History of the Jewish Community in the Land of Israel HIS 337Major topics covered in the course are The Land of Israel from the 1200’s to the 1600’s; early period of Ottoman rule; the Crusades; conflict between Arabs, Christians, and Jews; prominent rabbinical figures of the period; Jewish population centers in the 17th century – to the post-war years and the founding of the State of Israel, 1948.
Major topics covered in the course are: the creation of the Mishna and Talmud; the era of the Geonim; the “Golden Age” of Spain; Ashkenazi Jewry, the Crusades and major Torah figures; the Maimonidean controversy; late Medieval Spanish and Ashkenazi schools of thought; the Expulsions of the 14th and 15th Centuries; the Shulchan Aruch; the false Messiahs; Reform and the Enlightenment; Chassidim and Misnagdim; Haskala; the Yeshivas and the Mussar movement; Zionism – religious and secular.