Michael Grant's Jewish learning notes

There's getting to be rather a lot of these now, so I'm trying to mark the more interesting ones, as follows:

Supercool—you have to read this!
Interesting.
You might not find this interesting unless you're into Jewish learning. Or maybe you will, and your taste just differs from mine.

However, I'm not sure I've got the balance right here; if you feel articles ought to be promoted or demoted, do let me know!

Apocrypha

Why the Books of Maccabees Didn't Make It Into The Jewish Bible (Limmud 2007): Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, posted 7 January 2008
Jesus ben Sira and Jewish Learning (Newcastle Day Limmud 2007): Robert Hayward, posted 31 viiiber 2007
Judith the Obscure (Limmud 2005): Rivy Poupko Kletenik, posted 7 March 2006

Archaeology

New Archaeological Insights on the Exodus and Mount Sinai (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Dr Richard Freund, posted 8 February 2009
Two Jewish Temples in Ancient Egypt (Limmud 2007): Stephen Rosenberg, posted 3 February 2008
Has the Teacher of Righteousness Been Found? (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Dr Richard Freund, posted 3 February 2007
The Rediscovery of the City of Yavne (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Dr Richard Freund, posted 31 January 2007
Talk transcript: The Jews of Elephantine: Rabbi Prof Bezalel Porten (HUJI), posted 8 xber 2005

Culture legend and myth

Romance in the margins of the Book of Esther (Limmud 2008): Posted 3 March 2009
The Dead Sea Scrolls on the Near-Sacrifice of Isaac (Limmud 2008): James Kugel, posted 18 January 2009
How Barmitzvah Parties Began (Limmud 2007): Rabbi Dr Michael Hilton, posted 10 February 2008
Beruriah: Truth. Myth and the Construction of the Ideal Woman (Limmud 2007): Yaffa Epstein, posted 22 January 2008
Robin Hood and the Jewish Connection (Limmud 2007): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 15 January 2008
Reuben's Sin: Did he or didn't he? (Newcastle Day Limmud 2007): Rabbi Dovid Lewis, posted 19 ixber 2007
Sea Monsters and Giants (Limmud 2005): Roni Tabick, posted 20 March 2006
Judaeo-Spanish Poetry and Song (Limmud 2005): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 5 January 2006
Judaeo-Spanish Mythology: Lilith (Limmud 2004): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 4 January 2006
Lilith: First Wife and Demon Queen (Limmud 2004): Roderick Young, posted 18 January 2005
Satan in Biblical Israel (Limmud 2004): Irit Printz, posted 4 January 2005

Halacha

Eden Law: the Role of Rational Morality in the Halachah (Limmud Fest 2009): Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sinclair, posted 22 viiiber 2009
A Matter of Customs: Jewish festivals (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Chaim Weiner, posted 12 March 2009
An Aversion to Conversion (a talk at the New London Synagogue): Posted 15 July 2008
Four Gemaras to Live By: (ii) Concerning the weekly (Limmud 2007): Dr Raphael Zarum, posted 27 January 2008
Jewish Wedding—Fairy Tale or Nightmare? (the Marom Beit Midrash): Rabbi Joel Levy, posted 14 March 2007
Conditional Marriage (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Diana Villa, posted 24 January 2007
Can Sex Before Marriage Ever Be Kosher? (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Joel Levy, posted 20 January 2007
"Women Who Rub": The Rabbis Talk About Lesbians (Limmud 2004): Jay Michaelson, Nehirim: A Spiritual Initiative for GLBT Jews, posted 13 xber 2006
Who Counts? Counting Women in the Minyan (New North London Learning, Autumn 2004): Rabbi Chaim Weiner, posted 27 April 2006
How To Get Yourself Excommunicated (Limmud 2005): Rabbi Mark Goldsmith, posted 8 March 2006
How to be a Mamzer (the Marom Bet Midrash): Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, posted 19 February 2006
Issues regarding marital status of women in Jewish Law (the Marom Bet Midrash): R. Chaim Weiner, posted 26 viiiber 2005
the historical basis behind segregation in the synagogue (NNLL autumn '04): Chaim Weiner, posted 29 August 2005

Israel

The Economic Roadmap for Peace in the Middle-East (Newcastle Day Limmud 2007): Shmuel Ben-Tovim, posted 29 viiiber 2007
Lost: What Happened to the Israeli Left? (Limmud 2006): Roy Yellin, posted 17 January 2007
The failure of the post-Camp David talks and the Six Day War: Posted 25 April 2006

