The Rabbinic Mind: Struggling With Idols

In this first session of this series, we will learn Talmudic-period sources about the first generations of people: Adam HaRishon and the generations of his children and grandchildren. To what extent were they righteous? Besides the major failure of Adam HaRishon in disobeying G-d’s command and eating the forbidden fruit, did he and his family generally keep faith with G-d and obey him? We will begin to explore where the generation of Enosh seems to have spiritually lost its way.

I have posted here sourcs that we will be studying in this session.

We are moving on to the two generations that followed Adam HaRishon. We will learn how they were seen, by the sages in the Talmudic period midrashim, to be different from the descendants of Adam HaRishon of subsequent generations. And we will encounter the way that the midrashim understand — based on a few unclear words in the Torah — what changed in the generation of Enosh. We will see how the Rambam later describes in detail this change, which constituted the first step on the road to idolatry.

I have posted the sources for this session here for your convenience.

In this session, we will continue our discussion regarding the generation of Enosh by studying an additional midrashic source and two commentaries on the relevant verse. Following this, we will study the first part of chapter 1 of the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah Hilchot Avodat Kochavim, where the origins of pagan worship in that generation are described in some detail and given context.

Following this, we will move on to the generation of Hanoch and study midrashic interpretations of the unusual verses that describe his life and what if anything was amiss at that time.

I have posted here sources that we will be studying in the class, for your convenience; as always you are welcome to look at these before the class.

In this fourth session in our series, we will first clarify the imperfect picture we had of the personality of Hanoch in the material from last session , and see how the sages in the midrash take the ambiguities in the Torah text about his life in extremely different directions.

Then we will see how, in the view of the midrashic sources, idolatry seems to have become normative and mainstream in the subsequent generations immediately before, and long after, the Flood, with the apparently noteworthy exceptions of certain individuals such as Shem and Eiver.

In this session, we will first encounter a surprising source about the personality and deeds of Ashur, the son of Shem.

Then we will study midrashic sources that present views regarding the activities and lives of Shem ben Noah himself and his descendant Eiver. From these statements, we will see how exceptional the midrash saw them to be, in the context of the larger civilization in which they lived.

Time allowing, we will also begin to understand from the Talmudic and midrashic sources what happened with the tower of Bavel and the generation responsible for its building. To what extent were their actions idolatrous?

I have attached here the sources for this session.

We will begin this, the sixth session of the series, by completing the picture given in Beresheet Raba of Shem by looking at his interaction with Avraham,

This leads us  to the larger and somewhat cryptic subject of Dor HaPelaga – the generation of the Tower of  Bavel.  The Torah doesn’t seem to say enough about this for us to understand simply what they were doing, and why they were punished for it. Haza”l took up this exegetical challenge in the Talmud and midrashim from that period, and we will study a selection of that material.

For your convenience, I am posting the sources that we will be using. You are welcome to look them over before the class.

In this final meeting of this series, we will learn more about what the Talmudic period sages thought about Dor HaPelaga, the generation of the division of the nations with the Tower of Bavel.

Time allowing, before we conclude by summing up our findings in this series, we will study a midrash about the early life of Avraham (Avram), before he received the Divine command  לך לך.

For your convenience I am posting here sources from which we will be studying.