The Great Sources with Rabbi Shnayor Burton: Recent Episodes
Shnayor Burton
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.
Opportunities for sponsorship of podcasts are available. Rabbi Burton can be reached at: oros.yaakov@gmail.com
What is the nature of the relationship between Yisrael and the nations?
What does the Torah expect from the other nations?
Is conversion a positive or a negative?
What is the function of conversion to Judaism in the Torah's plan and in the destiny of Yisrael?
Guest Shiur in Kodesh, North Woodmere
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
0:00 Q: Is the Messiah something we generate or something that happens to us?
4:00 What the Messiah will do and how he will do it
7:15 Why do we study Torah these days if we don't truly have the Torah in exile?
8:30 What is the Torah about?
11:00 Why the Torah doesn't work outside of Eretz Yisrael
13:15 The most burning question is: "What is the Torah about?," i.e. "What is da'as Hashem?"
18:00 How can the Torah assert that man is in the image of God if people kill each other?
20:00 Are there fundamentally unbridgeable differences between human beings?
22:45 The Torah doesn't reveal truths as much as it gives a vision of what can be
24:45 Torah as a radical document suggesting what can be
26:45 In order to understand the Torah, we have to view it within a historical lens as well28:45 We can't tell people they don't have Torah
31:45 Not everyone could be Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi who lived in the past and the future
36:00 Why there developed a concept of the Redemption as something that will happen to us miraculously
40:30 In the past, there was no way to talk about Redemption without using miraculous terminology
43:00 Why people believe in being passive; the great danger of hastening the End before its time45:15 Whether the world is ready for something depends on whether we are ready for it
47:00 Those who have no understanding of Redemption should indeed do nothing about it
50:30 Summary
This lecture is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
4:50 Getting angry is akin to idolatry 6:00 Why is Judaism's vision so challenging to achieve?7:00 God's unity is approached through 3 pathways, represented by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob11:00 The problem of evil is the reason that humans can't weave all of being around one good principle13:10 Isaac represents the problem of evil15:40 Why would God tell Abraham to slaughter Isaac?19:30 How can we organize our psyche around one principle given that there is both good and evil?22:15 The great men who attempted to bring the Messiah - Yehudah and Hezekiah, sons of Rabbi Chiya26:00 Redemption depends on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob being in harmony27:45 The book of Malachi and its vision; the role of Elijah the Prophet in effecting a rapprochement among the forefathers32:00 How to effect that rapprochement and solve the problem of evil33:15 The problem of evil is based on taking our subjective existence as a source of value36:00 Thinking of yourself as cause instead of effect40:00 Sacrificial worship is nihilistic, until Malachi reinterpreted it47:00 Sh'ma and Hashem as our father51:15 How we can achieve the Jewish visionThis lecture is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
1:00 Sh'ma is a constant guide to our lives
3:45 The meaning of the Sh'ma according to Rashi
4:30 The meaning of there being many gods
6:30 Metaphysics is not interesting to Tanach
8:15 Whether there are many gods or only one depends on people's behavior
10:00 When you say Sh'ma, you should envision redemption and plan for it
12:00 How humanity will attain the Messianic Era and what we should do about it
14:00 Unity and love
16:45 Reaching "Hashem is one" without defining Hashem
20:00 Humanity converging on one value means they are serving Hashem; all the Torah cares about is not serving "other gods"
22:45 Not every monotheist serves Hashem; "as if" being an idolater is extremely important27:00 The Messianic Era is not totalitarian
28:30 Human progress and reaching unity of Hashem
31:45 Everyone has a god; the god that you "as if" worship is more important for some purposes than the god that you actually worship
34:30 The unity of action achieved by a person who worships one God must apply to any potential future experiences as well, which is why you have to envision giving up your life when saying Sh'ma
38:00 The Jewish problem and the 70 ministering angels
42:00 Creation ex nihilo and disregard for the universe
45:20 Why Jews must be unlike other nations; how to effect unifications
48:30 How to manipulate history and why we need to program AI to effect Redemption
This lecture is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
1:15 "הא לחמא עניא": our conversation centers around the meal; the 4 questions are all about food5:00 "עבדים היינו": the answer to the son's question; the son's question is that the events of the past are not current events, so why is the night of Pesach treated as a unique time10:00 The significance of the fact that it is the son who asks the question: the next generation doesn't understand why the past is relevant to it13:30 "ואילו לא הוציא הקב"ה את אבותינו ממצרים הרי אנו ובנינו ובני בנינו משעובדים היינו לפרעה": there are moments in life that have historic, cosmic import17:00 "ברוך המקום": the Torah talks about the sons in 4 places, corresponding to 4 kinds of children19:00 "אילו היה שם לא היה נגאל": the wicked son doesn't accept that there are significant, historic moments in life, and without realizing that, he wouldn't have seized the opportunity of redemption and would have stayed behind in Egypt21:30 והמבין יבין!22:40 "מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה": a new narrative, according to which the servitude in Egypt is part of the solution, not part of the problem26:00 The recurring historic theme of Jewish suffering and redemption and its providential purpose; a second answer to the son's question about history30:00 והמבין יבין!33:10 The natural causes of Jewish suffering and persecution35:30 "צא ולמד": the recurring theme already happened with the forefathers; a segue into "ארמי אובד אבי"38:15 "רבן גמליאל היה אומר": a third answer to the son's question about history: it happened to us as well, in every generation40:15 The whole Haggadah revolves around the question about how the past bears on the present43:00 "חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים": meaning and how it's done44:30 "ואותנו הוציא משם": Aristotle on natural slaves; how freedom really depends on knowing Hashem; the most honest people would be slaves if they lacked knowledge of Hashem
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by Mr. Ari Schwartz. This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.Highlights:0:00 Abraham's project to strip away divinity from the universe and its association with Creation ex Nihilo
7:00 Divine bodies
11:00 Overview of the Guide 2:25
17:00 Maimonides' seven questions on the Torah
23:30 The middle question suggests that mitzvahs have no reason, contrary to Maimonides' opinion
29:00 That God has an unfathomable intent is the foundation of the Torah; Torah is irreducible to reason
34:00 If Aristotle's model of reality were to be proven, the Torah would be eventually abandoned, because if Torah is reducible to reason, it would be dispensable
45:30 The reasonableness of idolatry
49:15 Why is idolatry reasonable if it's based on the eternity of the universe?
