NEW COURSE
HEBREW 124B – Hebrew (Rabbinical Texts)
Semester: Spring
Offered: 2026
Course Head: David Stern
Instructor: Deborah Thompson Shalshelet
Meeting Time: TBA
Hebrew is the language of all the foundational texts of Judaism. It has also become the subject of a uniquely Jewish form of visual art. This language course will focus upon reading texts in Rabbinic Hebrew which deal with the use of the language as visual art. Sources will include texts from the bible, the Mishna, the Talmud, Sefer Hasidim, and rabbinic responsa dealing with the issue of Jewish art in general and the Hebrew word as art specifically. We will also explore a range of visual-textual sources, in a variety of media, from tiny letters of micrography in Masoretic bibles to embroidered textiles, from sculpture to painted synagogue walls emblazoned with panels of prayers. All primary sources will be read in Hebrew; secondary sources in English, but the focus of the course will be on learning to read classical Hebrew texts in the original language.
For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.