To help support this podcast, please consider making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com. Lecture series in Jewish Philosophy. What was the purpose of Creation? What is man's place in the world? What are prophecy and prayer about? What is the significance of Shabbos and the Promised Land? Explore these fundamental questions of Judaism from their sources, and become familiar with the systems developed by the great Torah thinkers: R' Saadiah Gaon, R' Yehuda HaLevi, R' Bachya ibn Paquda, Rambam and the school of the Mekubalim.
00:45 The turn and the tension in III:51, and its parallel in III:54, about whether the service of God involves turning away from this world or engaging with it 4:15 A new reason for all of the mitzvahs that runs counter to the reasons given earlier in the Guide 16:15 The contradiction in III:54: Is the true perfection of man intellectual or practical? 28:00 Why does Rambam think we cannot be like Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and Moshe? 40:30 Only the founders of the nation can be engaged with this world while remaining purely objective and focused on Hashem 54:30 The history of the Jewish Nation as the embodiment of Hashem's traits of Kindness, Justice and Righteousness, which are the hallmarks of Divine Providence 57:00 The perfection of man as individual is knowledge; the perfection of man as a member of the Jewish Nation is engagement in lived Kindness, Justice and Righteousness 1:01:00 "The unity of God in the world" – Kindness, Justice and Righteousness reflect God's unity in the dimension of the material world 1:05:00 Kindness, Justice and Righteousness for the collective correspond to intelligence for the individual
0:00 Has the time arrived for Judaism to cultivate a stance of ideological expansion? 5:00 The divine decree of separation between Israel and the nations 8:00 Is the role of Israel to teach other nations or to stand as a model? 13:15 Why da'as Hashem includes all the nations 17:30 Ideas that are privately held are not fully held 19:50 To teach da'as Hashem requires not claiming the status of a teacher of da'as Hashem 26:00 AI and globalized da'as 31:00 Keeping Torah internal preserves its integrity 40:45 If Israel would produce prophets, would the other nations come to study from them? 43:00 Should Torah sages be challenged to justify how their study is relevant to the nations? 48:45 Torah scholars in Israel should orient themselves toward the other nations; Torah scholars living among the nations should orient themselves toward Israel
Torah is a transmission from someone who went where no one else could go and came back to tell us not to. Moshe entered the source of all being and returned with a single mitzvah: stay outside. Everything else is commentary.
Rambam writes in the Guide, 3:41:The punishment meted out to anyone who has done wrong tosomebody else consists in general in his being given exactly the same treatment that he has given to somebody else. If he has injured the latter’s body, he shall be injured in his body… And he who has deprived someone of a member, shall be deprived of a similar member: “As he hath maimed a man, so shall it be rendered unto him” ( Leviticus 24:20). You should not engage in cogitation concerning the fact that in such a case we punish by imposing a fine. For at present my purpose is to give reasons for the [biblical] texts and not for the pronouncements of the legal sciences. Withal I have an opinion concerning this provision of legal science, which should only be expressed by word of mouth. What was the secret opinion Rambam held regarding this law?
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
0:00 What is Judaism all about? 2:00 Did the forefathers know the Name of Hashem or not? 4:00 Exodus initiated two seemingly different things: knowledge of Hashem and freedom from bondage 5:55 Where does the Torah fit into Exodus? 9:00 "Nobody is free but for he who studies Torah" – how does the Torah make a person free? 13:15 The prophets' opposition to sacrifices, in contradiction to the Torah 18:45 Midrash is the insistence to read verses closely and exactly 21:30 The focus of the prophets on da'as Hashem 25:45 The response to "I am Hashem" is da'as Hashem 29:30 Summary of the points made thus far 32:00 Moshe asked to know Hashem, and his request was denied 36:30 The contradiction between the Torah and the Prophets about whether Hashem can be seen 38:30 Two meanings of "seeing" and two meanings of "knowing" 43:00 A creature of super-human intelligence once visited earth and revealed that the totality of human knowledge is folly 46:15 It's easy to see Hashem – but then you die 48:00 Why sacrifices and da'as Hashem are mutually exclusive 50:30 Why suicide is the root problem of philosophy 1:02:00 Law is for those who don't have da'as Hashem 1:13:00 Moshe thought that his mission was one of bringing da'as Hashem to the people, just like all the prophets 1:18:45 Hashem told Moshe that the impossibility of da'as Hashem is also a fundamental component of the Torah 1:20:30 The one who has da'as Hashem is truly free, since his mind is the mind of Hashem 1:25:15 Judaism is fundamentally about freedom 1:28:45 "They did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of spirit and because of hard labor" – they refused to embrace da'as Hashem 1:31:30 You cannot understand anything about the Torah without realizing that there are two contradictory paths throughout the Torah 1:33:30 Is it impossible to be completely free; human beings cannot allow themselves to be completely free 1:36:30 In order to being thinking freely, there must be guardrails beyond which one wouldn't think 1:41:45 How the Torah is a function of the servitude in Egypt 1:43:30 True da'as Hashem is the hypothetical ideal 1:45:45 How the Torah supports the convincing illusion of da'as Hashem 1:47:30 Many people make the mistake of trying to make the Torah make sense and have it replace da'as Hashem 1:49:20 The stronger your da'as Hashem, the stronger your Torah needs to be
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
A shiur on Mishlei as royal education: parable as a technology of rule; Shlomo and the language of animals; the snake as political challenger; and the stabilizing role of the god-fearing woman. How to govern without being governed by one’s own symbols.