51:00 The project of the Torah to uproot idolatry is the project of promoting the doctrine of Creation ex Nihilo and God's unfathomable intent in general55:00 Abraham and Moses brought back God's intent into history
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by Mr. Ari Schwartz. This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.2:00 Passages in the Guide that indicate that Creation ex Nihilo is known through revelatory prophecy
8:15 How Abraham reached knowledge of God through contemplating the heavens
19:30 Was Abraham an Aristotelian philosopher?
25:00 Prophecy revealed the truth that Creation ex Nihilo is the proper belief, not that Creation ex Nihilo is a scientific, cosmological fact
44:45 Since we believe that Abraham and Moshe had divine revelation, their personal philosophical speculations don't concern us
48:30 Maimonides' story about how Abraham discovered God is a deliberate anachronism
52:30 The project of the Guide of the Perplexed and how the perplexity shifts dramatically when it comes to Creation
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by Mr. Ari Schwartz. This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.6:00 What are the possible reasons one would accept Creation ex Nihilo?
8:00 Avraham and Moshe as authorities and leaders who we follow and from whom we accept the doctrine of Creation ex Nihilo
18:00 Jews are the community of followers of Avraham, their forefather, and Moshe, their prophet
21:45 What a person should do when facing an issue that isn't conclusively proven
30:30 Why authorities determine the appropriate beliefs and how belief is a kind of practice
36:00 The belief in Creation ex Nihilo is a matter of law, not only a matter of scientific truth
45:00 Was Maimonides himself developing original legislation regarding Creation ex Nihilo?
51:00 Why rhetorical arguments in favor of Creation ex Nihilo are appropriate
55:00 Maimonides' original legislation of dogma
57:15 Revelatory prophecy as the source for the belief in Creation ex Nihilo
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by Mr. Ari Schwartz. This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.0:00 The Mutakallimun approach to creation and Maimonides' rejection thereof 9:00 The three opinions about how the world follows from God: that of the Torah of Moshe; that of Plato; and that of Aristotle26:00 The goal of those who follow the Torah of Moshe and Abraham 29:00 The metric to determine what is possible and what is impossible, and how to apply this to creation ex nihilo35:00 The fundamental difference between a religious person and a philosopher39:00 Abraham and Moshe and the invention of religion42:30 The meaning of Abraham's call in the name of "Hashem, God of the world"51:45 The logic underpinning idolatry 59:00 The connection between idolatry and the eternity of the world1:02:00 Maimonides as a blend of a religious person and a philosopher
This shiur was generously sponsored by an anonymous donor for the merit of the speedy, safe and healthy return of the Hostages.The source sheet for this shiur is available here.
Highlights0:30 The 2 divergent Torahs and 2 divergent purposes of mitzvahs: one for the masses, the other for the elite individuals
9:30 Maimonides explicitly contradicts himself regarding whether a person should be moderately humble or practice extreme self-abasement
22:00 Maimoinides' own personal change of character as a result of experience and years
27:00 How life changes a person, and why a different kind of behavior is appropriate for young people than for older people
30:30 Maimonides teaches both a theoretical ideal and what is appropriate in practice
33:00 We no longer treat people according to how they themselves treat us
38:00 An eye for an eye (https://youtu.be/fpAdWSy_mZA?si=yoCYdDm12MGHZrRw)
42:00 Some texts are meant only as ideals and not to be executed in practice
44:00 We must study the ways of Hashem, and we must also know that we can't ever perfectly emulate them
47:30 Extreme lowliness stands in tension with good character and wisdomThis series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
This shiur was generously sponsored by an anonymous donor for the merit of the speedy, safe and healthy return of the Hostages.The source sheet for this shiur is available here.
Highlights0:30 Overview of chapters 3-4 of Shemona Perakim9:00 Contradictions in Maimonides' view regarding extremism15:00 The view of R' Avraham son of Maimonides on the virtue of ascetism and extremism17:30 Why law is necessary; man is a political animal24:30 Extreme cruelty is not inherently wrong for an individual; it only hinders him from living in society27:15 Are character traits natural or are they learned behaviors?30:00 Ethics as politics37:15 The need for political thinking and why it fell out of style40:15 The Torah is for the whole nation, not for special individuals43:00 Why the prophets didn't practice celibacy46:30 Torah law engenders uniformity, and therefore any destabilizing, extreme behavior must be kept hidden 52:15 Moderation as the key to the redemptionThis series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by an anonymous donor for the merit of the speedy, safe and healthy return of the Hostages.
The source sheet for this shiur is available here
Highlights:Why doesn't Maimonides include a good imagination among the human virtues?
What the imagination does and what makes it good
The definition of prophecy, the human being's highest perfection
Prophets need to have a good imagination
Animals also have an imaginative faculty on a par with humans
What imagination does, and how it is similar to and differs from reason
The imagination can't avoid materialism
Prophecy is not a characteristic inherent to being human
Three opinions about prophecy
Analyzing Maimonides' understanding of prophecy
There are two ways to view man: As intellect alone, or as a composite of intellect and body
The imagination is part of man's perfection only from the perspective of as a composite being comprised of intellect and body as well
Why many wise people didn't become prophets
Those who consider prophecy a characteristic inherent to being human consider man to be a body
This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored by an anonymous donor for the merit of the speedy, safe and healthy return of the Hostages.
The source sheet for this shiur is available here.
