Dr. Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld, Literature, Art and Music This course will introduce the mile stones of art in Israel, from the establishment of Bezalel - the first Arts and Crafts Academy in Eretz Yisrael , through the foundation of the state of Israel, up until contemporary art. We will explore the Zionist iconography of the beginning of visual culture, and figure out what were the themes associated with Zionism in its crucial years. Then we will get to know the main characters who influenced the art in Eretz Yisrael in the Yishuv years, and how the new comers got integrated into the art institutions of the Jewish society. We will analyze significant artwork of every decade, focusing on prominent artists. Finally, we will get to understand contemporary art scene in Israel, containing Arab artists as well as Jewish ones, and women artists, who were less dominant until the last three decades. We will look at central topics in the art of Israel to see how they have been developed and changed over the years. We will examine the images of early Zionism being criticized and reinterpreted by artists who work in Israel today.
Prof. Essica Marks, Literature, Art and Music Music in Israel reflects cultural, sociological and national identities. Israel is a multicultural society that consists of different traditions, religions and groups. This multiculturalism creates a musical culture that is diverse and has many styles and genres. This course will describe the different musical cultures in Israel as part of national, historical, cultural and sociological processes. The course will present the following topics: (1) Music as national identity - Hebrew Israeli Folksongs; (2) Global influences - Israeli Pop and Rock music; (3) Music and social processes – Mediteranean Music (Muzika Mizrahit); (4) Music of the Arab minority in Israel.
Dr. Yoed Kadary, Mysticism and Spirituality Angels and Demons are the heroes of various intriguing myths in many cultures and religions. This course will explore those angelological and demonical myths in various Jewish texts like the Bible, Qumran literature, the Hekhalot, and the Merkavah literature and Kabbalistic texts from Antiquity to Early Modern. We will read those ancient texts and study the different traditions on angels and demon's creation, their concept and purpose, their secrets, and the ways they act and reveal themselves in this world, with particular attention to their complicated relations with human beings. We will also explore how the technology of ancient magic aspires to use their powers to humanity's good.
Prof. Moshe Idel, Mysticism and Spirituality Great changes in culture are only rarely the effect of single causes. They involve the causes of creating the substance of the new modes of thought, the ways of their transmission and proliferation, and the various manners of their reception, which differ from the other causes we mentioned earlier. This is true as far as the Florentine Renaissance in late 15th century is concerned, and in some similar ways also of what I call the Safedian Renaissance, in the two middle quarters of the 16th century. The Sultan and the Turks that conquered Constantinople in 1453 did not create the Italian Renaissance, but they were agents of cultural changes, by triggering the emigration of Greek Orthodox scholars to a Catholic country, without knowing or intending it. Neither were the Medicis' inclination to assist Ficino's Platonic translations, central for the content of what happened in Florence, though certainly they were instrumental in encouraging the activities of thinkers like Marsilio Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, to be intellectually active in their entourage. It was the activity of the latter that made the intellectual difference, by selecting, translating, commenting and printing the forlorn Greek and Hellenistic texts, as well as triggering the translation of some Hebrew Kabbalistic ones into Latin. This is also the case of the emergence of Safedian Renaissance. The Catholic kings in Spain had no idea that by closing the glorious chapter of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula, they were instrumental in triggering a new and quite glorious chapter in Jewish culture by some of the descendants of those Jews they expelled in the Ottoman Empire. Some of those two groups of expellees made their ways to Northern Italy. In both cases, texts that were first consumed by very small elites, have been put in circulation, by putting them together, commenting to them and sometimes printing. In both cases, various forms of Kabbalah played an important role in shaping ways of thought and behavior, which were adopted by much broader audiences. In both cases, there was a feeling of returning to a glorious past, by circumventing the thought of the Middle Ages and by cultivating a certain spiritual arousal.
Dr. Lila Moore, Mysticism and Spirituality What is spiritual cinema? Is spiritual cinema a new cultural phenomenon? What is the difference between a religious film and a spiritual film? Is it possible to compare cinema to religion? Moreover, can film function as a religious ritual? This course introduces the complex relationship between cinema, filmmaking and religion from the early days of the moving-pictures to current mainstream, popular Hollywood films and Netflix productions. We will explore the ways biblical, kabbalistic and mystical themes and images are depicted in contemporary films. Moreover, we will explore the religion/s of films such as The Matrix Trilogy and Avatar, and discuss the ethical and spiritual dimensions of 21st century films that engage with the global ecological crisis as well as with the theme of pandemic, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is set in the interdisciplinary field of film, religion and cultural studies. It comprises of film viewing, lectures and discussions. The course consists of a weekly 4-hour class over 6 weeks starting in mid-July.