In this conversation, Zev and I discuss what role the Torah plays in the pursuit of knowing Hashem 00:30 Why do we require the Torah for the pursuit of da'as Hashem? 9:00 Can a person achieve da'as Hashem without the Torah? 16:30 Is the Torah the exclusive method that brings to da'as Hashem? 18:00 What is the Torah and to what genre does it belong? 21:45 It is impossible to disentangle Jewish values from the Torah 30:30 The Torah's words, narratives and practices anchor a person in da'as Hashem 40:00 Does all da'as Hashem trace its roots to the Torah? 51:00 Torah as Law and its difference from the Prophets: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364132946794... https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/ee-and-r-3_1-between-the-torah-and?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web 52:00 Da'as Hashem is absent from the Torah; Moshe is higher than the prophets by virtue of his recognition that Hashem is actually unknowable 53:30 The Law as guardrails against absolute freedom of thought 54:45 We cannot and will not contemplate infinity, and therefore we need the finitude of the Law 56:00 Paradoxically, restrictions allow for freedom of thought 1:00:00 The Jewish People is the greatest mitzvah 1:05:00 Summary of how the Torah serves da'as Hashem
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
0:00 How to wage war for Hashem 1:45 Rambam's treatment of the laws of Chanukah – a celebration of military victory – ends with the teaching that peace is the purpose of the whole Torah 4:45 Why Jews can't be inspired to wage war 8:15 The motivations of war 11:45 People who believe in fighting tend to fight more effectively; why polytheists are the better warriors 15:30 A person who believes that war will never be completely eradicated from the world will wage war with more conviction 18:30 King David couldn't build the House of Hashem because he was a man of war 20:25 Mashiach will wage war and also build the House of Hashem 26:30 Before the war of Gog U'Magog, Eliyahu the Prophet will come to make peace in the world 29:30 People are motivated to war because they value one thing more than any other thing; Hashem is not a thing, but rather the possibility of all things being harmonized 32:45 Hashem will tell Mashiach to smash his enemies with a metal bat, and Mashiach will refuse and instead offer Shalom 35:15 Mashiach can't fight for Hashem because Hashem is not a thing 36:15 The word "Shalom" is the thing for which Mashiach is motivated to fight 37:45 Polytheists have things to which they are dedicated and committed; the Jews have words instead of things 41:15 Jews care about nothing but words 43:45 Why Hashem alone has a Bible and the other gods don't 45:30 The Torah is a method of making something out of nothing 47:15 "Davar" means both thing and "word"; "Shalom" is the ultimate word because it is not a thing 52:30 By declaring the word "Shalom," a motivation for war is generated 55:45 Why Eliyahu's teaching of "Shalom" will trigger the ultimate war 59:45 Mashiach will wage war because he stands for peace 1:01:45 What makes Hashem effective in this world is words 1:05:00 Everything that Hashem does is for the good because of the people who say that everything that Hashem does is for the good 1:07:30 "Shalom Aleichem" is a verbal offer
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
In this conversation, Zev and I discuss the 1000-year era of prophecy, how the perfectly righteous man bends the world to the perfect good, and the challenges of the new prophecy. 1:45 Summary of the lecture "How to Reclaim Prophecy": • The New Knowledge of Hashem: How to Reclai... 6:00 Prophecy 1.0 is the guide to prophecy 2.0 8:20 Why we consider the era of prophecy to begin with the Exodus despite the great prophets who preceded it 10:00 The one thousand years of Jewish history recorded in Tanach stand as the paradigm of Divine Providence, when nothing occurred that lay outside its order 12:30 On public and private prophecy; why widespread public prophecy requires the Ark of the Covenant and the Mikdash 20:00 How the perfectly righteous man bends God's will to what is good in his eyes 26:15 Tefillah is the absolute commitment to what is right 32:30 The perfectly righteous man is the one who cannot abide any evil 38:30 Those who forgive some evil in themselves will forgive some imagined evil in God 42:30 Are we living in prophetic times? 44:15 Between the Rambam and R' Yehudah HaLevi 48:00 How come the great books don't discuss the new prophecy? 52:45 Would someone be able to do the original kind of prophecy today? 1:01:45 Today, even the greatest righteous person will accept the impersonal laws of nature as being righteous 1:07:00 The challenges of the new prophecy