Highlights:
Overview of chapter 2 of the Shemona PerakimThe definition of "virtue" – human excellenceWhich parts of the soul can the Torah mold?Why the imaginative faculty can't be obedient or disobedientWhich parts of the human being participate in reason, which is the essence of the human beingDesire can become rational, but imagination can't become rationalWhy mitzvahs and aveirahs are primarily related to actionsThere are no chukkim when it comes to thoughts or words, only actionsThe nutritive faculty of the soul acts unreasonablyDid the nutritive faculty of Moshe's soul act unreasonably?This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.0:00 The importance of the Golden Mean in Maimonides' thought4:15 What makes the Torah divine?7:45 Is it possible for a person to be absolutely perfect?10:00 Maimonides considers a perfect human being to be not a human being but rather an angel14:00 How a person can become an angel17:45 How the perfect person can transfer himself from the angelic realm back to the human realm22:00 People who have no virtues are not human beings but animals25:00 The behavior of humans that became angels28:00 For 40 days, Moshe didn't eat – only his body did32:30 What does it mean that Moshe was made an "Elohim"?40:15 Moshe's sin: anger45:00 When Maimonides mentions that he went off topic, it's a red flag that there is a secret that he's concealing46:00 How could it be that Moshe became angry if he was perfect in character?49:30 The perfection of the Torah depends on the perfection of Moshe51:00 How a leader should pretend to get angry to scare his followers, and why Moshe couldn't do that 54:00 The absolute impossibility of an absolutely perfect leader58:30 Hashem gets angry only regarding idolatry1:00:00 The lowest Jew was like a prophet by virtue of being in the presence of the angel, Moshe1:03:00 Moshe's actions are akin to prophecy, and therefore his actions of pretending to lose his temper represent that it is appropriate to lose his temper1:05:00 Moshe's anger was inappropriate because his leadership is not the only viable leadership, and that's why his leadership was brought to an end
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.0:00 The Structure of Chapters 1-5 of the Shemona Perakim2:45 The essence of man and the aim of man is reason, and the ultimate reason is God9:00 Doing everything for the sake of heaven isn't a religious exercise, but is rather a selfish exercise15:30 A person should do everything for the sake of heaven in order to be a true human being23:45 Knowing Hashem is knowing truth28:00 The divinity of intellect36:00 Man should be aware of being in the constant presence of his own godly intellect39:45 "The Holy, Blessed, be He," as codeword for intellect according to Rema43:15 If a human is supposed to become an intellect, then why does he have a body?48:30 Maimonides isn't here to tell human beings what to do; he's here to make them into human beings who will then know themselves what to do53:30 Is the perfection of man intellectual or practical?
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.
Highlights:
Themistius' Law: Reality doesn't follow opinion; rather, correct opinions follow from reality
The universe comports with how humans think
The centrality of humans to the universe is based on the fact that humans can understand the universe
On Kabbalah and philosophy
According to Maimonides, explanatory power reflects truth, but there are also things that are inexplicable; according to Aristotle, everything is explicable
Human beings are explicators
Maimonides opposes predicating the existence of God on creation ex nihilo because creation ex nihilo is inexplicable
If we could explain everything, we wouldn't have awe of God
God is the ultimate explanation, and the human that knows Him is the ultimate human being
The Will of God is inexplicable
The awe that miracles induce is based on us considering ourselves explicators and considering explanation valid; why animals don't have awe of Heaven
Maimonides' strange description of the Chanukkah miracle
Man's sphere lends itself to explanation, and the heavens don't lend themselves to explanation
This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
Highlights:Maimonides' definition of scientific knowledgeScience and permanent, unchanging rulesScience, reason and the eternity of the universeThe definition of scientific knowledge according to Aristotle, and the eternity of the universe a parte ante and a parte postMaimonides believes that the universe will always exist in the futureThe duality of God's wisdom and His will; how creation is His will that there be wisdomThe world, created ex nihilo, was created as something that must have existed eternallyThe age of the universeThe proof to the existence of the deity and the eternity of the universeR' Y. Emden's criticism of the 1st chapter of Mishneh Torah and its reference to the eternity of the universe a parte ante This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To sponsor this lecture or other projects, contact us at 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
Ha'aretz Asher Arecha - R. Shnayor Burton הארץ אשר אראך - חובת הישיבה בארץ ישראל | eBayThe Land I Will Show You, table of contents (substack.com)
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.
Highlights:
Summary of chapter 1 of SP: What is a human being?
The definition of "soul"
Hylomorphism
Do humans have 1 or 3 souls?
The significance of humans having 1 soul
Second-level human beings
Human beings can be animals or something more sublime
Why a person become a different entity when he gains intelligence This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.
Highlights:The tension at the heart of being a human The divine intellectThe honor of one's Maker is his own intellectWho can bend the Law The laws of Chazal are also from God and become part and parcel of the divine Torah When Maimonides himself bent the Law, and how he viewed himself as a divine legislatorMaimonides bent the Law so that he shouldn't develop bad character traitsThe one who can say what the Torah is all about is the one who can adjust the TorahWhy Rabbinical mitzvahs and enactments are not considered an addition to the TorahAccept the truth from whoever said itThe argument against accepting the truth from whoever said itThis series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
The video shiur is here
Highlights:
How does the study of ethics lead to prophecy?
The end of all human activity and the primacy of reason
The Golden Mean and the rule of reason
The spiritual level of prophets
The Holy Spirit and prophecy
What kind of divine spirit rests on a person who transcends his habits?Through transcending the bodily urges and habits a person becomes connected with the divine
Why should we heed Chazal's laws?
Divine inspiration and Chazal, according to the Kuzari
What makes the Torah divine?
Q & A
This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
The video shiur is here
Highlights:
Rambam begins by referencing the author of the Mishnah, Rabbi Yehudah the PrinceWhy should we heed Chazal's laws?Rambam is hinting to us to think of Avos as the teaching for political leaders and prophetsThe differences between Rambam's list of the chain of tradition and the chain given in AvosThe veracity and reliability of the Torah's traditionWhat does it take to be a Tanna?Avos as Rabbi Yehudah the Prince's introduction to MishnahRambam and al-Farabi's "Aphorisms of the Statesman"Rambam talks about the wise man where al-Farabi talks about the king or statesmanOnce we have the Torah, we have no need for the science of legislationDo we need to study ethics if we have halacha?Legislators are the ones who really need to have ethical wisdomQ & A
This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.
"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.Written essays are published bi-weekly here:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a 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:https://shnayor.substack.com/s/from-exodus-to-exile-to-redemptionPlease subscribe!This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
In this 5-part miniseries, we explore the tension between the universalistic role of the Jewish people versus the particularism of their destiny, with a focus on residing in Eretz Yisrael.
For the video version of this lecture, click here.
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
For more on this topic, subscribe to https://shnayor.substack.com/ and follow the essay series entitled "Exodus, Exile and Redemption."
In this 5-part miniseries, we explore the tension between the universalistic role of the Jewish people versus the particularism of their destiny, with a focus on residing in Eretz Yisrael.
For the video version of this lecture, click here.
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
For more on this topic, subscribe to https://shnayor.substack.com/ and follow the essay series entitled "Exodus, Exile and Redemption."
