Date | Class | | OQ | C | H | E | K | R | Comments | Flag Rating |
02/14/2012 | 2658 - Seven Minor Prophets | | 5.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Yes | Material is fantastic... | |
01/03/2012 | 1834 - Jewish Intellectual History | | 4.2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Yes | So the good: He is extremely knowledgeable, and he honestly wants to help students, and will listen to any question and take the time to answer it. So, in that, its worth taking him to get to know him and be able to use him as a resource. Also, he typically does not assign much, and all you got is the final and a paper.
The bad though, is that lectures are not life-altering events, to say the least. He's not the greatest speaker in the world, and classes are pretty much him lecturing on his chiddushim on the matter at hand, and while he does have a lot to say, you may find yourself regularly beating your solitaire high score. I recommend, but with reservations. | |
05/17/2011 | 2658 - Seven Minor Prophets | | 3.8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Yes | He doesn't give any assignments. The final is the only grade. | |
12/18/2009 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Yes | ovverated how easy the class is, but he is the man | |
05/12/2009 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | Yes | Rabbi Carmy is a rare gem. Take him no matter what, even if it means waiting a year. no not take any other professor for intro. | |
01/21/2009 | 1833 - Jewish Intellectual History | | 2.8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | No | Do not by any circumstances be fooled by the great number of "Carmy Hasidim." R' Carmy is not a good teacher. In fact he is quite a bad one. While R' Carmy may know alot (though not much more than most Jewish Studies professors) he has a Shakespearean sized fatal flaw. All he does is lecture. From the moment he opens the door, until about 10 minutes after class was supposed to end, he lectures continuously, with little to no breaks. He lectures extremely dryly, monotonously, and slowly, transmitting about 10 minutes worth of information per class (making it impossible to concentrate, even if you want to). He also speaks in a low, mumbling disorganized fashion, so even if you do concentrate, you don't really get what he's trying to say. Last, but not least, his scholarship is antiquated, and he knows of few scholarly developments since the 90's (or 50's?). In short, while there may have been a time when R' Carmy was good, that time is long past. Stay away; far, far away. [ 2/6 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
01/21/2009 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 2.8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Yes | if you talk to someone before you take the class, then you wont have to stress it. if you know what to do you dont have to do much work for the class. but his class is really dull. [ 1/1 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
08/27/2008 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Yes | Def the class to take for intro. only has a final and a paper due at the end. take it! | |
05/12/2008 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Yes | Recently it's been harder to get an A from only mesorah. | |
03/26/2008 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Yes | In another world. I aced the final and got a B. I asked him why, if it had anything to do with the paper (which he didn't return) and the answer I got was that he doesn't grade his own tests nor read the papers and he doesn't know why I got that grade prob because the graders had to give only a certain number of each grade (a, b, etc) as per his instructions... [ 2/3 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
01/30/2008 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No | Very Bad!!!! [ 0/2 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
06/21/2007 | 1903 - Belief and Religious Commitment | | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Yes | The course is about how to approach the issues surrounding belief in G-d. Why don't people believe? Is belief meant to be rational or irrational? What motivations outside of truth can lead a person to belief? What are the semantic differences between belief, faith, trust, belief in, acceptance, etc? These are huge, important questions and the discussion is intelligent and not shallow or one-sided. R' Carmy knows his stuff. The most important and most worthwhile class I've taken so far, by far. Do yourself a favor and take it. | |
06/21/2007 | 2117 - Joshua/Judges | | 4.8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Yes | A Yarei Shamayim who knows everything and wants you to as well. Take the opportunity to really learn Shoftim - ask questions, think about his questions, talk to him outside of class, and you'll really be cashing in on an opportunity to learn Shofitm intelligently. Oh, and, of course, as is par for the course, expect random stories and tangents. | |
05/09/2007 | 2117 - Joshua/Judges | | 4.2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Yes | This is the best class Carmy has given yet. Unlike the others, he doesnt nearly tangent as much as his other courses | |
04/28/2007 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Yes | You won't find anyone who knows as much in his fields, or even out of his fields, as R' Carmy. His points are very clearly organized in his head, to the extent that he simply reminds himself what he was up to and then starts talking, but the clarity can sometimes get a little lost in translation. The paper is a tremendous growing experience if you put work into it, though I hear most people don't. And the test - well, pay attention to when he points out not just what the mephorshim say, but why it's important, implications, etc - the subject of the questions are fair, but the angles are slightly skewed. Also, he's very adament about his frumkeit, he'll lay down that the class is about Yiras Shamayim, and he'll make jokes about what kofrim have written about Torah (he's read them all), and it helps for breathing easier. [ 1/1 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
02/15/2007 | 4931 - Thoughts of Rav Soloveitchik | | 3.2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | No | He doesnt know how to end class and daily goes 20 minutes past class time. Just walk out. Its fine. [ 1/1 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
12/14/2006 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Yes | Great teacher. Knows about everything. Always avaliable. Not a lot of work util the end of the semester when he requires papers and final. [ 2/2 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
12/13/2006 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Yes | use the notes on this site and follow along as he speaks in class [ 1/1 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
11/28/2006 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 3.8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Yes | Great professor. | |
10/23/2006 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 3.8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | Yes | Good [ 0/1 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
10/17/2006 | 1015 - Introduction to the Bible | | 4.5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | Yes | Rabbi Carmy is a genius take advantage of him. He is also extremely patient. just don't ask him any stupid questions and waste his time. [ 2/2 people found this rating helpful. ] | |
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