Claim OwnershipThe Great Sources with Rabbi Shnayor Burton
Subscribed: 22Played: 1,400
Subscribe
© Rabbi Shnayor Burton
Description
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.
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.
218 Episodes
Reverse
conversation # 5 of the seriesIn this conversation, Zev and I discuss how Da’as Hashem collides with politics, and what steps must follow.0:00 How would we design a political system supportive of Da'as Hashem?5:00 People who appreciate what is good and right about the current order delay the Moshiach8:00 For individuals, the most important question is Da'as Hashem; for the nation, the most important question is what systems would support Da'as Hashem11:15 Is it possible to think about Moshiach while also appreciating and supporting the current order?13:30 The division of labor between those who dream up new worlds and those who support the current world17:20 What goes wrong when politicians do Torah; Abarbanel's problematic approach to monarchy24:45 Should the political theory of Da'as Hashem utilize existing political theory?29:15 The nation of Israel is where political theory breaks down36:00 What's the next move for the Da'as Hashem movement?44:00 Can we make Hashemists? 47:45 The last time Da’as Hashem went political, it became a Golden Calf52:30 Why we can't sell Da'as Hashem55:00 Prophet school1:03:00 The secret society that will meddle in world affairs to advance Da'as Hashem1:15:15 Why there is no Sanhedrin, Beis Hamikdash, or Korbanos1:19:00 The need for working out the political theory of Da'as Hashem1:23:00 The newsletter required for developing the political theory of Da'as Hashem1:26:00 To change the world, explain to them what you're capable of explaining
Conversation # 4 of the seriesIn this conversation, Zev and I analyze the first step of the prophetic path to Da’as Hashem – its logic, practice, and universal relevance.5:00 The four-step discipline of the prophets for reaching Da'as Hashem13:00 The doctrine of Da'as Hashem is universally intelligible and meaningful even without accepting Torah or Judaism16:45 The universality of Da'as Hashem as opposed to the particularism of the Torah22:30 The secret society of Da'as Hashem 24:30 Live demonstration of the first step of the Path43:25 Purifying the soul and serving Hashem circumvents the need for having a developed philosophy of morals 48:45 The connection between tefillah and Da'as Hashem52:00 The Jewish national experience as the training ground for achieving Da'as Hashem57:30 Why pure Da'as Hashem is impossible in exile1:01:45 Why Rabbi Chiya never had kavanah during davening1:06:30 Questions on the first step1:14:15 The stark difference between those who know and those who don't: https://x.com/shnayor/status/1950646482291347817
conversation # 3 of the seriesIn this conversation, Zev and I share a list of questions related to Knowing Hashem, and discuss whether it involves psychological transformation or mastery of metaphysical knowledge. Links: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor...https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor...https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor...https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0727TH8X80:00 A list of questions and issues that relate to the project of knowing Hashem 2:30 What's the difference between talking about Hashem and talking about knowing Hashem?7:30 Do the right words for the discipline of knowing Hashem exist yet?23:15 Is knowledge of Hashem actually achievable or is it an ideal toward which we strive?34:00 Where do animals fit in to knowing Hashem?41:15 The difference between the message of the Prophets and the message of the Rambam and Kabbalists: Psychology or Metaphysics? 1:10:00 The prophets’ four-step training in Da’as Hashem1:19:00 Testing thought across all of space and time1:23:30 Universal thinking leads to good character traits 1:25:15 People of good character believe in goodness1:29:30 When those people then find the goodness in which they believe – that is Da’as Hashem1:38:00 Knowing Hashem as a kind of action, not a belief1:44:30 Why the prophets and the Rambam/Kabbalists took different approaches to knowing Hashem1:47:30 How it becomes easier to know everything
