I was looking forward to the slower pace of class today, as I would only have 3 books to cover in the first 90-minute session and then only 1 book, the Psalms, to cover in the second 90-minute session.
The first session was going well, though I knew I had to keep things moving along. Then a staff member came to make an announcement. There was going to be a special speaker this morning, and I forgot about it. It meant that the planned assembly would have given me only 45 minutes in the first session. However, the staff member informed me that due to the train schedule, the assembly would be 20 minutes later! Great, I got 20 more minutes!
To put this in perspective, in the USA, a course with an equivalent credit value would have 39% more class time than what I calculated that this Swedish course has. There is more required reading in this Swedish version, but only about 20-25% more.
For the second 90-minutes, I over-viewed the Psalms for in the first half (lots of my slides give credit to you, Pam).
After a short break, we slowed down the pace and focused solely on Psalm 1, a Torah psalm and the introductory psalm which sets a tone for the rest of the book. I clarified that we wouldn’t get to look at other psalm genres, but we would have one normal paced session.
I had printed out Psalm 1 in 5 translations, 3 in English including the Jewish Publication Society version, and 2 in Swedish. We had a great class discussion on the different words used in these translations of the Hebrew word, אַשְׁרֵי, which in English is “blessed” or “happy.” There are two different words in the two main Swedish translations too. Then one student brought up the old Swedish translation of 1917 that uses still another word.
We did have a great class and the timing seemed just right.
After lunch was an employee meeting followed by a faculty meeting. I try to focus on the Swedish and pick out as many words as I can. Many speak too fast for me to pick up much. One guy has a Finnish-Swedish spoken with a deep voice. It sounds sort of like this, but two octaves lower.
I was tired, but I didn’t fall asleep. I doodled to stay awake!
With blessings,
Beth