UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

JEROME LOUCHHEIM SCHOOL OF JUDAIC STUDIES

HEBREW UNION COLLEGE- JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION
JACK H. SKIRBALL CAMPUS - LOS ANGELES
JS 100: Jewish History
Fall 2015
Montgomery Ross Fisher Building, Room 340
Mondays and Wednesdays 2:00 3:20PM
Lecturer:

Professor Joshua D. Garroway

Email: jgarroway@huc.edu
Phone: (213) 765-2175
Office: Hebrew Union College, Room 012
Hours: W 8-12

Teaching
Assistants:

Mr. Daniel Alter (dan.k.alter@gmail.com)

Ms. Dusty Klass (dusty.klass@gmail.com)
Ms. Sarah Rapaport (sr_876@usc.edu)

Course
Description: This course introduces students to the major events, personalities, and trends in Jewish history,
from antiquity to the present. Spanning three millennia and five continents, the course explores
the origins of the Jewish people, its experience as an autonomous nation and as a displaced
minority in diaspora, its religion and its foundational texts, and its encounters with different
cultures and ideas. The two principal themes of the course will be negotiation and diversity. On the
first score, it will examine the various strategies employed by Jews when interacting with those
around them, and how and why these strategies changed from time to time and from place to
place. On the second, it will consider the variation among Jews themselves in any given period,
asking why such variety emerged and in what ways continuity and uniformity were nevertheless
maintained.
Exposure to the peculiar experience of the Jewish people is not the only objective of the course,
however. Through the lectures, readings, and discussion sections, students should also gain an
appreciation for the tools and methods utilized by historians of all stripes when investigating
the past. Students will cultivate their own historical perspective, from which they will be able
to examine historical sources critically, scrutinize their own assumptions, and construct cogent
historical arguments. In this sense, the course is consistent with the objectives of the USC
general education program, which is designed to nurture habits of thought essential for
professional success and personal development, to establish a background for lifelong learning.

Course
Objectives:

Books:

Students will understand the basic sweep of Jewish history from antiquity to the present.

Students will consider the nature of diaspora existence and the strategies used by
communities to negotiate its challenges.

Students will appreciate the interconnectedness of political, economic, social, religious,

and intellectual developments in the course of history.

Students will learn to read primary historical sources critically, sensitively, and (hopefully)
with enjoyment.

Students will cultivate a historical perspective that encourages ongoing study of the
past and appreciation for the ramifications of the past on the present.

The following texts are required for the course:

Eli Barnavi, A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People (New York: Knopf, 1992)

William W. Hallo, David B. Ruderman, Michael Stanislawski, Heritage: Civilization and the
Jews: Source Reader (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1984)

Raymond P. Scheindlin, A Short History of the Jewish People (Oxford: OUP, 1998)

The Oxford Study ( or Annotated) Bible

Assessment: Assessment of student progress will be made on the basis of the following criteria:
(1) A midterm and a final examination (December 11, 2-4pm), in which students will
demonstrate their familiarity with the key terms and ideas presented in the lectures and
readings. Neither exam is meant to be tricky or difficult. Students who have paid attention
in class and completed the assigned readings conscientiously should, after a reasonable
amount of review, succeed on the exams. The short-answer part of the midterm will be
taken in discussion sections during the week of Oct 12. The open-notes essay portion will
be taken online during a 60-minute period of the students choosing between Oct 10-14.
(2) A brief quiz taken in section during the week of September 28, in which students will
demonstrate their familiarity with the key terms and developments presented in the first six
lectures.
(3) Two (2) written assignments, in which students will demonstrate their ability to read a
primary source document from a critical and historical perspective (see below).
(4) Attendance and Participation in the discussion sections. According to Jewish tradition,
just as a blade is best sharpened by another blade, so a students mind is best sharpened by
a fellow student. Active engagement with classmates is an indispensible component in a
liberal arts education. Attendance will be taken at each discussion session, and students are
expected to prepare for the meetings conscientiously. Life is unpredictable, of course, and
thus students are permitted one unexcused absence. A second unexcused absence will result
in the reduction of the final grade for the course by a half-letter (i.e., A to A-), a third by a
full letter (i.e., A to B), and a fourth will result in failure of the course. The course lecturer
and teaching assistants will meet regularly to discuss student performance in the discussion
sessions. The topics to be covered in each section are enumerated at the end of the syllabus.
2

