Jewish Studies Course Schedule & Registration
Jewish Studies 2025-2026 Academic Year
Dear Jewish Studies Students:
I am thrilled to present the slate of course offerings for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Our faculty members, both veteran and new, will be offering a wide range of courses throughout the year, from the ancient to the present-day. These courses satisfy a range of requirements for all of our Jewish Studies programs, both online and in person. We hope these courses inspire your passion for learning while also moving forward in your graduate program.
Fall, Winter, and Spring courses are offered online in real time and the Summer Seminar takes place in person at 皇冠体育. In each course, you will learn together with faculty and your fellow students.
The full year of courses are now available below.听 I encourage you to with Scarlett Andes (Manager of Student and Faculty Services) and Assistant Director of Jewish Studies, Dr. Daniella Farah, so that we can review your transcript together and determine which courses are the best fit for you.
Here鈥檚 to another year of great learning!
Yours,
Dr. Keren E. Fraiman
Dean and Chief Academic Officer
Professor of Jewish Studies
皇冠体育 for Learning and Leadership
Fall 2025 | Online Weekly Courses | September-November 2025
Cordoba, Baghdad, Kaifeng: Medieval Jews, Global Lives
Taught by Dr. Jonathan Brack
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Middle Ages) or Elective | DSJS Elective | DHL Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Mondays from 6 to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
September 8, 15, and 29 | October 20, 27 | November 3, 10, 17
This course explores medieval Jewish history through two interrelated and innovative lenses: from the seventh to the fifteenth century: moving beyond the simplistic narratives of either Jewish persecution or rosy coexistence, while embracing the Global Middle Ages approach. From the seventh to the fifteenth centuries, we will examine two major questions: first, how did key events in world history 鈥 from the Muslim conquests to the Crusades and Mongol Invasions 鈥 influence and change Jewish intellectual, economic, and political life? Second, what active role did Jewish men and women play in historical changes during this period? The course traces Jewish experiences across vast, global networks. From the dramatic expansion of trade networks within the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean in the 10th to 12th centuries to economic activities along the Silk Roads into Central Asia and China, and cross-confessional scientific, intellectual, literary, and material exchanges in urban centers such as Fes, Toledo, Cairo, and Tabriz, Jews witnessed, experienced, and influenced an interconnected medieval world.
Halakhah: Its Past, Present, and Future
Taught by Dr. Tzvi Novick
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective | DSJS Elective | DHL Core (Halakhah)
8 Sessions | Meets Thursdays from 6 to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
September 4, 11, 18, and 25 | October 9, 16, 23, and 30
Halakhah is a central category of meaning and normativity in the Jewish tradition, and arguably the central one.听 It is also a site of constant contestation and change, not only in its substantive details, but also in the conceptualization of the category and of its relationship to other categories.听 In this seminar, designed for doctoral students, we will explore key historical and methodological questions connected with the emergence and development of halakhah as a category, and reflect on its present and future for contemporary Judaism.
Course registration for Fall courses will open in June 2025.
Winter 2026 | Online Seminar Format | January 11-15, 2026
Passover 鈥 From the Bible to the Seder Table
Taught by Rabbi Dr. Vernon Kurtz
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd Level Core or Elective | DSJS Core (Jewish Living), Text, or Elective | DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
Seminar Morning Course
9 AM-1 PM CT each day | Meets via Zoom
Passover is the primary Jewish family festival. Together we will explore its Biblical origins, trace its practices through Rabbinic literature, study Medieval additions to its story and rituals as well as look at modern explanations and interpretations of today鈥檚 celebration. We will end up at the Seder table doing a close reading of the text of the Haggadah as we attempt to understand the historical, cultural and religious background which makes the Seder experience and the holiday of Passover itself a meaningful celebration for all.
Included in this study will be texts from the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Mishna, Midrash and Talmud. We will also look at passages in the New Testament and discuss whether the Last Supper was a Passover Seder.
When we examine the modern day Haggadah we will look at the texts behind the current order and text, as well as observe how the Haggadah and the Seder serve as examples of modernizing meaning and ritual in our day.