Jewish History

The Fictional Jews of Peru (Limmud 2009): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 10 January 2010
Chanukah—Shining a New Light (Jeneration at Moishe House): Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand, posted 18 May 2009
Kasztner: Saviour or Collaborator? (Limmud 2008): Ladislaus Löb and Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, posted 1 March 2009
Jews fighting Jews in the American Civil War (Limmud 2008): Elkan Levy, posted 25 January 2009
Napoleon Bonaparte: Friend, Foe or Liberator of the Jews? (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Danny Rich, posted 15 January 2009
Would You Buy A Cruse of Oil From This High Priest? (Limmud 2007): Stephen Rosenberg, posted 9 January 2008
The Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70CE (the Conservative Yeshiva): Prof. Rabbi Yisrael (Lee) Levine, posted 22 July 2007
An overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to 1948 (the 1995 RSGB Peace Process Tour): Sharona <someone>, posted 16 April 2007
How to Convert the Pope: Successful and Failed Attempts to Bring the Messiah (Limmud 2006): David Solomon, posted 13 January 2007
Nineteenth Century Jewish History (New North London Learning Spring 2005(?)): Michael Wegier, posted 28 August 2006
Economic antisemitism and Bukharan Jews in the Late Nineteenth Century (Limmud 2004): Audrey Burton, posted 14 August 2006
Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War / The Battle of Cable Street: Posted 6 August 2006
Book review: The Sins of King David: Posted 14 July 2006
Clive Lawton on Muslim Spain (New North London Learning Autumn 2005): Posted 20 March 2006
350 Years of the Anglo-Jewish Community (Limmud 2005): Rabbi Jonathan Romain, posted 9 March 2006
The origins of the Ghetto (Newcastle One-Day Limmud 2005): Posted 27 February 2006
Jew and non-Jew in Ancient Gaza (Limmud 2005): Dr Joshua Schwartz, posted 23 January 2006
Elizabeth Tudor and the Marranos (Limmud 2005): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 2 January 2006
The Spanish Inquisition: Fact and Fiction (Limmud 2004): Renee Melammed, posted 14 viiber 2005
A Nation of Philosophers: Jewish scholars and the Greek world (Limmud 2004): Robert Hayward, posted 25 July 2005
Messianism and Zionism: The three forerunners of modern Zionism (Limmud 2004): Nahum Gordon, posted 26 April 2005
Esther and Haman, the Real Story (Newcastle One-Day Limmud): Stephen Rosenberg, posted 21 February 2005
Josef Trumpeldor - the real story (Limmud 2004): Bernard Fisher, posted 1 February 2005
Women's Lives As Reflected by the Cairo Geniza Documents (Limmud 2004): Renee Melammed, posted 26 January 2005
Maimonides and the Jews of Yemen (Limmud 2004): Uri Melammed, posted 11 January 2005
Defying the Spanish Inquisition: The Crypto-Jewish women of Castile (Limmud 2004): Renee Melammed, posted 5 January 2005

Judaism and other religions

The Qur'ān and Eretz Israel (Limmud 2009): Sheikh Dr Muhammad Al-Hussaini, posted 3 February 2010
The Epistle of Panic: Fear of Jewish Law in Early Christianity (Limmud 2006): Nathan Jeffay, posted 15 January 2007
Does a Judaeo-Christian Heritage Actually Exist? (Limmud 2006): Nathan Jeffay, posted 1 January 2007
The Influence of Islam on Judaism (Limmud 2005): Rabbi Mark Solomon, posted 19 January 2006

Linguistics geekery

Language, Religion and Identity in Israel (a talk at UCL): Dr Ghil`ad Zuckermann, posted 24 February 2009
חתן תורה: Posted 12 viiiber 2006
The Story of Hebrew (Limmud 2004): Joel Hoffman, posted 4 January 2005
Akkadian origins of the names of the Hebrew months: Posted 19 viiiber 2004

Liturgy

Approaches to וְהוּא רַחוּם (an AMS talk at Kol Nefesh Masorti): Posted 5 March 2009
Hallel? Oh Lord! Save Us Now! (Limmud 2008): Eran Davis, posted 27 January 2009
The Foundations of Jewish Prayer: The Concluding Prayers (Limmudfest 2008): Rabbi Chaim Weiner, posted 24 viiber 2008
The Foundations of Jewish Prayer: The History of the Shema (Limmudfest 2008): Rabbi Chaim Weiner, posted 7 viiber 2008
Two Kaddishes and a Ghost Story (Limmud 2007): Lindsay Taylor-Guthartz, posted 12 February 2008
Four Gemaras to Live By: (i) Concerning the Daily (Limmud 2007): Dr Raphael Zarum, posted 24 January 2008
Before I Pray, God, I Want To Say A Few Words. And Afterwards, Too. (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, posted 29 January 2007
The Secret Life of Berachot (Limmud 2006): Sarah Gershuny, posted 22 January 2007
The History of the Siddur (Limmud 2006): Rabbi Jacqueline Tabick, posted 10 January 2007
The Aramaic of the Kaddish (Limmud 2004): Uri Melammed, posted 26 April 2006
Rabbi Chaim Weiner on אשרי (Psalm 145): Posted 22 March 2006
The Amidah, ancient and modern (Limmud 2005): Prof. Reuven Hammer, posted 21 February 2006