How come nobody has been talking about knowing Hashem?0:00 Why is the ideal of knowing Hashem so revolutionary? And doesn't any person who serves Hashem already know Him?3:30 Hashem as the solution to political problems5:15 Is knowledge of Hashem the totality of all knowledge or a specific knowledge?12:30 Is the blessed state of the world a result of knowing Hashem or the reverse?20:00 Why the Redemption is a principle of faith22:45 What would motivate a person to talk about Hashem and seek knowledge of Him?34:30 The mitzvah to love Hashem is to study reality and thus come to desire knowledge of Him42:00 Either we all have been doing this already, or else it is not a legitimate pursuit 46:30 An idea that can't be put into practice tends to wither and die58:30 The tension between honoring the tradition and exploring new ideas1:00:00 Knowing Hashem and politics; why national independence is necessary for knowing Hashem1:00:05 Is the highest human goal action or contemplation?1:08:00 Contradictions in the Rambam; contradictions between Plato and Aristotle; Al-Farabi's resolutions
What does it mean to truly know Hashem? A conversation with Zev Lowy about the prophetic ideal — and why it’s still the greatest mission of all.0:00 Knowledge of Hashem is supposed to be the most fundamental subject for humanity but is seldom discussed5:30 Knowledge of Hashem is not well defined. How can it perfect humanity? What should we do to promote it?9:00 Should we articulate how knowledge of Hashem will solve all the world's problems?15:00 Why people don't think about how knowledge of Hashem works24:45 Should we seek knowledge of Hashem for any reason other than its own sake?29:30 Is knowledge of Hashem effective if pursued for any reason other than its own sake?33:30 The experience of relentlessly seeking knowledge of Hashem and how it changes a person fundamentally36:45 What is lacking in Exodus, Exile and Redemption (here: https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/introduction-to-exodus-exile-and?r=111271&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false)? Where Rambam and Kabbalah part ways41:00 Even Popperians talk about love and other intense experiences44:00 Phenomenology and knowing Hashem 48:00 The theory of da'as Hashem51:00 The notion of Pure Being and its power to inspire right action57:00 Why it's important for people capable of it to understand da'as Hashem1:01:00 Chasing beauty, wisdom, and knowledge of Hashem1:04:00 Torah and practical wisdom
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
Highlights:
4:00 Knowing Hashem and seeing Hashem
7:15 Moshe sought moral knowledge of God's ways, not metaphysical knowledge of God's nature
10:30 Moshe sought to understand why some righteous people suffer, and other righteous people prosper; why some evildoers suffer, and other evildoers prosper
16:30 Moshe couldn't understand the goodness of God as it is manifest in the universe; the prophets could understand it
18:15 Completely righteous people don't suffer, whereas incompletely righteous people do suffer
22:00 What completely righteous people believe to be right will occur to them
26:00 The answer to the question about the suffering of the righteous was acceptable for the prophets but not for Moshe
29:30 Is God good if He is good only to the extent that people are completely righteous?
32:30 Seeing Hashem's back means seeing the end of His actions, in the future; seeing His face means seeing Him in the present
36:00 A person should emulate Hashem if and only if His actions are known
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.
Highlights:
0:00 The position of our Rebbe, the wicked King Manasseh, that idolatry is appropriate
5:00 Manasseh's case against the Isaiah in which he charged the prophet with heresy and executed him for that crime
8:45 Can Hashem be seen or not? Moshe's stance and the prophets' stance
12:00 Can Hashem be known or not? Moshe's stance and the prophets' stance
20:30 Moshe uses words differently than all the prophets do, and is therefore termed "not a man of words"
24:15 The contradiction between the Torah and the Prophets regarding the importance of sacrificial worship (https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/ee-and-r-3_4-between-the-torah-and?r=111271&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web)
29:45 The prophets do something fundamentally different from Moshe and the Torah
34:30 Moshe's request to see God indicates that Moshe is supposed to see God
36:30 The last of the books of the Torah implies that Hashem can be known
38:15 Idolatry is wrong only for those who are familiar with Hashem and know Him
43:00 Manasseh's argument why idolatry is appropriate according to the Torah itself
46:00 Manasseh considered the Torah to be aspirational until such time that its great potential is unlocked
48:00 Manasseh considered avoiding idolatry to be akin to rushing the end of times before we're ready for it
51:15 The unrequited overture to the Nation of Israel at the time of the Exodus offering them knowledge of Hashem
54:30 The Torah has always been aspirational
This lecture series is a project of כרם בין תורה לחכמה, generously sponsored by R' Yoel Werzberger
Highlights:
2:15 What is achieved by humans thinking in non-human terms?
