Roots of The Jewish Imagination

(Cross-listed as JS 126 and ILVS 133.) Jewish myths, legends, mystical teachings, and other subjects that influenced the formation of Jewish imaginative literature. Topics include: the journey of the soul; the Book of Job and why bad things happen to good people; Jewish heresy; Jewish dream lore; the Messiah and the End of Days; legends of the Golem (android, or artificial man); the dybbuk (spirit possession) and exorcism; tales and parables of Kafka; metamorphosis; hunger, food, and eating; the comic book and graphic novel; the Holocaust and modern trauma; Kabbalah, mysticism, and religious search; Ju-Bus (Jewish Buddhists); Israelis and Palestinians; women’s experience in Jewish life. All texts read in English. Formerly REL 126.