The approximate weighting of these assignments in determining the grade for the course will
be:
Final Examination
Midterm Examination
Written Assignments
Quiz

30%
30%
30%
10%

A =94-100
A- =90-93
B+=87-89
B =84-86

B- =80-83
C+=77-79
C =74-76
C- =70-73

D+=67-69
D =64-66
D- =60-63
F =<60

Written
Assignments: There will be four (4) written assignments over the course of the semester. Each student is
required to submit two (2). Students may choose any two, depending on their interests and
schedule. If a student is not satisfied with the mark received on a written assignment, he or she
may submit a third or even a fourth essay, and these will be averaged with the other two in
determining the grade for that portion of the course (30%). An essay may not be submitted
after the due date for the assignment has passed, however.
The task in all four assignments is the same. Students will choose one of the pre-approved
primary texts from the Source Reader. The first 50-75% of the essay should provide a critical,
historical analysis of the document. Such analysis might address the following questions: a) Who
wrote the text, if it can be determined? b) What was the historical context in which it was written
that is, what was happening in Jewish history, or in history more broadly understood, at the
time it was composed? c) What are some of the main ideas, themes, conflicts, and/or attitudes
expressed in the document, and how do these reflect dynamics in the Jewish community, or
between Jews and the wider world, at the time? The latter 25-50% of the essay should take a
more personal tone and answer one part of the following question: In what way does this
document and the historical moment it represents (a) inform the way I think about a
contemporary social or political issue? (b) inform the way I think about myself? (c) correspond
to an issue in my own discipline of academic inquiry? The essays should be no less than 800 and
no more than 1000 words. They should be submitted to the Turnitin feature on the course
website. The due dates for the assignments and the pre-approved texts are as follows:
Assignment #1 (Source Reader text 2-1 [A &B], 2-10 [A], 2-14 [A], or 3-3)
Assignment #2 (Source Reader text 2-16, 3-13, 3-15, 4-2, or 4-5)
Assignment #3 (Source Reader text 4-10, 4-12, 4-14, or 4-20)
Assignment #4 (Source Reader text 5-3, 5-12, 5-13 [A], 5-22)

Oct 5
Oct 19
Nov 4
Nov 18

** Remember, students are required to complete only two of the assignments, and in each
assignment they will analyze only one of the texts listed. This flexibility is meant to give students
the opportunity to write about a text that interests them and to schedule their assignments in a
way that allows them to devote the time necessary to write well.
Electronic
Devices:

Please use electronic devices responsibly. When any of your electronic devices (including your
cell phone) rings or buzzes or lights up or vibrates, you disturb the class, your classmates, your
instructor and the environment of mutually beneficial learning. In addition, you take valuable
time away from our class discussion and community. Accordingly, in order to foster a positive
environment for learning, please limit your Wi-Fi access and computer activity to notetaking or
the reading of documents.
3

Disability
Services:

Academic
Honesty:

Natural
Disaster:

If you have a disability that requires special arrangements (e.g., note- and/or test-taking), please
register with USCs Office of Disabilities Services and Programs contact me within the first
two weeks of class. Every effort will be made to accommodate those with registered disabilities.
Intentional plagiarism of any source is a violation of intellectual property rights and constitutes
a break with the USC academic honor code. Please read and be familiar with the University of
Southern Californias definition of and policy regarding plagiarism and cheating as described in
the University Student Conduct Code. The first of many pages that outline students
responsibilities and obligations can be found at http://web-app.usc.edu/scampus/1100behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions/. A very helpful guide for
how to avoid plagiarism is available at http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/studentconduct/ug_plag.htm. Intentional plagiarism of any source and cheating of any variety will
result in a failing grade for the course. If you do not understand exactly what kind of writing,
quoting, citing, or researching constitutes plagiarism, I am happy to explain both how to
recognize and how to avoid it. Please ask.
In the very unlikely event of a natural disaster: we will follow USC guidelines and directives.
Most likely we conduct the class electronically via our Blackboard site. Please sign up for the
Trojan Alert system; details are available here: https://trojansalert.usc.edu.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
INTRODUCTION

Aug 24

Introduction to Jewish History: Terms & Parameters

Learning
Outcome:

Students will know what to expect from the course in terms of the material to
be covered, the manner in which it will be covered, the goals, the requirements,
and the ways in which their achievement will be assessed.
UNIT I
ANCIENT ISRAEL

Aug 26

The Origins of Israel

1.
2.
3.
4.

