Elementary Modern Hebrew is the first exposure to the language as currently used in Israel in all its functional contexts. All components of the language are discussed: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Simple idiomatic sentences and short texts in Hebrew are used. Students learn the Hebrew alphabet, words and short sentences. Cultural aspects of Israel will be intertwined throughout the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Scott, Cameron David
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew for Beginners 121 is a continuation of Hebrew 120 and as such, students are required to have a foundation in Hebrew. The course will enhance and continue to expose students to Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. All components of the Hebrew language will be emphasized in this course; we will highlight verbs, adjectives, and the ability to read longer texts. Speaking in Hebrew will also be highlighted to promote students’ engagement and communication. Cultural aspects of the language will be incorporated into lessons too

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Look at Jewish history and culture backwards and forwards through the Yiddish language! The vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews for a thousand years, Yiddish connects back to recent and distant generations in Europe, America, and elsewhere. But Yiddish is not just a bridge to the past, it is also the center of vibrant contemporary cultures, both religious and secular. This four-skills language class (reading, writing, listening, speaking) places emphasis on the active use of Yiddish in oral and written communication while guiding students towards the use of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazi history and culture.

• Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
• Instructor: Reisberg, Joseph Benjamin
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This four-skills language class (reading, writing, listening, speaking) places emphasis on the active use of Yiddish in oral and written communication while guiding students towards the use of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazi history and culture. Continuation of 210.163, but students may join mid-year with the permission of the instructor.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Intermediate Hebrew level II is a continuation of the course Hebrew 220 and as such is a requirement for entry. In the course, grammatical aspects of the language will be introduced in the focus of past and future tenses. Combined and complex sentences with proper syntax and reading comprehension and writing skills will be required. Modern Israeli cultural aspects of the Hebrew language will be introduced as well and will be part of the holistic understanding of the modern language.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Continuation of Intermediate Yiddish Texts I. Students will continue to broaden and deepen their knowledge of Yiddish culture while improving their Yiddish language skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Alongside textbook-based language work, students will read, listen to, and interact with a variety of texts.

• Days/Times: TTh 9:00AM - 10:15AM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course will expand students’ fluencies in Modern Hebrew through Hebrew-dialogic Israeli and Palestinian cinema, examining and comparing several layers of a contemporary Hebrew-speaking society. For this class, students will view, discuss, and write about films with Hebrew as the primary spoken language. Through aural interpretation and subtitles, students will understand, analyze, and reflectively discuss the diversity of Hebrew-speaking cultures within society and the provenance and intentionalities of the dialects exhibited throughout a given film. Linguistic nuance, slang, and interpretive aspects of Hebrew as shown in the chosen films will prompt students to examine this modality of the expression of contemporary Hebrew. The course will be taught primarily in Hebrew and will be open to students who have matriculated to at least 200-level coursework of Modern Hebrew.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

The course will offer a reading and analysis of selected works of medieval Hebrew poetry, focusing on prominent poets such as Samuel ha-Nagid, Moses ibn Ezra, and Judah Halevi. We will explore the content and form of their poetry, as well as the historical context and sources from which it emerged. Alongside literary analysis, there will be linguistic and philological examination, addressing the connections between medieval Hebrew poetry and grammar, as well as the relationship between the poet and the grammarian. Taught in Hebrew. Reading and speaking knowledge of Hebrew is required.

• Days/Times: M 4:30PM - 7:00PM
• Instructor: Chen, Elnatan
• Room: Gilman 186
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

The Holocaust appears in scholarship as a figure or catalyst of analysis as often as it does as a historical event. It has prompted debates about historiography, about aesthetics, and about modernity across the humanistic disciplines, yet many of these debates and analyses have relied on a small number of sources, primarily literary texts. This course will assess some of the major areas of critical and scholarly inquiry regarding the Holocaust, but in relation to a different corpus of works, written by victims and survivors, that has been mostly overlooked. These works, many in Yiddish, many written during or in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, afford an opportunity to reassess the degree and the kind of challenge the Holocaust posed to the various aesthetic, memorial, and social formations of modernity. Taught in English; all readings available in English translation.

• Days/Times: W 1:00PM - 3:00PM
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room: Gilman 443
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Proposal Prep

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Proposal Prep

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Dissertation Research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Training for professional academic purposes.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 15/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew for Beginners 121 is a continuation of Hebrew 120 and as such, students are required to have a foundation in Hebrew. The course will enhance and continue to expose students to Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax. All components of the Hebrew language will be emphasized in this course; we will highlight verbs, adjectives, and the ability to read longer texts. Speaking in Hebrew will also be highlighted to promote students’ engagement and communication. Cultural aspects of the language will be incorporated into lessons too

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Scott, Cameron David
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This course will explore the evolution of Hebrew linguistic thought, focusing on the seminal works of early Hebrew grammarians in Muslim Spain during the 10th–11th centuries, including Judah Hayyuj and Jonah Ibn Janah. It will then trace the intellectual journey across Christian Central Europe up to the late modern era, highlighting contributions from both Jewish and non-Jewish grammarians. Notably, it will feature figures such as David Kimhi at the beginning of this period and Wilhelm Gesenius at its conclusion. The exploration will conclude with an overview of modern contributions, from within Israel and abroad, to Hebrew linguistic thought, showcasing linguists like Naphtali Tur-Sinai and Geoffrey Khan. The course will primarily involve reading texts written by leading grammarians and biblical commentators, examining fundamental issues in Hebrew language, the various theories proposed, and the transformations that have taken place in Hebrew linguistic thought. The texts will be read in English, with reference to the original languages (if other than English), Hebrew or Arabic.

