Ithaca College
Fall Semester 2004
Ithaca College |
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Jewish Magic and Ritual Power
Jewish Studies 340-353
Religion 344-376
Paper Topics
Pick four out of the ten topics to write on. The papers should be 4-5 pages long. Two must be written before midterm (due October 13), two afterwards.
All students must write on this topic.
Due 9/20.
Topic #1: What is “magic”? What are the different ways that modern scholars define and describe magic (e.g., Malinowski or Gmelch) and the ways that the Bible and Talmud define sorcery, divination, and other acts of ritual power? Are they talking about the same things? Does the modern definition apply to what the Bible or Talmud describes and categorizes?
All students must write on Topic 2 or 3. This paper MUST be handed in by October 13 -- no late papers accepted.
Topic #2: What is the relationship between material culture (amulets and incantation bowls) and literary culture (Talmudic discussions of forbidden acts, demons, and remedies)?
Topic #3: Analyze an incantation and accompanying ritual (if known): pick a text from the Aramaic incantation bowls or the metal amulets. Discuss the language used, names (whether understandable or not) imagery, biblical or mythological references, powerful entities mentioned (God or gods, angels, demons, etc.), goals, etc. How do you think the incantation “works” for the practitioner or client?
Topic #4, Due 10/25: How do Jewish practices of ritual power intersect with those of other cultures, especially Greek and Egyptian? What might this teach us about the relationship of Jews to other cultures in Roman and Byzantine Egypt and Palestine?
Topic #5, Due 11/1: How do the Hekhalot adjurations compare to Sefer ha-Razim or the Greek magical papyri, in terms of concerns, goals, entities called upon, etc.? Do the goals seem to differ significantly? What might these incantations tell us about the authors of the Hekhalot literature?
Topic #6, Due 11/15: Are the mezuzah or tefillin amulets? What are the implications of this question for our understanding of Judaism as a religion? Discuss pp. 145-152 of Trachtenberg in relation to the various types of amulets we have encountered in the course: Aramaic incantation bowls, metal amulets, Greek amulets, or amulets from the Cairo Geniza.
Topic #7, Due 11/15: Why did people in medieval Europe or the Middle East make and use amulets? What needs were they fulfilling? Discuss in relation to the Jewish and general cultures of northern Europe or Egypt/Palestine.
Topic #8, Due 11/29: What is spirit possession and how and why did it become important in various early modern Jewish communities? What does its appearance tell us about those communities and their religious and social lives?
Topic #9, Due 11/29: Do women have a special relationship to magic or ritual power? Discuss with relation to the biblical and talmudic references, the Aramaic incantation bowls, and early modern possession accounts.
Topic #10, Due 12/8: How do traditional Jewish practices – amulets, spells, other rituals – continue to be practiced in the modern world? What has fallen by the wayside? What are some contemporary practices (for example, the red string) that are being reinterpreted nowadays? What might this tell us both about contemporary Judaism in America or Israel, and about American popular culture and its fascination with the mystical and exotic?
This page maintained by: Rebecca Lesses
Last revised August 25, 2004