4:15 Humans are the most important aspect of reality; viewing the world from God's perspective involves viewing humanity accurately
8:30 The actions are God can be understood only by understanding humans
12:00 God is good only if humans are good
16:00 By bringing things back to God's perspective, we simultaneously value the way things are and remain open to progress
18:00 The tension between progressivism and conservativism
22:00 God's will as the ultimate constant that allows for infinite progress
30:45 The Golden Mean as the way of God
33:10 Finding law within human behavior brings human behavior back to God
35:45 A person cannot know the ways of God without knowing himself
37:25 The prophets call God righteous and thereby make Him righteous, since humans, His ultimate creation, will be inspired to be righteous, making Him righteous
40:00 The difference between the philosophers and the prophets about whether human perfection involves intellectual perfection or moral perfection
47:20 What makes the Torah divine: the connection between ordering society and thinking about God
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
00:25 The essence of Rabbi Akiva's wisdom is that the Torah speaks in parables3:40 The sin that led to the death of Bar Kochba is the sin of taking the Torah literally 11:15 Balaam and the parables about the Messiah; the prophets themselves didn't know the meaning of their parables about the Messiah18:00 Balaam blessed Israel with kingship, which turned into a curse21:00 Inverting the meaning of the Torah and Balaam's endeavor24:00 The inversion of the Torah is its external, superficial meaning; Balaam as the anti-Moshe28:45 The function of a king is to craft a unified message; the connection between kings and parables33:45 The problem with kings, who occlude the kingship of Hashem43:00 How can there be a righteous king?44:15 The function of halacha and how it applies to establishing kings who stand as parables for Hashem55:00 The contradiction in Shemoneh Esreh whether Hashem alone will rule us or David will56:00 Solomon's failure revolved around thinking we know the reasons of mitzvahs fully59:30 The more progress we make in recognizing the limits of our reason, the more we can safely explore the reasons for the mitzvahs 1:05:30 The Guide is Gan Eden; the Tree of Life is the middle question in the middle chapter of the middle section of the Guide: "Why did he give these mitzvahs and these prohibitions?"1:11:30 Rabbi Akiva knew the reason of the Red Heifer, which is that paradoxes are appropriate1:13:00 Balaam as the anti-Moshe and his influence, together with Moshe, on all the prophets that come after Moshe1:15:00 Rabbi Meir, student of Rabbi Akiva, and his approach to parables
00:00 The project of the Guide is the rectification of the challenges associated with prophecy2:30 The need for the Torah to be unlocked12:00 King Solomon was a Messianic figure who commenced the unlocking of the Torah, which was then completed by Rabbi Akiva20:45 The innovation in the Torah which is itself rooted in the Torah: Rambam's rereading of the Torah's mission to uproot idolatry and his application of its teaching to God's incorporeality 36:30 The Oral Torah can undermine the surface-level meaning of the Written Torah40:45 How Moshe both did and didn't wage war against the erroneous belief in the corporeality of God44:00 It takes much knowledge to know that knowledge is limited48:45 How Rabbi Akiva's new teaching about parables improved on King Solomon's teaching about parables51:00 The endless sea and the infinitude of wisdom: The meaning of the parable of water is that we can’t know the true meaning of the parable of water54:30 The purpose of parables is not to explain something but rather to make an abstract truth attractive to the body1:01:15 Rabbi Akiva's teaching about the water that has no end; how he faced endless waves and how Rabbi Meir faced endless waves1:12:30 Two kinds of parables1:15:30 What will be treated of in the next lecture
0:00 How does Rambam intend to extract us from exile?2:30 Rabbi Akiva as the great teacher whose Torah completes the Messianic teaching6:30 The need for the Torah to be clarified and for its meaning to be unlocked10:00 In what sense Rabbi Akiva is called a "prophet"18:30 The diminished significance of the Messiah as an individual man of great wisdom and prophetic power24:00 Allusions in the Guide to the role of Rabbi Akiva and his new teaching30:00 What is the "new teaching" predicted by the prophets and who will teach it? 31:00 The teaching of Rabbi Akiva about what makes a human perfect: Do not say, "Water, water"34:45 Moshe went beyond human capabilities; the rest of humanity requires a way to approach God without transcending human limits46:30 The meaning of the word "water"; equivocal terms and parables54:20 Why there is a need for a "new teaching" and what is wrong with the "old teaching"58:00 The failure of the "Nobles of the Children of Israel" in their vision of God points to the flaw with the old teaching and the problem inherent in every prophet lesser than Moshe1:05:00 The Guide is meant to rectify the problem inherent to non-Mosaic prophecy