Scheindlin:
Barnavi:
Source Reader:
Bible:

Learning
Outcome:

pp. 1 -9 (top)
pp. 2 5, 8 - 11
pp. 15-16 (Reading 1-12A)
Joshua 24:1-33; Psalm 105

Students will be able to describe the most prominent theories that explain the
origins of Israel at the turn of the first millennium BCE. They will also appreciate
the value (or lack thereof) of the biblical narrative in accounting for Israels
origins.

Aug 31

The United and Divided Monarchies

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Sept 2

Scheindlin:
Barnavi:
Source Reader:
Bible:

Learning
Outcome:

Sept 9

Students will know the basic outline of the biblical narrative describing the
United Monarchy and the contours of the so-called Maximalist/Minimalist
debate regarding the historicity of that description. They will also appreciate the
value of archaeological evidence in corroborating certain biblical accounts (e.g.,
the destruction of Lachish, the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, etc.).

Exile, Restoration, and the Rise of Hellenism

1.
2.
3.
4.

Sept 7

pp. 9 (top) 23
pp. 14 17, 20 25
pp. 20 (1-16) 37 (1-25B)

pp. 25 35 (bottom)
pp. 28 33, 40 41
p. 46 (2-5)
Ezra 1:1-11; 3:1-3:13; 9:1-10:17; Nehemiah 8:1-9:37

Students will understand the importance of the Babylonian Exile in the

development of Israelite religion and self-consciousness; the difficulties
associated with reconstructing the Persian period; and the significance of
Alexanders conquests both for Jews and for Western civilization more broadly.

Class Canceled for Labor Day

The Hebrew Bible

** The reading assignment for this session is a bit unusual. In the Oxford Bible, please read the
half-page introductions to each of the books of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, beginning
with Genesis and concluding with Malachi. This may seem like a daunting task, but its not. There
are only 39 books, so at to of a page per book, it should be quite manageable. Ideally, this
will give students some familiarity, albeit a superficial familiarity, with the contents of the
Hebrew Bible.
Learning
Outcome:

Students will become familiar with contemporary scholarly perspectives

regarding the origin of the Torah and other biblical texts.

UNIT II
THE HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN PERIODS
Sept 14

Class Canceled for Rosh Hashanah

Sept 16

The Hasmonean Revolt and Dynasty

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Bible :
Learning
Outcome:

Sept 21

pp. 35 (bottom) 40 (top)

pp. 34 35, 44 47
1 Maccabees 1:1-4:61; 2 Maccabees 3:1-4:50
Students will understand the political, economic, and religious circumstances
informing Seleucid imperial policy in the early the 2nd century BCE and the
resulting Hasmonean Revolt. They will also appreciate the Hasmonean Dynasty
against the backdrop of contemporary postcolonial regimes.

.
Early Roman Period: Jewish Sectarianism
1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:

pp. 40 (top) 42 (bottom)

pp. 42 43
pp. 59 61 (2-17)

Learning
Outcome:
Students will appreciate the breadth and diversity among Jewish sects in firstcentury CE Judea. They will also understand the importance of the discovery of the Dead Sea
Scrolls for the study of ancient Judaism
Sept 23

Class Canceled for Yom Kippur

Sept 28

Early Roman Period: The Hellenistic Diaspora

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
Learning
Outcome:

Sept 30

pp. 46 (bottom) 49
pp. 36 39
Students will be able to describe the origins of diaspora Jewish communities and
their proliferation during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. They will also
appreciate the challenges faced by these communities and the breadth of literary
creativity that emerged therefrom.

Early Roman Period: Discontent and Revolt

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
Learning
Outcome:

pp. 42 (bottom) 46 (bottom), 51 54

pp. 48 53
Students will understand the reasons behind the growing tension between Jews
and Rome throughout the 1st century CE, resulting in the Jewish War. They will
also understand the importance of apocalypticism as a religio-political
development in the Second Temple period.
6

Oct 5

Late Roman Period: The Emergence and Consolidation of Rabbinic Power

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
Learning
Outcome:

Oct 7

pp. 51 69
pp. 64 69
Students will appreciate the importance of 70 CE as a watershed moment in
history. They will also learn the traditional historical narrative regarding the
emergence of the rabbis alongside more contemporary revisionist views.

