The Jewish Bible has three parts—the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. "Biblical Prophets and Prophecy" is a six-week crash course on the second section of the Bible, the Prophets. This is a great class to attend if you are interested in learning about how Biblical characters respond to the social crises of their times and how the Bible imagines social criticism should work. 

You may be familiar with some of the more famous Biblical prophets—perhaps you've heard of Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel? There are actually MANY prophets in the Bible and each of these characters plays a particular role in shaping early Jewish society. 

This course will focus on six prophets in the Bible and is meant to provide an overview of Biblical prophecy. We will enjoy the prophet's words and trace the lineage of charismatic orators. We will use these texts to ask questions about the Biblical vision of leadership, social criticism and social change. In so doing, we will explore the Jewish tradition of fighting the social quo to make the world a little more just in our lifetime.

Class topics:
November 6: Introduction to the Book of Prophets | An overview of the Book of Prophets and the role of the prophet in the Bible | Zoe Jick
November 13: The Book of Judges | A book filled with chaos, charismatic leaders and talks of violence, lust and heroism | Rabba Shani Gross
November 20: The Book of Jeremiah | A text that demonstrates how difficult it can be to hear (and to read!) the truth | Dr. Ariel Resnikoff
December 4: The Book of Isaiah | The most famous of the prophetic voices, and with messages relevant for our time | Tova Birnbaum
December 11: The Book of Ezekiel | The most mysterious and mystical of the prophetic books | Rabbi Amitai Fraiman
December 18: The Book of Hosea | One of the minor prophets who has majorly poetic words to say | Zoe Jick