In this 5-part miniseries, we explore the tension between the universalistic role of the Jewish people versus the particularism of their destiny, with a focus on residing in Eretz Yisrael.
For the video version of this lecture, click here
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
For more on this topic, subscribe to https://shnayor.substack.com/ and follow the essay series entitled "Exodus, Exile and Redemption."
In this 5-part miniseries, we explore the tension between the universalistic role of the Jewish people versus the particularism of their destiny, with a focus on residing in Eretz Yisrael.
For the video version of this lecture, click here
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
For more on this topic, subscribe to https://shnayor.substack.com/ and follow the essay series entitled "Exodus, Exile and Redemption."
In this 5-part miniseries, we explore the tension between the universalistic role of the Jewish people versus the particularism of their destiny.
For the video version of this lecture, click here
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
For more on this topic, subscribe to https://shnayor.substack.com/ and follow the essay series entitled "Exodus, Exile and Redemption."
הסבר שיטת הרמב"ם בשבועות
הסבר שיטת הרמב"ם באיסור יציאה מבבל
ביאור כל הסוגיא בכתובות דף קי ע"ב
Ha'aretz Asher Arecha - R. Shnayor Burton הארץ אשר אראך - חובת הישיבה בארץ ישראל | eBay
This lecture is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing projects of the foundation, please consider making a donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.
Ha'aretz Asher Arecha - R. Shnayor Burton הארץ אשר אראך - חובת הישיבה בארץ ישראל | eBay
Unapologetics | Rabbi Shnayor Burton | Substack
Ha'aretz Asher Arecha - R. Shnayor Burton הארץ אשר אראך - חובת הישיבה בארץ ישראל | eBay
The Land I Will Show You, #3 - by Rabbi Shnayor Burton (substack.com)
Amazon.com: Crescas: Light of the Lord (Or Hashem): Translated with introduction and notes: 9780198724896: Weiss, Roslyn: Books
Unapologetics | Rabbi Shnayor Burton | Substack
Rabbi Shnayor Burton | Linktree
Amazon.com: Aristotle: A Very Short Introduction: 9780192854087: Barnes, Jonathan: Books
מורה נבוכים / יוסף בכה"ר דוד קאפח (daat.ac.il)
מורה נבוכים / יוסף בכה"ר דוד קאפח (daat.ac.il)
מורה נבוכים / יוסף בכה"ר דוד קאפח (daat.ac.il)
מורה נבוכים / יוסף בכה"ר דוד קאפח (daat.ac.il)
Substack Dashboard - Unapologetics
Rabbi Shnayor Burton | Linktree
To Design a Soul | Shnayor Burton | Substack
To sponsor a lecture in whole or in part, or with questions and comments, email Rabbi Burton at oros.yaakov@gmail.com.
משנה תורה | מפעל משנה תורה (mishnetorah.co.il)
ספרי חיים | ספרי קודש בזול | מורה הנבוכים להרמב''ם מהדורת הרב י. קאפח - הרב קוק | הנהגות והשקפה (hbooks.co.il)
מורה נבוכים ב' כרכים | פרופ` מיכאל שוורץ (divreishir.co.il)
מורה נבוכים ברזני עם תרגומו של ר' יהודה אבן תיבון ועם ג' פירושים (sefer.org.il)
Friedberg Jewish Manuscript Society (genizah.org)
My recent essay:
https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/who-is-called-man?r=111271&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Link to the האמונה הרמה:
emunarama.pdf (daat.ac.il)
To sponsor an episode, in full in or part, or with any questions or comments, contact Rabbi Burton at: oros.yaakov@gmail.com
If you would like to sponsor an episode, please contact Rabbi Burton at oros/yaakov@gmail.com
emunarama.pdf (daat.ac.il)
If you'd like to sponsor an episode, please email Rabbi Burton at oros.yaakov@gmail.com
https://anchor.fm/shnayor-burton/episodes/S1--E31-Eretz-Yisrael--Land-of-Holiness--according-to-the-Kuzari-ehou3b
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1723156/9712105
Intro to אמונות ודעות and creation ex nihilo
Here are links to the editions that I'm using:
The Book of Beliefs and Opinions. Translated from the Arabic and the Hebrew By Samuel Rosenblatt: Gaon, Saadia. Rosenblatt, Samuel, Tr.: Amazon.com: Books
הנבחר באמונות ובדעות / יוסף בכה"ר דוד קאפח (daat.ac.il)
Season 3 will dive into the most fundamental and intriguing works of Torah thought. We will dedicate 4 episodes each to reviewing the following great books:
1) אמונות ודעות
2) חובות הלבבות
3) כוזרי
4) האמונה הרמה
5) מורה נבוכים
6) אור השם
In this final episode of Season 2 we explore yet one more aspect of godly vision and how to attain it and also learn how to redeem the land, freeing it from Satan and sanctifying it through thoughts ands action to ultimately create Heaven on Earth.
For this episode's sources, click here
For the updated, full chart of season 2, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!
You can email Rabbi Burton with questions or comments at oros.yaakov@gmail.com
"Send for yourself men, and let them explore the land of Canaan"/ "You will see it and remember… Then you won't go exploring the lusts of your own heart or your eyes."
Tzitzis teaches us how to be successful meraglim: by seeing beneath the surface.
For this episode's sources, click here
For the essay, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
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We are all meraglim now.
If you can articulate what was the question that the meraglim set out to determine and can reach a conclusion about that, then you too are a meragel. You must take a position: are you with Yehoshua and Calev or are you with the other ten?
Let the deliberations begin!
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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What would it take for a land to become a dwelling-place for God and how could humans make it so?
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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How do you learn to see as Hashem does? And what will this do to you?
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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Eretz Yisrael is so central to the Torah. But why? Learn the meaning of "דעת אלהים בארץ," how to experience Hashem and His Divine attributes in the Holy Land – and how to achieve this.
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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You can email Rabbi Burton with questions or comments at oros.yaakov@gmail.com
Eretz Yisrael is so central to the Torah. But why?
Learn the meaning of "הארץ אשר אראך"; how we can learn to see things from Hashem's perspective.
For this episodes sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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We have finally reached the answer to the question that we set out to answer: Should we live in Eretz Yisrael? All of season 2 is summarized in this episode, and matters are brought to their crystal-clear conclusion.