" Exodus, Exile and Redemption " is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history. Written essays are published bi-weekly here . Please subscribe! This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
When the yetzer for idolatry was abolished, prophecy vanished with it. The world, once speaking, went silent. In that silence, was born science: the study of a universe that follows law but no longer reveals purpose.We follow the transformation from the enchanted world of the prophets, through the impersonal age of universals, to the modern possibility of a renewed da’as Hashem. It asks whether we can once again see the world as personal — without falling back into idolatry — and what kind of self would make that possible. 00:45 The abolition of the inclination to idolatry 2:00 With the abolition of the inclination to idolatry, prophecy came to an end 4:30 What conditions would favor the reawakening of the inclination to idolatry and prophecy? 6:20 Why are sources and texts necessary for learning about ideas or reality? 3 models 15:15 The connection between the abolition of the inclination to idolatry and prophecy — the world, once enchanted, lost its enchantmentOn the enchanted world: https://shnayor.substack.com/p/how-to... 18:00 Is the world personal? 20:00 The question of whether the world is personal hinges on the problem of evil 23:45 To converse with God through His creation is completely natural for one who conceives of His good character manifest in His creation 25:00 If the good divine character is manifest in only a part of reality, polytheism results 28:30 What "good" means 30:00 The problem of evil for the unified personal God 32:00 Moshe's request to know Hashem was a quest to understand evil: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor... 33:30 The denial of Moshe's request is the reason the Torah teaches Hashem's unknowability: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor... Between the Torah and the Prophets: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364132946794... 35:00 The perfectly righteous man bends Hashem's action to the good he knows in his human soul: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364134646725... 38:00 The prophets see God as good in their own image; why Moshe rejected that anthropocentric goodness 43:30 Free will is central to the question of whether Hashem is good on the basis of human goodness 44:15 The thousand-year era of prophecy when Hashem was known in His goodness: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor... 48:00 Why the prophetic relationship with Hashem leads imperfect people into idolatry 51:45 The end of prophecy and the beginning of science 53:00 Science and the depersonalization of nature 54:45 In the post-prophetic era, Israel didn't need to be independent, since Hashem's impersonal unity is universal and not particular to His revelation among Israel 59:25 Can we yet make the world personal again? 1:00:00 The shift in the sense of self from what is temporal to that which is eternal 1:02:00 The eternal moral laws are purely good, without contradiction 1:08:45 Are we ready for the shift to the new prophecy? 1:10:00 Why do we require a particular nation in the era of universal knowledge of Hashem? https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor... https://www.ebay.com/itm/374477700772 1:11:30 The reality of Jewish sovereignty suggests it is time for the new da'as Hashem 1:13:30 Q & AWhy would the new da'as Hashem be any safer?What would idolatry look like under the new paradigm?Would religion that requires such a shift in the sense of self be meaningful to people? 1:18:00 Why the prophets took the easier path at first 1:21:00 Where the notion of a self came from 1:23:00 On the centrality of respecting parents and how that shifts our sense of self: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor... Why would a soul not care about the destruction of the body?Would the new prophecy be different?