Dr. Lila Moore, Mysticism and Spirituality The course is based on an exploration of 21st century technological developments and innovations that offer new approaches to the experience of pilgrimage and the sacred. Drawing on the collaborations of technologists, designers, artists and scholars from Israel, United Kingdom and Greece, we shall investigate how Jerusalem as a city sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and as a metaphoric concept, is re-imagined and re-visited by means of new technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, communication technologies, film and cinema. There will be an emphasis on Judeo-Christian culture and motifs, for example, the idea of a virtual chapel or a virtual synagogue, 3D models of ancient sacred relics found in Jerusalem, and stories from history and mythology that link Jerusalem with England’s legends. Moreover, we will reflect on new approaches to Islamic art and imagery by contemporary artists utilizing digital art and time-based artworks. The course is set in the interdisciplinary context of religions, the arts, and cultural studies, including digital culture, with special theoretical emphasis on the interdisciplinary field of technoetic arts.
Dr. Jonathan Cahana-Blum, Mysticism and Spirituality This course will introduce the students to ancient Gnosticism, a "heretical" strand of Christianity that went all but extinct by the 4th century CE, but whose rediscovery was to have profound effect on modern and postmodern culture. After familiarizing ourselves with the historical context within which Gnosticism emerged, we will read a selection of sources that tell a thoroughly revisionist history. These texts argue, for instance, that the Hebrew Bible god is an evil entity, that the creation of gender was part of his conspiracy to enslave humans, that the Sodomites were pure witnesses of the true gospel, and that Mary Magdalene were Jesus's only true disciple, whom he often kissed. Our final meeting will be devoted to critically assessing two suggested modern parallels to ancient Gnosticism: Martin Heidegger's early existentialist philosophy and radical feminism.
Dr. Jonathan Cahana-Blum, Mysticism and Spirituality This course will discuss the ways in which creation myths and stories of origins aspire to describe, but, more often than not, also prescribe a contested sexual ideology. We will familiarize ourselves with a variety of ancient Jewish, Christian and Greco-Roman creation and origin accounts, and, by reading comparatively and critically, try to decipher the precise version of sexuality naturalized by them. We will then analyze how each tradition might overtly respond or covertly interact with one another in forming what Judith Butler termed “a sensical notion of the human.” Our reading of these creation and origin accounts will be theoretically informed, and thus should also provide us with the lenses to review the long-standing and heated debate between the “essentialist” and the constructionist approach to sexuality.
Dr. Einat Klafter, Mysticism and Spirituality The late Middle Ages saw increased opportunities for women within the Catholic Church, the canonization of many female saints, the composition by women of a body of texts exploring their spiritual experiences and lives, as well as an upsurge in public engagement by non-royal lay women. Female devotional practices and spiritual concerns also greatly influenced the general textual and cultural production beyond those works that were tailored specifically for female audiences. This phenomenon went hand in hand with the growing production and dissemination of religious content in the vernacular, both in the original and translations, which in general allowed for a greater participation in literary production, whether of a spiritual or secular nature. This course will focus on texts written with the intent to aid and support the spiritual needs and desires of a female audience, written by women, at times in collaboration with men. We will explore the socio-cultural context within which women produced their literary expressions, their motives, choice of genre and language, and awareness of their uniqueness. We will examine the impact that female mystics and spirituality had on late medieval popular culture, examining questions related to female voice and agency by closely reading the texts of Catherine de Pizan, St. Julian of Norwich, St. Birgitta of Sweden, St. Catherine of Siena, Margery Kempe, the Paston Women, Angela of Foligno and others. As part of the course we will look at the connection between this upswing in female literary production and the important historical change brought about by the vernacular revolution, the debates surrounding it and its influence on religious and secular cultural developments. The course will conclude by examining the opposition with which this public female expression was met, and processes by which female agency and public engagement were stifled in the Early Modern period, in a variety of ways, including the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Registration for Summer 2021 is now open!! For more information contact the department advisor. email:International@Zefat.ac.il Tel: +(972) 4 6927702
Dr. Ithamar Theodor, Mysticism and Spirituality This course offers a systematic and comprehensive introduction to one of the most read texts in South Asia, the Bhagavad-gita. The Bhagavad-gita is at its core a religious text, a philosophical treatise and a literary work, which has occupied an authoritative position within Hinduism for the past millennium. The course brings together themes central to the study of the Gita, as it is popularly known – such as the Bhagavad-gita ’s structure, the history of its exegesis, its acceptance by different traditions within Hinduism and its national and global relevance. It highlights the richness of the Gita’s interpretations, examines its great interpretive flexibility and at the same time offers a conceptual structure based on a traditional commentarial tradition. The course follows the newly published volume edited by Ithamar Theodor “The Bhagavad gita – A Critical Introduction” (Routledge, 2021). With contributions from major scholars across the world, this book will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of religious studies, especially Hinduism, Indian philosophy, Asian philosophy, Indian history, literature and South Asian studies.
Dr. Neta Sobol, Mysticism and Spirituality Kabbalah is long known among varied cultural and new-age circles around the world – Jewish and non-Jewish as well. Some of its main concepts and images are used in popular culture, such as pop songs, cultural sermons and even in art works. But it's not always been that way. There were times when the Ideas of the Kabbalists were spread only among selected few,when kabbalists were banned and condemned and their lore was regarded as heretics. This course is an invitation to make a personal acquaintance with the ancient texts of the Kabbalah, to learn about itsrevolutionary ideas, and about the unique hermeneutics of that surprising Jewish Lore. Dates: Once a week, 2 academic hours, during July-August.
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