel, with an emphasis on the historical and cultural circumstances that prompted halakhic creativity and led to major innovations in Jewish thought and practice.
About the Teacher
Dr. Rachel Furst is a lecturer of medieval Jewish history at Ben Gurion University and David Yellin College of Education. Her research and teaching focus on Jewish law-in-practice, Jewish-Christian relations in medieval Europe, as well as on the history of women and gender. She holds academic degrees from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Columbia University of New York, and she has held fellowships and lectured widely in Israel, Europe, and the United States. Rachel currently resides in Zikhron Yaakov, Israel with her family.