#12 Why do the Righteous Suffer?
Why do bad things happen to good people? This ancient question about how to make sense of all the senselessness is dealt with cryptically by Chazal, who put it at the heart of the human condition. Our lived experience is comprised alternatively of understanding Hashem and not understanding Him; these are two paths of life, […]
#11 Prayer: What and How
Two problems trouble people regarding prayer: first, how does it work (can our opinions influence God?), and second – but it doesn’t! Of course, if you can’t answer the first problem, you can’t begin to solve the second; understanding how prayer works is the key to making it work. Explore what the great Torah thinkers […]
#10 The Holy Tongue, Prayer and Prophecy
What is the essence of lashon hakodesh? Why is itinextricably linked with prophecy and prayer? Chazal hint that perfect knowledge depends on words. With the correct words for things, we have proper mental representation and accurate knowledge: we know what the world really is like from Hashem’s perspective, and we can affect it through word, […]
#9 The Interdependence of Prophecy and Idolatry, according to Reb Tzadok
At the same point in history, both prophecy and the impulse for idolatry ceased, changing the face of Judaism and its struggles. Can these two things – one of the greatest godliness, the other of the greatest wickedness – somehow be related? Yes, says Reb Tzadok, prophecy and idolatry have the same root: God’s immanence […]
#8 Understanding the History of Judaism; an alternative to Kuzari
The trajectory of Judaism seems to be a downward one: the era of prophecy and revelation in the Holy Land is past, while the current era is one of divine concealment. Indeed, according to Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi – whose opinion accords with Resh Lakish – we should be focused now on recovery, on regaining our […]
#7 The Lost Judaism; an introduction to Kuzari
Judaism as we know it is incomparable to the one that was, when Hashem communicated through prophets and dwelt among Yisrael. How are we to relate to this absence? Can we consider our religion complete in its current, diminished state? No, we cannot, says Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, and this incompleteness must always inform our religious […]
#6 Man’s Divine Image, according to the Shaarei Orah
Man was created “in the image of God.” What does this mean? How could the form of man be identified with the formless and shapeless God? Shaarei Orah teaches that the human being is the symbolic representation of the divine. God is formless, shapeless – and utterly unknowable. We can know Him only indirectly, through […]
#5 Imitatio Dei – Going in Hashem’s Ways, according to the Rambam
The Torah commands us to walk in the ways of Hashem: to be as He is and do as He does. But what does it mean for a mortal being to go in the ways of Hashem – can we truly define Hashem’s character traits and emulate them? No, says the Rambam, we cannot. Hashem […]
#4 The Nature of Shedim, according to the Rambam and the GR”A
What are shedim? Are these monstrous beings real? Explore the conflicting perspectives of two Torah giants about these issues, and learn how they provide a window into two divergent systems of religious thought. The dispute is based on fundamental questions about the focus of avodas Hashem. According to the Rambam, avodas Hashem is rooted in […]
#3 The Purpose of Creation, according to the Ramchal
Could a perfect God who lacks for nothing have a motive for creating the world? If He has no needs, what impetus is there for Him to create? Ramchal teaches that creation does indeed have a clear and specific purpose: goodness. God is good and therefore does good. Not out of need but out of […]