Late Roman Period: The Literature and Institutions of the Rabbis

1. Barnavi:
2. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

pp. 6 7, 62 63, 72 73
pp. 68 73 (3-4A, 3-4B, 3-4C, 3-4D)

Students will understand the basic contours of rabbinic theology. They will also
appreciate the literary output of the rabbis and its importance as the foundation
of Jewish life for the next two millennia.
UNIT III
THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD:
JEWS UNDER CRESCENT AND CROSS

Oct 12

Jews in the Islamic World: The Early Muslim East

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Oct 14

pp. 71 82 (bottom)
pp. 74 77, 80 83, 86 89
pp. 84 (3-11) 93 (3-15)

Students will appreciate the importance of the rise of Islam on the course of
medieval Jewish history. They will also be able to describe the significance of a
key institution, a key movement, and a key personality in the early Muslim east
namely, the Gaonate, Karaism, and Saadia.

Jews in the Islamic World: The Golden Age of Spain

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

pp. 82 (bottom) 88 (bottom)

pp. 92 95, 100 103
pp. 96 (4-1) 102 (4-3), 105 (4-5) 112 (4-6B)

Students will appreciate how and why Jews flocked to Spain in the 9th and 10th
centuries. They will also be able to describe the remarkable heights to which
some Jews ascended during the so-called Golden Age of Spain, the nature of
Spanish Jewish communities in that period, and the engagement of Jewish
scholars in secular creativity (e.g., philosophy, grammar, science, poetry, etc.).

Oct 19

Jews in Christian Europe: Spain

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Oct 21

Students will understand the downfall of Jewish life in Christian Spain between
the Reconquista and the expulsion. They will be able to describe the most
important documents and events that illustrating that demise (e.g., Las Siete
Partidas, the disputations at Barcelona and Tortosa, the 1391 Riots, the
Inquisition, and the rise of Converos).

Jews in Christian Europe: England, France, and Germany (Part I)

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Oct 26

pp. 112 121

pp. 94 95, 114 115, 120 121
pp. 153 154 (4-21), 194 195 (5-18)

pp. 97 101 (middle)

pp. 98 99, 104 105
pp. 122 123 (4-10), 144 145 (4-17A-D)

Students will be able to describe the origins of the Ashkenazi Jewish community
in the 10th and 11th centuries and the ways in which it contrasts with the
contemporary Sephardic world. In particular, they will know why Jews became
so disproportionately represented in the fields of finance and money-lending.
They will also appreciate the depth of Rashis contribution to Jewish tradition
and religion.

Jews in Christian Europe: England, France, and Germany (Part II)

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

pp. 101 (middle) 112 (top)

pp. 106 111
pp. 124 139 (4-11, 4-12, 4-13, 4-14, 4-15)

Student will understand the key events in the demise of medieval Ashkenazi
Jewrynamely, the Crusades, the blood libel and host desecration, the
disputations, etc. They will also appreciate the different ways in which Jewish
communities reflected theologically on these tragic events.
UNIT IV
THE RENAISSANCE AND EARLY MODERN PERIODS:
JEWS IN THE WAKE OF 1492

Oct 28

The Ottoman Empire

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:

pp. 123 147

pp. 130 133, 156 157
pp. 180 188 (5-13, 5-14, 5-15)
8

Learning
Outcome:

Nov 2

Students will appreciate why the emerging Ottoman Empire became an

attractive destination for Jews expelled from Spain. They will also be able to
describe the impact of Sephardic culture on Ottoman Jewry, in particular the
growth of kabbalah and its many implications (e.g., the Shabbatean movement).

The Italian Renaissance

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Nov 4

Students will appreciate the confluence of factors that led to the flourishing of
diverse Jewish communities in many cities of Renaissance Italy. The will also
understand the impact of the Renaissance and the Counterreformation on the
social, economic, and religious life of Italian Jewry.