For the chart of season 2, click here.
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here.
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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Exile was punishment for being lax in giving ma'aser. Does it follow that we shouldn't attempt to return to Eretz Yisrael before we rectify our deficiency in that regard?
Explore what the sources in Chazal teach us about this matter, and learn what we can do to remedy this shortcoming.
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
For this episode's sources, click here
To access the shiurim on Kol Halashon, via phone:
Dial (718) 521 5231; press *7; and then code 912147
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Rabbenu Chaim Kohen said that due the insurmountable challenge posed by the commandments associated with the land – terumos, ma'asros, shemittah etc. – there is "currently" no mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael.
What is the underlying logic of this position?
Did he intend this for his time or for our time too?
Is this the halachah?
For this episode's sources, click here
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Does exile serve a constructive, divine purpose in history, or is it merely a problem to be rectified? Will the post-exile era of redemption look the same as the pre-exile era, or will something be fundamentally different?
Come study the sodos of Jewish history.
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this epsiode, click here
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The relationship between Hashem and His people is portrayed dramatically in the Song of Songs, a parable about love, which ends with a climactic trial: is the woman (Knesses Yisrael) faithful – a "wall" – or not?
Did the nation pass this great trial or did it fail? What are the ramifications for how we understand our state of exile today, and how we should act vis-à-vis Eretz Yisrael and redemption?
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The return of the Babylonian exiles to Zion was supposed to be miraculous, like the first coming in the days of Yehoshua, but the "sin" had its effects and the Jews returned only by the permission of Cyrus, King of Persia.
What was the sin? Where did we go wrong? And what should we do to make things right?
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
For the related conversations on The Book of Memories, click here and here
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Are we awaiting Hashem, or is He awaiting us?
The Kuzari maintains that our connection with Hashem depends on us. He awaits our interest; when we embrace Eretz Yisrael, the Shechinah will return and dwell amongst Yisrael.
Is this in fact the case?
For this episode's sources, click here
For the related conversations on The Book of Memories, click here and here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
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We can attempt deduce the Divine plan – when and why we are supposed to be in exile – from various midrashim and statements of Chazal.
Are we supposed to engage in that kind of speculation in order to determine how we should act?
For this episode's sources, click here
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The Babylonian Jews who neglected to return to Eretz Yisrael during the Second Temple Era were unwelcome there afterward. They were denigrated and ostracized. Why would Jews be unwelcome in their Holy Land? And for how long were they expected to stay away?
For this episode's sources, click here
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The best and brightest of the Babylonian Jews stayed behind and didn't join Ezra in rebuilding the Temple and resettling Eretz Yisrael, thereby earning themselves the reprobation or Reb Yochanan, Resh Lakish and others. What is this machlokes all about?
Why did generations of great Jews and their leaders decline to return to Eretz Yisrael during the Second Temple era?
For this episode's sources, click here
Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
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Throughout Jewish history there were generations of people both simple and great who chose not to return and live in Eretz Yisrael. What can that teach us about the Mitzvah to live there?
For this episode's sources, click here
Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
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Should we passively await a miraculous event of divine redemption? Or should we actively bring it about ourselves?
This episode has been generously sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Ben Zion Jacobs, לעילוי נשמת R’ Avrohom Yisochor Krakowski ז"ל
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
Please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening!
You can email Rabbi Burton with questions or comments at oros.yaakov@gmail.com
What is Eretz Yisrael without the Bais Hamikdash and the presence of the Shechinah? Is it special?
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
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Hashem decreed that His nation should be exiled from its land. What are the implications of that for the mitzvah to live there?
For this episode's sources, click here
For the YouTube video of this episode, click here
Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
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What does keeping the oaths mean in practice? Would they proscribe moving to Eretz Yisrael en masse today?
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Here is a link to my new podcast: The Book of Memories
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The spiritual aspirations of the Jewish people can be threatening to the other nations of the world and can also be detrimental to the Jewish people – politically, socially and economically. The 3 oaths teach us to be aware of these broader issues and to consider them well before actualizing our great aspirations.
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Rambam explains the 3 oaths as warnings of the gravest danger that the Jewish people face if they attempt to retake Eretz Yisrael and don't succeed.
This is explicit in the Yemen Letter, can be inferred from the Mishneh Torah, and also explains the text of the Gemara perfectly.
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Chazal record numerous severe and fearful oaths against engaging in Messianic activities, such as rebelling against the nations and retaking Eretz Yisrael.
What are these oaths all about? Is there some grave sin in retaking Eretz Yisrael, or is it a matter of grave danger?
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Ramban counts living in Eretz Yisrael as one of the 613 commandments.
But BH"G, RS"G, Ibn Gabirol, Yereim, Rambam, SM"G and Chinuch don't.
Does it make any practical difference?
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To live in Eretz Yisrael, or not to live in Eretz Yisrael: that is the question this series will answer.
This introductory episode will give you a sense of the issues involved, some of the sources, and an outline of what to expect going forward in this season.
For this episode's sources, click here
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Should we look for reasons for God's mitzvos?
The Rambam says we should, and himself did so at length. But he also says that God’s wisdom is inscrutable and that we humans can’t understand His motivations.
The resolution of this contradiction opens up a world of depth to the Torah and shows how the reasons for mitzvos are dynamic, changing with time and place.
For this episode's sources, click here
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What is so special about Eretz Yisrael? What makes it holy?
Its people, says the Rambam. Those who serve Hashem should live together and form a society suffused with His knowledge and worship – that’s what makes a land holy.
For this episode's sources, click here
Sponsored by R' Zeev Shub in memory of his father, Yeshaya ben Berach
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The Rambam’s twelfth principle of faith involves believing in and hoping for the arrival of both a person and an era. Messiah, scion of King David, will restore the great dynasty to its original glory, and also usher in an era of peace, prosperity and independence, when people will focus exclusively on knowing Hashem.
Learn why the Davidic dynasty is needed in order to initiate this great era – which will then outlast the very kingdom that initiated it.
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Chanukah reclaims the true light for the descendants of Shem. The Greek descendants of Yefes and their darkness were vanquished; the Menorah and its miraculous light symbolize the return of prophetic clarity.
