Among Jewish and Christian conceptions of the goal of a religious life, two stand out as of paramount import: wisdom and virtue. The first involves a life of learning, study and contemplation while the second emphasizes attention to the suffering and needs of others. Both have been seen as valuable human activities in themselves, but what has made them specifically religious has been the claim that each, in addition to being a form of devotion, involves imitating God. Imitating God, however, presents a very particular human challenge, a challenge that arguably originates with the biblical claim that Adam and Eve were created in God's image. How do we know what it means to imitate God if we don't know who/what God is? To what should we devote ourselves in this light? What should we value (in ourselves, in others, in the world around us)? If the image of God is in the world all around us, why is it God (rather than human beings) we are to imitate? If it is God we are to imitate, how will we know when we have successfully done so? This course will explore primarily modern Jewish responses to these questions, although we will begin with the classical and medieval construction of the problem. The early part of the course will consider three types of claims: first, that the goals of wisdom and virtue are mutually reinforcing; second, that they are related but hierarchically ranked values, one a stepping stone to the other; and third that they are mutually exclusive endeavors. We will then turn to the question of whether wisdom and virtue are the only ways to imitate God, and will conclude with a consideration of what happens to these ideals when God is taken out of the picture. Reading list: Midrash, Maimonides, selections from Hasidic and Mitnagdic writings, Freud, Marx, Cohen, Kook, Buber, Soloveitchik, Levinas. Discussion. Requirements: attendance and active participation, one class presentation, one short (5 page) paper, and one longer (10-15 pages) final paper. Open to all classes without prerequisite. Enrollment limited to 30.

Hour: LEVENE