The Emergence of Eastern European Jewry

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Nov 9

pp. 153 (bottom) 159 (middle)

pp. 126 127, 136 137
pp. 159 167 (5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6), 169 174 (5-8, 5-9)

pp. 149 153

pp. 118 119, 134 135, 142 143, 146 149
pp. 177 180 (5-12), 188 194 (5-16, 5-17)

Students will understand the factors leading to the emergence of eastern

European Jewry; the achievement represented by the Council of the Four Lands
in 17th century Poland; the effects of Polish-Ukranian and Catholic-Orthodox
conflicts on Jewish life (e.g., the Chmielnicki massacres); and the Hasidic
revolution.

Jewish Revival and Enlightenment in Western Europe

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

pp. 159 (bottom) 165 (bottom)

pp. 122 123, 138 141
pp. 207 211 (5-23), 213 215 (6-1)

Students will be able to describe the revival of flourishing Jewish communities

in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. In particular, they
understand how and why Amsterdam became a bustling Jewish center, and the
initial impact of the Enlightenment on Jews in Europe.

UNIT V
FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO TODAY
Nov 11

Western Europe in the 19th Century: Emancipation, Romanticism, and Reform

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Nov 16

Students will understand the impact of the French Revolution and Napoleonic
expansion on the social and political status of western and central European
Jewry in the 19th century, as well as the different ways in which European Jews
responded religiously to that new status.

Eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries: Haskalah, Socialism, and the Tsars
1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Nov 18

pp. 173 187

pp. 154 155, 162 163, 176 177, 190 191, 196 197, 206 207
pp. 227 233 (6-15 6-19)

Students will appreciate the various strategies employed by the Tsars to manage
the huge population of Jews acquired by Russia following the partitions of
Poland. They will also understand the impact of the assassination of Alexander
II and its aftermath on emergent Zionism, Jewish immigration to America, and
Jewish involvement in socialism.

The Holocaust
1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Nov 23

pp. 165 (bottom) 171

pp. 158 161, 164 165, 168 169, 172 173
pp. 215 226 (6-2 6-12)

pp. 199 215

pp. 186 187, 210 211, 214 215, 226 229, 232 233, 236 237
pp. 266 269 (8-7 8-10)

Students will appreciate the distinction between modern European antisemitism

and the anti-Jewish sentiment of previous eras, and they will be able to explain
how that that antisemitism was mobilized by the Nazis to bring about the socalled Final Solution. Students will also understand the lingering questions about
the Holocaust that still haunt us, and various strategies for answering them.

Zionism and the State of Israel

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:

pp. 217 248

pp. 198 203, 208 209, 220 221, 224 225, 242 245, 254 255,
260 261
pp. 233 237 (6-20, 6-21, 6-22)
10

Learning
Outcome:

Nov 30

Students will understand which factors caused the age-old Jewish longing for a
return to Zion to manifest itself in a concerted political effort to settle Jews in
the Holy Land and to pursue a Jewish state. Students will also be able to
articulate the most pressing issues that have faced the State of Israel since its
founding, in particular the still-relevant conflict with the Palestinians.

Jews in the Americas

1. Scheindlin:
2. Barnavi:
3. Source Reader:
Learning
Outcome:

Dec 2

Students will be able to describe the origins of the American Jewish

community and its proliferation during the periods of Germanic (1830-1880)
and eastern European (1881-1920) immigration.

The Jewish World, 2015: Trends, Possibilities, Predictions

Learning
Outcome:

Dec 11

pp. 187 197

pp. 150 153, 174 175, 180 181, 194 195, 204 205, 218 219,
270 271
pp. 241 242 (7-1), 251 (7-10), 256 257 (7-14)

Students will be able to describe the Jewish community of 2014 in terms of its
basic demographics, challenges, and aspirations.

Final Examination (2-4 pm)

SCHEDULE OF SECTION MEETINGS

Each section meeting will focus on a particular historical source. The teaching assistants will help the students
read the source(s) critically and to contextualize the sources within the period of history currently being
discussed in the lectures.
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4 :
Week 5:
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:
Week 11:
Week 12:
Week 13:
Week 14:
Week 15

Introductions
The Balaam Narrative and the Deir Allah Inscription
The Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem / Sennacheribs Prism
The Tanach
Josephus and the Sects
Quiz
The Yavneh Legend / Babylonian Talmud
Midterm
Moses Maimonides/ The Guide for the Perplexed
The Disputation at Barcelona / Latin and Hebrew accounts
The Marrano Problem
Hasidim/Mitnagidim
Frankfurt Conference of 1845
Jewish Resistance in the Holocaust
Review
11