But did we truly reclaim the original light? Prophecy didn't return and the Shechinah didn't dwell in the Temple; true redemption is still elusive. This lead some of Chazal to deemphasize the Menorah of the Chashmonaim and instead to emphasize our hope and waiting – for the perfect and eternal light of Hashem.
For this episode's sources, click here
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Chanukah reclaims the original holiday of light established by the first man, Adam.
When evil got mixed with goodness, darkness got mixed with light. Man lost his ability to see clearly: the pure, primordial light was hidden away. He thought that he would die in darkness, the days getting progressively shorter until all would fade away and be gone; when the days lengthened again, Adam instituted a holiday of eight days to celebrate the goodness of light.
This holiday for Hashem was lost and became a pagan festival, reclaimed after the miracle of the Menorah proved that we still have access to Hashem's light and can see the goodness of His creation.
For this episode's sources, click here
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Perception shapes language – how we think influences how we talk.
Accordingly, Chazal considered Hebrew and Greek antithetical; the "Holy Tongue" is a verb-centered language and reflects a dynamic world of Godly action, while the “Beauty of Yefes” is focused on the visual and reflects a static world of objects in space.
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Are there really words that have magical powers?
Explore the lost art of how to use the secret names of Hashem, the subject of extensive discussion by the Mekubalim – and also of Rambam's scornful dismissal.
For this episode's sources, click here
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What are angels and what is their function?
According to Rambam, they are immaterial, disembodied intellect; Raavad and others consider them to be composed of rarefied matter that sometimes becomes visible to humans.
These mysterious divines that fill the Torah’s pages are the intermediaries of the transcendent God, agents through which He interacts with the universe.
For this episode's sources, click here
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The Mekubalim teach that God is unified with His attributes. His creation is unified as well, and the entire historical process is but the demonstration of this grand unity.
The mitzvah of loving Hashem is to experience and live with this unity – to partake of and to further this great cosmic project.
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Why are the stories of a father, his son and his grandson so central to the Torah?
Come see how the three forefathers found and founded the knowledge of Hashem, each in their own way; how this knowledge became the subject of the history of their descendants, the Jewish nation; and how the key to the future redemption lies in the relationship between these three great men.
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It is the pinnacle of divine worship, but what exactly is love for God and how is it achieved?
Explore the distinctive paths of love charted by the Rambam and the Chovos HaLevavos, the one rooted in intellectual perfection and the other in purity of spirit, and learn how love unites us with Hashem and evokes His love for us.
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Hear O Israel, Hashem is one; one and not two, one and not composite – that is the simple meaning.
But the Mekubalim say: Hear O Israel, Hashem is unified.
This mystical unity of God with His Attributes gives unity to the entire creation and history, all rooted in one God and tending towards one good.
For this episode's sources, click here
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On Sukkos we’re judged regarding water. The basis of life, it plays a central role throughout the Torah: Eden, Sodom, Egypt and Eretz Israel are each defined by their water sources.
In a cryptic statement about the unique mitzvos of Sukkos, Chazal allude to a little-known journey from the rivers of Eden to the waters of Sodom, and to the stream that will one day flow from the Holy Temple.
Learn how Sukkos is part of this journey and why water is so pivotal to our relationship with Hashem.
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How does repentance work? Can a wrong be made right with no more than regret and a commitment to be better?
Teshuva goes much deeper than regret and commitment, teaches the Avodas Hakodesh. The sinner who engaged with evil must reconstruct God’s divine world by understanding the roots of good and evil; by facing his evil and repudiating it, he strengthens the connection between Hashem and His creation. This endeavor secures atonement and redemption for him and the whole of creation.
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What exactly is determined on this awesome day?
A deep reading of the sources shows that the judgment of Rosh Hashanah isn’t, essentially, about what will happen to man; it is about man himself.
On the very first Rosh Hashanah Hashem saw everything that He created, and it was all very good in His eyes. The creation was all goodness, but man introduced evil and became evil himself. On every subsequent Rosh Hashanah Hashem again reviews each individual man, looking at him and seeing if he is good or evil.
Every new year, man gets another chance to align himself with the good, to redeem himself and all of creation with him.
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God’s oneness is the foundation and basis of R' Bachya ibn Paquda's monumental religious system delineated in his "Chovos HaLevavos." Beginning with The Gate of Divine Unity and ending with The Gate of the Love of God, this book charts a journey of spiritual development that starts with the first verse of the Shema: “Hashem is one,” and culminates with the second: “And you shall love Hashem your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might," the oneness of God leading to oneness of devotion.
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It is a simple passage that declares God’s unity, but its translation is far from simple.
The most fundamental statement of faith that is constantly on the Jew’s lips, the Shema is given three distinct interpretations by Rashi, R' Bachya ibn Paquda and Ibn Ezra.
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The Meraglim viewed Eretz Yisrael – and land itself – wrongly, maintaining that physical Earth could never be made divine. What is the remedy for their flawed sense of vision? How can we train ourselves to properly view this materialistic, temporal world?
The answer is hiding in plain sight: Tzitzis teaches us how to see. As the four corners of the Earth hide their Maker, the most inner and true reality, the four corners of a garment hide their wearer; Tzitzis guides us to penetrate the outer mask and always look for the inner world.
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If, as Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi says, the Holy Land is the axis of all spiritual experience, then to spurn the Holy Land is the root of all evil.
Indeed, this idea lies at the heart of the Meraglim story. Commissioned not merely to see the land, but to see what a land could be, the Meraglim were on a mission to determine if it's possible to replicate Heaven on Earth. They erred, and that original error is the root of all the Jewish nation’s shortcomings.
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What is the most central aspect of a Torah life, the axis of all spiritual experience?
Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi gives a surprising answer which is foundational to his system of man's connection to the divine: the Holy Land.
If a land can be hallowed, then the dimension of holiness can be manifest in the physical world – heaven can be brought down to earth. This inspiring concept is the heart and motivation of all spiritual living.
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Man searches for absolute truth, a precise system of God’s ways. But is there one definitive solution? What if our opinions themselves affect nature and determine how God acts?
It may sound like science fiction, but Chazal state it clearly: God modifies His ways according to human opinion. His connection with man is absolutely imperative, but the specific methods of that connection are flexible.
The idea of God’s flexibility redefines the concept of machlokes. Two contradictory notions can both be true; different realities can exist for different people.
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How did the city so full of people become so alone?
