Sinais & Zions
Require reading Hahn Tapper (2016). Ch. 2 “Sinais” (pgs. 28-44) and Ch. 3 “Zions” (pgs. 45-59).When you complete this week, you should be able to:
Explain the role of the Bible and Torah within Judaism, and how these differ from the Bible of Christianity.
Understand the historical and symbolic significance of the terms exile, diaspora, Sinai, Zion, chosen, temple, and synagogue as they are used in a Jewish context.
Describe how Judaism can thrive outside of the Land of Israel.
Explore the robust connections between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In this week’s reading, Hahn-Tapper writes about the idea of “chosenness” as well as some basic issues in interpreting the Bible. Read Genesis 11:27-12:9 in both the English Standard Version and the New International Version. This is the Bible’s first introduction to Abram (later renamed Abraham), his wife Sarai (later renamed Sarah), and the first iteration of the deity’s promise to Abram/Abraham.
Then, answer one out of the three prompts below:
Reading the Bible as literature (Hahn-Tapper, 34): There are two vital pieces of background information that the biblical author introduces here: 1) that Sarai “was barren, she had no child” (11:30) and 2) that “the Canaanites were in the land” (12:6). Why might the narrator be telling us these things at this juncture? What might be the literary importance of these details in a text where details are scarce? Are there any other literary conventions you would like to point out?
Reading along with the Documentary Hypothesis (Hahn-Tapper, 33): Do you notice any discrepancies between 11:31 and 12:1-9? In conversation with Hahn-Tapper, what are the implications of your observation for understanding the question of biblical authorship?
Reading with PaRDeS (Hahn-Tapper, 39): Let’s focus on 12:1-3 and 12:7. From your own reading of the text, what is the pshat meaning? Your remez reading? Your drash? (We’ll save sod for when we cover Mysticism.) What challenges did you face in coming up with these interpretations? What were the benefits?
