BIB 621 Peshat and Derash
To study parshanut is to join an enduring, multivalent, polyvocal conversation about the meaning of the Torah. Building upon rabbinic modes of interpretation, medieval Jews innovated new ways of reading the Torah text; this course will examine the contexts, methods, sources, and impact of their foundational commentaries, recorded on the pages of Miqra'ot Gedolot. Through the in-depth study of a selection of parshiyyot from Vayiqra, Bemidbar, and Devarim, students will emerge grounded in traditional methodology and prepared to engage knowledgeably and creatively in their own work interpreting the Torah text. Elective.