Maimonides

Revisiting Maimonides' Critique of the Kalām (the Maimonides seminar): Alnoor Dhanani, posted 10 May 2006
The Role of Reason and Rationality in Maimonides' Approach to the Commandments: Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs, posted 9 May 2006
The Life and Writings of the Rambam in their Historical Context (the Maimonides seminar): Esther Seidel, posted 8 May 2006
Maimonides' Epistle on Forced Conversion (Maimonides Foundation one-day seminar 2005): Joanna Weinberg, posted 2 March 2006

Meta Halacha

Can Judaism Be Green? (the Marom Beit Midrash): Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, posted 9 May 2007
Rabbinic Tradition and the Evolution of Jewish Law (the Marom Bet Midrash): Posted 14 viiber 2006
Faith (the Marom Bet Midrash): Rabbi Joel Levy, posted 22 August 2006
Halacha Through Masorti Eyes (New North London Learning Autumn 2004): Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, posted 29 April 2006
Beyond Belief: Doctrine in Judaism (Limmud 2005): Dr Tamra Wright, LSJS, posted 15 March 2006
Is Proselytising Jewish? (Limmud 2005): Saul Singer (An editor and columnist for the Jerusalem Post), posted 27 February 2006
Can Jews ascend the Temple Mount? (Limmud 2005): Yisrael Medad, posted 10 January 2006

Midrash and aggadah

The God of Glass Wombs (Limmud 2009): Dr Raphael Zarum, posted 7 February 2010
Garments of Skin in the Garden of Eden (Limmud Fest 2009): Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, posted 13 viiiber 2009
Converts in Aggadah (Moishe House): Posted 17 July 2008
Meet the Midrash on Abraham (Limmud 2005): Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, posted 26 February 2006

Miscellaneous

Food, the Animals and Human Dignity (Newcastle Day Limmud 2009): Robert Hayward, posted 4 ixber 2009
Elul and Teshuva (Moishe House): Posted 14 viiber 2008
Would the Real Messiah Please Stand Up? (Limmud 2007): Rabbi Joel Zeff, posted 9 March 2008
King Arthur and King David: Literary Parallels (Limmud 2007): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 19 February 2008
Archaeological Espionage—TE Lawrence and Leonard Woolley in Sinai 1913/14 (Limmud 2007): Stephen Rosenberg, posted 20 January 2008
Jews and Pirates in the Carribean (Limmud 2007): Sharonah Fredrick, posted 13 January 2008
Gospel Singing: T'HILLAH—Hallelujah: Praise the Lord (Limmud 2006): Sharon Alexander, posted 15 February 2007
A Sanctuary Transformed: The Revitalisation of American Synagogues (Limmud 2006): Jack Wertheimer, posted 12 February 2007
Torah vs Science—A Personal Interpretation of the Garden of Eden Story (Limmud 2006): Benjamin Gerber, posted 10 February 2007
He Said Jehovah! (What's in a name?) (Limmud 2006): Posted 7 February 2007
Creativity in Torah: Spinoza and Other Heretics (Limmud 2006): Nathan Lopez-Cardoso, posted 5 February 2007
All for nought? Abraham Ibn Ezra's numerical innovation (Limmud 2006): Kineret Sittig, posted 27 January 2007
Origin of the menorah: Posted 28 viiber 2006
Gerald Schroeder on Life After Death (Limmud 2005): Gerald Schroeder, posted 30 August 2006
Ludwig Zamenhof and the Tower of Babel (the Marom Beit Midrash): Posted 29 May 2006
Gender-neutral G-d Language in Reconstructionism: Rabbi Amy Klein, posted 21 May 2006
Mini Lag BaOmer shiur: Posted 16 May 2006
An Introduction to Mediaeval Manuscripts: Rabbi Chaim Weiner, posted 2 May 2006
Can Conservative Judaism survive the oncoming debate on homosexuality? (Limmud 2004): Daniel Gordis, posted 24 April 2006
Founding Myths of the Jewish Diaspora (the Marom Beit Midrash): Posted 27 March 2006
Hope Springs Eternal: A Look At The Hatikvah (Limmud '05): Colin Bulka, posted 27 March 2006
The intermarriage rate revealed: Census Data on Jewish Marriage Patterns (Limmud 2005): David Graham, Institute for Jewish Policy Research, posted 13 March 2006
First Among Equals: Which tribe will the Moshiach be from, and why? (N/cle 1-day Limmud): Nahum Gordon, posted 22 February 2006
Robert Winston: Wrestling with G-d (Limmud 2005): Robert Winston, posted 8 February 2006
Fight Club and Redemption (Limmud '05): Micah Goodman, posted 25 January 2006

