Please answer two of the following four questions,
one from the first group, #1, and one from the second, #2.
Take at least 1.5 and up to 3 double-spaced pages each (no more than four each, please), for at total of about 4-7 pages:
The final is due Thursday 4/28. It will remain open until Saturday 4/30, but unless you ask for and receive an extension (by Tuesday 4/26 at the latest) any late papers will be graded down 10% (one letter grade).
1. Answer “A” or “B.”
A. Why is Moses almost absent from the Seder? And how does the decision to leave out Moses shape the Haggadah? Re-read Exodus chapters 1-3 and 11-13 (and those in between if desired) and analyze how – and why – they differ from the existing Haggadah. Be specific, mentioning particular passages from the Bible or the Haggadah. Optionally consider what a Haggadah that emphsized Moses’ role would include.
B. What makes the Passover Seder special for Judaism?
Consider the questions below prompts to choose among:
Think about both the physical aspects of the ritual — what foods are eaten, how they are explained, the order of the service — and also the Haggadah with its midrashic passages, prayers, and songs. Consider also the very different ways the Passover Seder is presented and explained in our different sources.
Focus on this question: What parts of Jewish peoplehood and the Jewish relationship with God are most emphasized in the traditional Passover ritual and in the Haggadah? How are they emphasized? Think about the historical times referenced by the Haggadah: The Exodus itself, “when in time to come your child shall ask you,” the Passover sacrifice at the Temple, and later Jewish history.
Refer to (but do not fully quote) and analyze one or two passages from the Haggadah and/or one or two of the various commentaries we looked at (for a total of 2 longer or three shorter passages). You also might(but are in no way required to) compare and contrast a passage in one of the updated versions of the Haggadah with the traditional text.
2. Answer “A” or “B.”
A. Sarah, Abraham, and Isaac: Dr. Burton Visotzky in Binding Isaac Highlighted on pages 81-88 discusses Christian interpretations of the the Binding/Sacrifice of Isaac, focusing on a modern feminist interpreter, Dr. Phyllis Trible, and a strangely parallel ancient Syriac Christian interpretation (highlighted in gray), both as fond of adding entirely new dialog or alternate stories to Genesis as ancient Jewish Midrash is.
In In search of a feminist reading of the Akedah Dr. Wendy Zierler quotes & discusses ancient rabbinic Jewish midrash on Sarah (on document pages 12-13) which she finds unsatisfying, and Trible’s interpretation (bottom of p. 16 through 17), which she also finds unsatisfying.
Summarize, with short, key quotations, the major points of all three interpretations (ancient Christian, modern feminist Christian, and ancient rabbinic Jewish), and compare and contrast any two of them as solutions to “the problem of Sarah”: Where was she, or where should she have been in Genesis 22, when Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac?
Optionally, speak of what you found interesting/valuable/troubling about each of the two you discuss in depth, or briefly contrast Zierler’s solution of seeing the passage Deuteronomy 6 as another sort of solution.
B. Nahum Sarna in his writing on the creation story in Understanding Genesis (pp. 12-28 especially) and Genesis Rabbah ch 8 – on Gen. ch 1express modern and ancient Jewish approaches to understanding what Genesis teaches us about: (1) Human nature; (2) what it means to be a good person; and (3) God’s relationship to humankind.
Nahum Sarna uses historical and philosophical language, and Gensis Rabbah uses biblical verses and poetic concepts such as arguments among angels over whether God should create Adam. Nevertheless, they both address concepts such as human dignity and ethical reponsibility.
Pick one passage, or two very short ones, from each text, Sarna and Genesis Rabbah, that address what Genesis teaches us about either (1) Human nature; (2) what it means to be a good person; or (3) God’s relationship to humankind (or possibly two of these), and compare and contrast them in conclusion and approach.