HIS 584 Beit Midrash: Rabbis and Jewish Leadership
In this course, we will read texts about the nature of rabbinical leadership and Jewish leadership broadly-defined. Our time will be divided between supervised havruta study and shiur, and as such, it will be an opportunity for students to continue developing their Hebrew study skills. We will begin by considering the meaning of the ordination certificates rabbis and cantors receive at HUC-JIR and elsewhere. What do these documents say about the nature of Jewish leadership? We will then study the emergence of the rabbinate in late antiquity; reflect on the differing roles of rabbis in medieval Sephardic and Ashkenazic milieux; and discuss the professionalization of the rabbinate and the cantorate in early modern and modern Europe. Finally, we will consider the roles rabbis and cantors play in contemporary Jewish life (in Israel and in the diaspora), especially in the various Jewish movements and in American popular culture. Please note, this course is not for rabbinical students alone. Cantorial and education students are encouraged to sign up.