• Days/Times: M 5:30PM - 8:00PM
• Instructor: Chen, Elnatan
• Room: Gilman 479
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/12
• PosTag(s): n/a

For students who have completed at least one year of Yiddish language study, this course will provide the opportunity to broaden and deepen their knowledge of Yiddish culture while continuing to improve their skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking Yiddish. Alongside textbook-based language work, students will read, listen to and interact with a variety of texts, for example literature, journalism and oral history. Prerequisite: AS.210.164 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.

• Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Advanced Modern Hebrew I will focus on conversational and interactive language skills to expose learners to attributes of different genres and layers of the language. Students will be introduced to various original texts and lingual patterns to better understand and formulate proper syntax. The course will include contemporary readings from Israeli journalism and essays, along with other relevant Hebrew resources to inform class discussions and students’ reflective writings. Israeli cultural aspects will be integral to the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 8/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This seminar seeks to trace the narrative dynamics and literary means of modern Hebrew Literature through a close examination of the tension between its realistic and anti-realistic trends. It begins with theoretical questions regarding the definition of realism as a literary genre. After this introductory section, the seminar is divided to three different periods in modern Hebrew literature, each is analyzed within the framework of its relation to realism. The first period is the turn of the 20th century and its first decades, reading works by writers such as Yosef Haim Brenner, Shmuel Yosef Agnon and Devora Baron. In the second period we study the post Israeli statehood period through reading works by A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, Amalia Khanana Carmon and Yehoshua Knaz. The third part of the course deals with prose-fiction that is considered post-modernistic and includes writers such as David Grossman, Orly Castel-Bloom Yoel Hofmann, and Ronit Matalon.

• Days/Times: T 1:00PM - 3:00PM
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room: Smokler Center 214
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 6/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

This research course focuses on surveying and deepening the students’ familiarity with the historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects of modern Jewish literature.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Elementary Modern Hebrew is the first exposure to the language as currently used in Israel in all its functional contexts. All components of the language are discussed: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Simple idiomatic sentences and short texts in Hebrew are used. Students learn the Hebrew alphabet, words and short sentences. Cultural aspects of Israel will be intertwined throughout the course curriculum.

• Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 9/15
• PosTag(s): n/a

Intermediate Modern Hebrew enhances and enforces previous knowledge of Hebrew as acquired from previous foundational coursework and/or experience. Grammatical aspects of the language such as past and present tenses as well as combined and complex sentence syntax and construction would be applied. Reading comprehension and writing skills will be emphasized. Modern Israeli cultural links and facets of the Hebrew language will also be introduced to inform the holistic understanding of the modern language.

• Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room: Smokler Center 301
• Status: Waitlist Only
• Seats Available: 0/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Look at Jewish history and culture backwards and forwards through the Yiddish language! The vernacular of Ashkenazi Jews for a thousand years, Yiddish connects back to recent and distant generations in Europe, America, and elsewhere. But Yiddish is not just a bridge to the past, it is also the center of vibrant contemporary cultures, both religious and secular. This four-skills language class (reading, writing, listening, speaking) places emphasis on the active use of Yiddish in oral and written communication while guiding students towards the use of Yiddish as a tool for the study of Yiddish literature and Ashkenazi history and culture.

• Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center 213
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 7/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

In traditional Ashkenazi Jewish society, the purim-shpil was the only kind of drama performed, but with the advent of modernity Yiddish-speaking Jews embraced theatre as playwrights, actors, and audiences. This course will survey Yiddish theatre from its traditional beginnings through its many permutations from the late eighteenth century to the present day, with examples of plays from the popular to the highly literary. All readings, discussion, and written responses will be in Yiddish.

• Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
• Instructor: Lang, Beatrice
• Room: Smokler Center Library
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 4/8
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Proposal Prep

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

This research course focuses on surveying and deepening the students’ familiarity with the historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects of modern Jewish literature.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Proposal Prep

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Stahl, Neta
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 5/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Hebrew/Yiddish Dissertation Research

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 2/5
• PosTag(s): n/a

Training for professional academic purposes.

• Days/Times:
• Instructor: Bessire, Mirit
• Room:  
• Status: Open
• Seats Available: 10/10
• PosTag(s): n/a