Beyond Polemics? Scripture, Theology, and Post-WWII Interfaith Relations
Taught by Dr. Sam Brody
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Modern Jewish Experiences) or Elective | DSJS Core (Intergroup Relations) or Elective | DHL Elective Core Reading Course
Seminar Afternoon Course
2 PM-6 PM CT each day | Meets via Zoom
The ancient and medieval history of interfaith relations, we usually believe, is characterized primarily by polemic. Each religion anxiously seeks to distinguish itself from the others, sometimes by neutrally emphasizing differences and at other times embracing harsh critiques or even violence. By contrast, the modern era is seen as one that emphasizes commonalities, with every religion often said to be truly the same at heart. This class complicates these narratives by focusing on the post-modern era of interfaith dialogue in the wake of WWII and the Shoah. Considering examples of interfaith initiatives among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, it will invite students to consider the purpose of interfaith dialogue, whether it can be justified without resorting to relativism, and what promise it holds for addressing the pressing need for global cooperation in the face of escalating crises.
Course registration for Winter courses will open in September 2025.
Spring 2026 | Weekly Online Courses | February-April 2026
The Wandering Jew?: Jewish Migration and Displacement in Modern Europe
Taught by Dr. Natalie Belsky
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Modern Jewish Experiences) or Elective | DSJS Elective | DHL Core (Jewish Community: Historical and Sociological Developments) or Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Mondays from 6 to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
February 16 and 23 | March 9, 16, 23, and 30 | April 6, and final session Thursday, April 16
Over the course of the last two centuries, Jewish individuals and communities experienced a great deal of dislocation and displacement. Millions left their homes, often not by choice, and had to rebuild their homes and communities elsewhere. This course will examine the different types of displacement and dislocation experienced by European Jews since 1800, the trajectories of Jewish migration, the experiences of relocation, rebuilding, adaptation and assimilation in their new homes, and the cultural responses to migration and displacement. One of the aims of the course is to reveal the ways in which Jewish migration and displacement transformed Jewish communities, Jewish practice, and Jewish self-understanding. We will also discuss to what extent the history of Jewish migration is distinctive. What makes this a 鈥淛ewish鈥 issue? Does it make sense to study Jewish migrants as a separate community?
Who is a Jew?
Taught by Dr. David N. Gottlieb
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS 2nd Level Core or Elective | DSJS Core (Who is a Jew?) | DHL Elective Core Reading Course
8 Sessions | Meets Wednesdays from 6 to 8:30 PM CT via Zoom
February 18 and 25 | March 4, 11, 18, and 25 (Break for Pesach) | April 15 and 22
This course will explore the nature of Jewish identity through changing definitions of belonging (whether one wants to or not), affiliation (in its increasingly diverse forms), and inheritance (in political, cultural, and genetic terms). Through texts ranging from the biblical era to the present day, and from legal documents to population studies, students will gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the many answers to the question, “Who Is a Jew?”
Course registration for Spring 2026 courses will open in November 2025.
Summer Seminar | In Person at 皇冠体育 | June 14-18, 2026
Four course options: Two morning courses and two afternoon courses
Course times to be announced by early 2026.
The Mystical Community of Sixteenth-Century Safed
Taught by Dr. Matt Goldish
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Early Modern) or Elective | DSJS Text or Elective | DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
Many Jews are familiar with the colony of mystics in Safed during the sixteenth century, but few today know much about its members, origins, internal workings, and creativity. In this course we will delve into the social and religious history of the community to reveal many facets which continue to affect Judaism today.
From Beginning to End: Central Themes in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Literature
Taught by Dr. Rachel Havrelock
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Bible and the Ancient Near East) or Elective | DSJS Text or Elective | DHL Text or Elective Core Reading Course
The stories and poetry of the Hebrew Bible came into being in the distinct context of the Ancient Near East. Many themes such as lost immortality, a world-destroying flood, and a king who authorizes a code of law are shared across the texts that remain from this era.听 Stylistically, the Hebrew Bible differs from other literary works of its era due to its invention of prose narrative.听 As we read biblical and Ancient Near Eastern texts comparatively, we will explore how and why biblical writers forged narrative literature.
Each session focuses on a particular theme including creation, the hero/heroine鈥檚 journey, legal codes, war and captivity, and visions of the end of days.听 Items from the Spertus collection will help to illuminate the time and place at the center of our inquiry. Each student will have an opportunity to present in class and to have a one-on-one session about their course project.