So begins the great lament, with a question that also hints – in coded language – to an answer. What made Israel a godly nation and what led to their downfall? Seen through the lens of Moshe’s parting speech to his people in the Book of Devarim, the opening cry of Eichah answers this with a complete theology of a holy people, its land and exile.
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How did the city so full of people become so alone?
So begins the great lament, with a question that also hints – in coded language – to an answer. What made Israel a godly nation and what led to their downfall? Seen through the lens of Moshe’s parting speech to his people in the Book of Devarim, the opening cry of Eichah answers this with a complete theology of a holy people, its land and exile.
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What do we know about God?
This is the most central dispute between the rival philosophic and esoteric schools of Jewish thought. Armed with ink and quill, the opposing camps have waged impassioned and heated battles throughout the centuries.
Rabbeinu Sa'adiah Gaon, Rambam and others assert that it is impossible to understand Hashem's essence. We know only that He exists, or, more accurately, that He doesn’t not exist. Nothing else.
R’ Chasdai Crescas and others, including the Mekubalim, reject that philosophy as antithetical to the Torah. We can know that Hashem is mighty and all-knowing and merciful. However, attributes that pertain to God are entirely unlike attributes that pertain to humans. God's attributes, like God Himself, are infinite.
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Why was one nation chosen from among the seventy – are all human beings not equal before the one God?
No, says Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, most emphatically not. In the sublime system of the Kuzari, the nation of Yisrael alone is a metaphysical, divine people. Only its members can be prophets, and only in their Holy Land; the Torah is decidedly nationalistic.
Others are not as exclusive. Rambam maintains that even non-Jews can attain prophecy, and the Shaarei Orah delineates a unique spiritual role for all nations of the world; universalism is the Torah's ultimate goal.
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Rabbeinu Sa'adiah Gaon considered it preposterous.
Mekubalim attributed it to Eliyahu HaNavi.
Abarbanel and others adduced the authority of Pythagoras in its support.
Hotly debated for thousands of years, the mystical doctrine of gilgul is given cogent form by Ramchal. The recurring rules of reality are based on divine attributes that appear and reappear throughout history and the lives of men; more than one individual can actualize the same divine rule, and in that sense they truly share the same essence, the very same soul.
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After completing each creation God saw “that it was good” and after completing the whole of creation “that everything He made was very good.” All was complete and perfect – except for just one thing: “It is not good for man to be alone.” Cosmic goodness was in jeopardy, hinging on the rectification of this problem, and indeed, Rashi teaches, man’s very relationship with God depended on this matter. Why?
The relationship between the sexes has a secret purpose of the highest order: knowledge of God. For only through knowing another person – a completely separate, other consciousness – can the mind expand to know the Ultimate Other, God. Without another person, man would remain trapped forever in the narrow confines of his own mind; only seeing things from his limited, selfish perspective, he would never see God and His goodness.
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The Torah's message differs from the prophets': the former focuses on law, the latter on morals. Concomitantly, the prophets taught knowledge of God, while the Torah indicates that this is an impossibility: He is utterly unknowable. If you can know Hashem, then you should emulate Him; if you cannot, then you should obey the fixed, inflexible, and sometimes inscrutable law.
Explore how these contradictory teachings are both true – on different levels of consciousness. Together, these diametrically opposed philosophies comprise one great system that allows for both negative theology and anthropomorphism.
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The Torah's message differs from the prophets': the former focuses on law, the latter on morals. Nowhere is the difference starker than in regard to sacrificial worship; when the prophets insist that God does not desire animal sacrifice and wants only kindness, justice and righteousness, the discrepancy becomes outright contradiction.
But on close analysis we find that there is no true contradiction. Rather, this divergence encapsulates the essential nature of the Torah and the prophetic books, respectively. The Torah is the law with which to worship the unknowable, transcendent God, and the prophetic books are the framework by which He makes Himself known to man.
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Of major focus in the Torah, idolatry is the subject of numerous commandments, warnings and punishments; but what, precisely, is it? And who are those "Other Gods" that the Torah forbids to worship? Are there more gods than the One God?
According to Rambam, idolatry is, essentially, a forbidden practice. While it is theoretically fitting to venerate the heavenly servants of Hashem – the sun, the moon and the stars, actions resembling worship are nonetheless prohibited because they lead to erroneous beliefs.
Ramban explains the matter differently: idolatry is an expression of faithlessness. It is the deification of the other divine beings – the angels. These lesser divinities are actually appropriate, in a sense, for other nations to worship, but for Hashem’s unique people, only He is truly God.
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One, two, three, four days; we bridge the Exodus to the revelation at Sinai by marking time's passage, seven time seven weeks, and all this is rooted in the harvest and its special sacrifices of barley on Pesach and wheat on Shavuos. How?
This mitzvah takes us back to the beginning of time, to Bereishis. Adam sinned and was sentenced to a life of backbreaking labor in the field. Such a life, long as it may be, is likened to just one day that ends with death: fleeting, ephemeral, and devoid of meaning. If he won’t learn to count his days, man will never find his way back to the Tree of Life.
Like Adam all people. The holiday that celebrates freedom from slavery is followed immediately by the harvest season, and with it the grave danger of never-ending work; counting the days protects from this hazard and leads to receiving the Torah, the true Tree of Life.
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Why does Hashem test people? Isn’t the outcome known to Him in advance?
One of the “greatest problems in the Torah” according to the Rambam, the idea of trials is given various explanations by the great Jewish thinkers. But all the reasons only serve to justify an imperfect relationship between man and the Divine, for omniscient God indeed has no need for trials; they only have a function within a world controlled through divine beings who lack perfect knowledge – the angels.
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Many people think of the Second Temple as a replay of the first: the Jewish nation returned to the holy land to rebuild the great house of worship and revelation. But it was nothing of the sort. In that pivotal era, prophecy ceased, the divine presence did not return to its sanctuary, and the period of the Oral Law began.
All this, Chazal hint, is linked to the ascendancy of the Greek Empire. The development of Greek wisdom marked a broad shift in the focus of human consciousness. Even the way that God makes Himself known changed: prophetic image was replaced with intellect and revelation with deduction, and man became creator of divine law.
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The story of man eating from the Tree of Knowledge is the fundamental, foundational story of mankind, of humanity’s capacity for perfection or failure. It is the key for us to understand ourselves – but what does it mean? What would man be without knowing good and evil, and how does this knowledge lead to his downfall?
