Exile, Diaspora, and Trauma in the Jewish Imagination

Harvard HDS

In this course we will examine the various iterations and motifs of exile, Diaspora, and trauma in the Jewish tradition from the Hebrew Bible and its reception to the advent of Zionism. The concept of exile (galut) is not only a description of the Jewish "state-of-being" but may be the very cornerstone upon which Judaism as we know is founded and continues to exist. While exile stands at the center of Jewish self-fashioning and ritual as a theological category, Diaspora (golah) is a…