Jews of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
Taught by Dr. Daniella Farah, Assistant Director of Jewish Studies
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Core (Modern Jewish Experiences) | DSJS Elective | DHL Elective Core Reading Course
Jews have been a part of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) societies for thousands of years. They flourished at times and experienced hardship at others, but they have participated in every major social and cultural transformation of the region. This course explores the religious, cultural, political, and social facets of Middle Eastern and North African Jewish life from the nineteenth century to today. Through a critical examination of primary and secondary sources, the course will help students assess entrenched narratives about MENA Jews. It follows a chronological and thematic order and looks at Jewish history in conjunction with interregional and global processes. The course will cover topics that include Jewish identity and culture in Islamic contexts; the impacts of colonialism, westernization, and nationalism on MENA Jews; the Holocaust, Jewish-Muslim relations, and the experiences of MENA Jews in Israel.
Jewish Rationalism: Maimonides & Spinoza
Taught by Dr. Erik Dreff
3 quarter-hour credits
Fulfills MAJS Elective | DSJS Core (Jewish Thinking) or Elective | DHL Core (Jewish Thought) or Elective Core Reading Course
In the history of Jewish philosophy, let alone Jewish Rationalism, there are no two greater figures than Maimonides and Spinoza.听 About Maimonides, it was famously said that “From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses [Maimonides].”听 About Spinoza, playing on the Hebrew and Latin versions of his first name, H.A. Wolfson famously quipped that “Baruch was the last of the medievals, and Benedict the first of the Moderns.”听 One the highwater mark of Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Rationalism, the other where that wave finally crashed, pulled back, and came roaring back in again in its modern guise, never to be outpaced.听 This course will thus be an in depth look into the life, thought, works, and philosophies of these two titans of Jewish History, Philosophy and Rationalism, focusing on their commitment to the ultimate explainability of existence, as well as their receptions in later Jewish thought.
Registration for the Summer 2026 Seminar will open in February 2026.
Jewish Studies Course Registration Details
Course registration is for current 皇冠体育 Jewish Studies students. Please review course details before completing your registration.
Before registering for courses, students must be admitted to one of 皇冠体育’s Jewish Studies graduate programs 鈥 or be accepted as non-degree student who meets prerequisite requirements and wishes to enroll in courses for credit.
Course Payment
皇冠体育 welcomes course registration from students with accounts in good standing. This means:
- Student鈥檚 unpaid account balance is less than $2,500 (roughly two courses).
- The most recent payments on past due balances are within the last six months.
Students who do not meet these criteria will need to pay down their balance prior to registering for any additional courses.
Course Costs
For MA in Jewish Studies (MAJS) Students
$400 per quarter-hour credit
($1200 per 3qh course)
For DS in Jewish Studies (DSJS) and Doctor of Hebrew Letters (DHL) Students
$475 per quarter-hour credit
($1425 per 3qh course)
A non-refundable $25 fee is charged on all course registrations forms.
Refund policies vary by course format. Please review the specific policy listed on your course registration form.
Courses auditing can be arranged on a select basis with approval from the Dean. Audited course tuition is $350 per 3qh course.
Course confirmation will be acknowledged by email upon approval of your course registration(s).
Questions
- For questions relating to Jewish Studies courses and registration, please contact Scarlett Andes at sandes@spertus.edu.
- For questions about payment, please contact Spertus Finance Coordinator Judith Wood at jwood@spertus.edu.
Asynchronous Jewish Studies Courses
These asynchronous online courses are offered on an ongoing basis and can be started anytime after a student is admitted. Students work independently and are expected to complete each course within eight weeks.
Introductory Biblical Hebrew I, II, and III
Taught by Dr. Anne Knafl
Courses 1221, 1222, 1223 | 3 courses, 3 quarter-hour credits
MAJS Electives
This three-course sequence introduces students to Biblical Hebrew grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, as well as the scholarly Hebrew Bible, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. The focus is on introductory grammar, including common verb patterns, essential grammatical features, and basic vocabulary. Students will read passages from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) as part of their coursework. Many students find it beneficial to take these courses early in their program.