Religion 225JA - Topics in Religion: 'Sacred Space in Jewish Antiquity'

While the Jerusalem Temple is most well-known example of sacred space in Jewish antiquity, its destruction in 70 CE allowed a new type of sacred space to flourish in dispersed Jewish communities: the synagogue. These physical locations were sites of tension: between old traditions and new circumstances, between Jews as a people and their non-Jewish neighbors, and between different definitions of "who is a Jew." This course will use both textual and archaeological evidence to explore how diverse Jewish groups in antiquity constructed sacred spaces, and ultimately Jewish identity, through art, architecture, and ritual.