One of the elements influencing our understanding of Israel’s relation with gentiles and other religions, is the biblical idea of being a blessing to others. Study of sources relating to Israel as blessing to others exposes us to important ways of conceiving of Israel’s role and mission. It also allows us to explore contemporary theological challenges and to engage in constructive theological thinking.

The rich array of annotated sources is the backbone of this model class. They include a variety of interpretations of what it means “to be a blessing.” Different theologies, attitudes and practices emerge from this variety, all of which find expression in contemporary Jewish attitudes and deserve to be the subject of theological inquiry in the classroom and beyond it. Since the sources are numerous, the topic may best be covered in two class sessions.

The purpose of the model class is to analyze the theological formulation of Israel constituting a blessing to other people as a prism through which fundamental issues related to contemporary Jewish self-understanding and views of other religions can emerge. The class seeks to cultivate independent thinking in dialogue with the sources, rather than prescribe a specific worldview. The texts come from a broad range of sources that represent all periods and schools of Jewish thought. The eclectic use of sources achieves several purposes. It makes us aware of the broad range of options available for contemporary theological thinking. It allows us to revisit the fundamental dynamics of Jewish thought and its constitutive tensions in performing our contemporary theological task. It also allows us to recover voices we may have lost sight of, and thereby broaden the conversation and the theological possibilities at our disposal.

The model class attempts to strike a balance between engaging texts in their diversity and thinking through theological issues, both classical and contemporary. The class is thus divided between analysis of texts and reflection upon their significance for contemporary theological challenges.