In the Rambam’s understanding, the crux of matter is the quality of man’s intellect. Instead of making decisions based on the value judgment of knowing good from evil, man could and should make decisions based on discerning truth from falsehood: through intellect alone. This faculty is represented by the Tree of Life, for truth and intellect are eternal. Man's eternal perfection depends on perfecting pure intellect; to the extent that he does not, he is merely another mortal animal.
This profound idea lies at the heart of the Rambam's whole system of philosophy.
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Evil – what is it? Where does it come from? Is it real? Will it last forever?
The Rambam and the Mekubalim teach diametrically opposed approaches to the ancient problem of evil in a good God's world. According to Rambam, evil has no real existence, being merely the lack of good. God's creation is absolutely good – although we don't always understand its goodness – and much of the evils we face are man-made. In this optimistic philosophy all of us, here and now, partake fully of Hashem's goodness in His perfect world.
In contrast, the Mekubalim teach that evil is real, indeed very important. There is a metaphysical reality to this force that opposes good – but only for the time being; our mission is to overcome and overpower it and thereby perfect a currently imperfect world.
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Why is Shabbos so central to the Torah? What is signified by abstaining from work?
This simple practice contains the most profound declaration of faith and, Chazal teach, purifies its observers from all sin. Rooted in the creation story and man's original, root transgression of knowing evil along with good, Shabbos proclaims the pure goodness and faultlessness of God's universe – work is unnecessary in a perfect world; by recognizing this perfection, man repudiates evil and commits himself to the service of the good.
All this and more is alluded to in the psalm that ushers in the holiness of Shabbos, the "song for the Shabbos day."
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Why is the mitzvah of matzah so important? How could a food be so fundamental to redemption and its remembrance?
The story of Avraham, Lot and Sodom allude to the secrets of this simple bread. Sodom, like Mitzrayim, was economically secure, supplied with water from a river, while the land of Israel depends on rain, Hashem's heavenly blessing liable to be withheld if not earned by doing His will. The bread of Mitzrayim is the food of pride and insolence: economic security engenders haughtiness, root of all Sodom's evil, while the bread of affliction is the food of Hashem's land, reminding us of the ever-present possibility of hunger if we lose Hashem's favor.
To eat and be aware that all sustenance is a heavenly gift that can be denied – that is central to our relationship with Hashem and characteristic of His holy land, and also at the heart of Sh'ma and Tefillin.
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The significance of The Resurrection is a matter of dispute: according to Rambam, it merely serves as the greatest miracle – the dead will come back to life, live and die again, while perfect, eternal reward is purely spiritual; according to the Mekubalim, resurrection is the ultimate and everlasting reward. This dispute is rooted in a fundamental debate about physicality: Rambam maintains that only spiritual and intellectual perfection are truly ideal; the Mekubalim teach that the ideal reality is one of bodily and physical perfection, for eternity.
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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, two types of relationship with the Master of the Universe who is sometimes revealed and sometimes hidden, and these paths themselves are contingent on two forms of worship – the path of complete righteousness and the path of repentance.
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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 taught about this central practice called the "worship of the mind." Prayer, they tell us, is rooted in an understanding of Hashem and His ways. We contemplate Hashem and His actions, and articulate how He would act according to our conception. This meditation is the foundation of our relationship with Him; to the extent that He desires to relate with us, our words of prayer define the framework of that relationship and, when they are accepted and fulfilled, enable us to discern Him through His actions, further strengthening our relationship.
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What is the essence of lashon hakodesh? Why is it inextricably 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, through prayer. That is the holy tongue of the prophets who gave us images of reality. The 70 languages, on the other hand, are 70 ways to misrepresent reality.
With true word came prophecy and the power of prayer; when the era of the true word ended prophecy ceased, and even prayer would have no longer been possible if the last remaining prophets wouldn't have founded a new way of relating to Hashem for the post-prophetic era, beyond word and beyond mental representation.
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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 and visibility. In the era that God made Himself known through prophetic image, there was a concomitant passion to concretize Him, to represent the divine with physical form and direct our worship to that. Prophecy ended and now God is hidden, to be approached through intellect alone.
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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 lost glory.
But there is an alternative, diametrically opposite approach to this matter. According to Rabbi Yochanan and others, exile itself has a positive purpose, and Judaism was always supposed to be transformed and enriched by it. Hashem's complete revelation can be attained only subsequent to His concealment; the early years of glory were really an advance, early sense of what will be fully realized after the historical process of exile and redemption.
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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 feeling. In his monumental work, The Kuzari, HaLevi gives a magical sense of the Judaism of old. Prophecy, the Holy Land and the nation of Yisrael are central to this theology of yearning; we, today, have mere impressions of a divine system unlike anything familiar, glimmers of godliness, and our spiritual focus must be centered on recovering this lost glory.
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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 an image that represents Him: the human being.
According to this teaching, man's perfection is to properly represent the divine, to actualize it in this physical and limited world. When perfecting himself, man is perfecting God's representation and actually embodies the divine.
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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 and His ways are in fact utterly unknowable. The terms and images that the prophets use to describe Him and His ways are actually a facade, a guise that Hashem takes so that we have a representation of a Godly image to emulate.
This cosmic idea lies at the heart of the Rambam's whole system of theology and ethics.
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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 the world of the intellect; according to the GR"A, in the world of action and experience.
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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 pure beneficence, God created a world of goodness, which is identical with godliness.
This profound idea is the crux of Ramchal's system of theology and is also the basis of his great ethical work, the Mesillas Yesharim.
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Can we speak of creation's purpose? Can we fathom a perfect God needing something from this world?
Indeed we can understand the objective of creation, says the Avodas HaKodesh. Our worship serves Heaven's needs, actualizing the unity of God. This astonishing and wondrous idea – known not through logic but through tradition – lies at the heart of a complete system of religious theory and can give meaning to everything we do.
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Whyever did God create the world? Can we even give a reason for a perfect God to be motivated to act? This most fundamental question about our existence has occupied many of the greatest Torah thinkers.
This lecture explores the Rambam's unique and profound opinion about the purpose of everything.
The Rambam asserts that creation has no purpose in the usual sense of a motivating reason to do something. Rather, the purpose is God Himself: His will or His wisdom, which are His essence.
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