The Hallelujah Psalms (Ps. 146-150) Multi-Day

This is a multi-day class especially prepared for young leaners 12-17 years old, with material appropriate just for them. 

The following is a (very) technical description for parents to know about this class.  

The Psalms stand alone in the history of world literature.  Their poetry, laments, doxologies, and narratives have shaped the culture of each Abrahamic faith, and the course of Western civilization for millennia. 

Religious Studies is a secular academic discipline not based in any religious tradition.   It is a historical science using the tools of literary analysis, genre analysis, hermeneutics, intertextual exegesis, and other such academic tools to investigate the manuscript tradition, historical intentions, and reception history of ancient texts.  It is not based in any religious tradition nor opposed to any.  It is history and literature, pure and simple.  

Scholars speak of "the world of the text" when describing religious literature, meaning that we make no claims with respect to metaphysical realities (such as angels, demons, heaven, hell, etc.).  Instead, these claims are treated as literary constructs within those texts.  This is how we achieve respectful neutrality and objectivity in our analyses.  

This will also be an opportunity to speak of the actual historicity of textual narratives in religious remembrance.  For example, while the story of Queen Esther in the Hebrew Bible is celebrated in Judaism today with the Purim holiday, ancient historians including Herodotus and Cicero do not corroborate certain claims in the Book of Esther.  Scholars today instead see a complex story of what is known as "reception history" that is based on a kernel of historical truth, but became developed into a "scared myth" within that religious community to create a shared cultural heritage.  This class will discuss the historicity and legends surrounding the story Queen Esther, and how this is reflected and reified in the Psalms. 

In this class, the findings of scholars and academics is brought forward to reveal the place, context, intentions, and other important aspects of what are known as the five Hallelujah Psalms (psalms 146-150).  The aim is to reveal the significance of the psalms in the Abrahamic faiths and world history, and to provide students with an appreciation of the psalms and their timeless relevance as literature.

This class lasts for five (5) weeks, with each class focused on one Hallelujah Psalm as described below:

Week 1, Ps. 150 – The World as Temple 

The class begins with the final psalm of the psalter.  Its themes are music and history, and represents the beginning of Second Temple Judaism, a time after the Babylonian Exile when the people rebuild a temple, and "begin again" with faith and hope for the future.  

Week 2, Ps. 146 – The God of Justice  

This is the first psalm of the Hallelujah collection.  Its themes are justice and healing for a people who suffered through the Babylonian Captivity (which lasted 70 years), and who are now looking to Yahweh for solace and peace. 

Week 3, Ps. 147 – The God who Comforts 

This thanksgiving psalms further details the postexilic experience of the Judaic people.  Its themes include the "wisdom tradition" of the postexilic literature concerning the need for humility -- thematic comparisons will be made to the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Week 4, Ps. 148 – The God of Creation

This psalm highlights the place of nature itself within the religious community as co-celebrants, echoing themes from The Book of Job which is also a post-exile composition.  A particular subject of interest to be explored is the identity of the sea creature known as Leviathan within religious imagination.  

Week 5, Ps. 149 – Victory over Babylon 

This psalm celebrates the victory over Babylon, which was won, not with battles, but through steadfast faith, as well as celebrating the fearlessness and cunning of Queen Esther, the greatest Jewish Heroine in historical remembrance.  

This class will be in the form of an interactive seminar, which I present short lectures on particular themes, then engage the students with question/answer sessions.   

No background knowledge is required, or religious background needed.  No personal beliefs on religion or politics will be presented. The class is open to learners of any religious background or none at all.   The presentation will be historical, objective, secular, and academic.  

Topics covered include Second Temple Judaism, the Babylonian Captivity,  the postexilic literature, intertextuality, the Hallelujah Psalms, the Book of Job, Queen Esther, and the Book of Ecclesiastes.