Other religions

Good and Bad Sects: The Samaritans (Limmud 2009): Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, posted 16 January 2010
The Last Taboos—Idolatry and Many Gods (Limmud 2008): Alan Silver, posted 22 February 2009
The Decline of the West in Muslim Scholarship (Limmud 2008): Uriya Shavit, posted 20 January 2009
How to respond to blame for Jesus' death (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Dr Michael J. Cook, posted 11 January 2009
How To Resolve Jesus' Empty Tomb Enigmas (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Dr Michael J. Cook, posted 8 January 2009
How to Process Jesus' Virgin Birth Stories (Limmud 2008): Rabbi Dr Michael J. Cook, posted 6 January 2009

Talmud

Blasphemy (Moishe House): Posted 13 July 2008
Lag BaOmer (the Moishe House Beit Midrash): Daniel Silverstein, posted 21 May 2008
Pre-crime in the Talmud: Responses to the Wayward and Defiant Son (Limmud 2007): Adam Krause, posted 2 March 2008
Four Gemaras to Live By: (iii) Concerning the Monthly (Limmud 2007): Dr Raphael Zarum, posted 29 January 2008
Interesting snippets from the Advanced Talmud class (the Conservative Yeshiva): Posted 24 ixber 2007
Be an עַנְווִתָן like Hillel and not a קַפְדָן like Shammai (the Conservative Yeshiva): R. Shmuel Lewis, posted 7 August 2007
On Language and Identity—Sugiyot from Massechet Sotah (Limmud 2006): Leah Rosenthal, posted 3 January 2007
His Wife Was Sifting the Flour: The Stories of the Waiting Women (NNLL Spring 2006): Dr Moshe Lavee, posted 16 August 2006
Talmudic Humour: Reasoning by Extreme Example (the Marom Beit Midrash): Roni Tabick, posted 30 July 2006

Tenach

Lamentations Chapter 5 (the Moishe House Beit Midrash): Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, posted 27 July 2009
Literacy in the Time of the Prophets (Limmud 2008): Shira Wallach, posted 10 February 2009
An Introduction to Tehillim (Limmud 2008): Lindsey Taylor-Guthartz, posted 29 January 2009
The True Villain in the Garden of Eden (Limmud 2008): Barbara Spectre, posted 13 January 2009
Utterly Rejected: Theology in Crisis in the Book of Lamentations: Deborah Kahn-Harris, posted 10 August 2008
Was the Book of Esther Written by a Jewish Jane Austen? (a talk at the New London shul): Rabbi Reuven Hammer, posted 18 March 2008
Envy of Heaven (The Book of Job) (Limmud 2004): Daniel Reisel, posted 7 May 2006
Thoughts on last week's Sedra, and on Biblical poetry: Posted 16 August 2005

The Jewish world

Volver: Modern-Day Marranos and Their Halachic Struggle Returning to Judaism (Limmud 2008): R. Hillel Athias-Robles, posted 26 February 2009
Demographic trends in the Anglo-Jewish Community (Limmud 2008): [Presenter mislaid], posted 16 February 2009
The Rough Guide To Jewish Europe: Prague (New North London Learning, Autumn 2005): Richard Goldstein, posted 21 March 2006
Troyes: Rashi And His World (New North London Learning Autumn 2005): Chaim Weiner, posted 26 February 2006
The Rough Guide to Jewish Europe: Toledo: the end of the west (NNLL Autumn 2005): Chaim Weiner, posted 15 xber 2005
Gerona: A Jewish Community on the Border (NNLL Autmn 2005): Chaim Weiner, posted 21 ixber 2005

Unconventional View

Was Joseph a Woman? (Limmud 2005): Adam Frankenburg, posted 8 February 2006
The Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Limmud '05): Prof. Rachel Elior, posted 9 January 2006

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Last generated: 07 February 2010