This lecture series is a project of כרם בין תורה לחכמה, generously sponsored by R' Yoel Werzberger
00:20 How to achieve the ideal society is the most burning practical question of humanity and is also the fundamental subject of the Torah
3:00 One who cannot reason political questions from first principles cannot understand the Torah
4:15 To agree with the Torah is to understand the Torah
7:00 Judaism begins with the divine command to Abraham to establish the good society along with instructions how to do so
9:30 The notion of the land's holiness is universal and isn't limited to the Land of Israel
12:00 The Torah's approach to achieving the ideal society https://www.ebay.com/itm/374477700772
https://shnayor.substack.com/p/7_4
14:30 Viewing the world from God's perspective
17:30 The Torah model for humanity is that humanity should become as a race of angels
18:30 Philosophy's approach to establishing the ideal society
20:00 The Guide of the Perplexed 2:40 on the natural need for law
24:00 Maimonides implies that law is not necessary because people naturally do things that are wrong, but only because people need to function within society
27:45 If it's human nature to be cruel, then we can't assert that it's wrong to be cruel
31:25 The meaning of divine command is that there is a right way to do things beyond following your nature
33:30 Maimonidean ethics and the Golden Mean
35:30 The function of the Golden Mean in expanding a person's identity to include his society; this is a sensitivity that we can recover
41:30 What is the point of thinking for God? What does it add to human success and flourishing?
43:00 What is the relationship between the Torah's approach to achieving the ideal society and Philosophy's approach?
44:00 Various possibilities about the nature of the relationship