RELIG400: Jewish Mystical Traditions
Spring 2012 5 Credits Final grade: 3.7 Comparative Religion |
Jewish MysticismI do not generally consider myself to be very religious, however, I felt a little like I was getting away with something I shouldn't by taking this class. Traditionally, the study of Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism) is restricted to men of at least 40 years of age. It made the class somehow more interesting and enjoyable for some reason in a "fight the man" sort of way. This class was very unique for me in many ways. I studied under Professor Jaffe in the JSIS comparative religion department. This class would be the last class he taught at the UW before his retirement.
My artifact was the final exam. It took the form of two short essays written in response to four possible topics. We e-mailed our essays to Professor Jaffe who responded with feedback and our grade. Even though there was no way to edit for a higher score, I found this very helpful. In particular, I sent my essays with a note stating that I felt as though something was "off" though I couldn't figure out what as I had written them to the best of my ability. In his feedback he carefully addressed what could be giving me that feeling. It was very useful and uplifting to have such genuine concern and interest in my work. The document includes both of the essays as well as his responses. |
Image: Banias. An ancient temple to the Greek G-d Pan in the Golan Heights of Israel.