0:00 Why are the Redemption and the Messiah not treated of in the Guide, considering that they comprise the 12th principle of faith?5:30 Chasam Sofer's dispute with Rambam regarding the 12th principle9:00 The redemption is a principle of faith since it involves the success of the Torah's overall project11:30 The entire Guide is the means for the Torah's project to succeed: Through this book, they will escape from exile18:30 The Messiah is the notion that kingship of Israel can and will be perfected25:00 The Torah, as opposed to the prophets, doesn't talk about the figure of the Messiah34:50 A contradiction within Mishneh Torah about whether the Messiah will be wiser than Solomon and achieve a level of prophecy close to Moses, or will be simply an effective king49:40 Rabbi Akiva's role in the Redemption; Rabbi Akiva as the Solomonic and Mosaic figure56:30 Rabbi Akiva as the figure bracketing the whole Mishneh Torah, who entered the Pardes in peace and exited in peace1:00:00 Halacha as the prerequisite for knowledge of Hashem1:02:00 The nature of Rabbi Akiva's perfection and the connection to his assumption that Bar Kochba was the Messiah1:05:30 The study of Mishneh Torah is required to be capable of recognizing that parables are not meant literally1:09:30 Who is the real king? Rabbi Akiva or Bar Kochba?
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation00:00 Did Moshe alone perceive Hashem face to face, or did all of Israel perceive Hashem face to face?2:00 Hearing the Voice of Hashem without intermediation of an angel is considered speaking with Him face to face15:00 What is the Voice of Hashem?43:45 We can't know the nature of the Revelation at Sinai nor the nature of Hashem's communication at Mount Sinai46:30 Moshe's request to know the essence of God48:00 The 5 that entered the Pardes: Rabbi Akiva, Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher, and Moshe54:00 One can know Hashem's essence, but one cannot know Hashem's essence and live56:00 Moshe asked to die and effectively did59:30 Moshe was pure intellect since his body had no effect on his mind1:03:00 One cannot speak of pure intelligence at all1:05:30 The function and nature of the Voice1:09:30 Moshe knows the nature of the Voice's generation and therefore understands its verbal content
This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation0:00 The importance of the Revelation at Mount Sinai3:00 Chapter 2:32 of the Guide and the requirements for attaining prophecy6:00 The prediction in Joel of the return of widespread prophecy8:45 Anyone who can divine hidden things is called a "navi"10:30 Three problems with interpreting the prediction in the Book of Joel as referring to anything less than the return of pure prophecy21:45 The miraculous ocular and auditory experiences at the Revelation at Mount Sinai24:45 It took a miracle to see fire on the mountain and hear thunder and shofar blasts31:30 Hearing things from Moshe was akin to prophecy, since Moshe spoke directly with God39:30 Sources that the Revelation at Mount Sinai was in fact a prophecy45:30 Miraculous ocular and auditory experiences can be called "nevuah" but they aren't true nevuah50:15 How the Shechinah appears and becomes visible53:45 Only those people worthy of it can see the Shechinah56:45 Virtual reality Ma'aseh Merkavah1:03:30 The great prediction in the Book of Joel about the return of prophecy: All people will be influenced by the true prophet(s) since they are all experiencing dreams and visions, which are not true prophecy1:07:15 The Book of Joel predicts an event similar to the Revelation at Mount Sinai
This lecture series is a project of כרם בין תורה לחכמה, generously sponsored by R' Yoel Werzberger.
0:00 Man is both a composite of body and soul, and pure soul
2:30 The question of the eternity or createdness of the world underpins the two different ways of viewing human beings
7:00 Seth was similar to Adam, who was the only man created ex nihilo and therefore uniquely spiritual
11:00 Why bodily affairs matter
This lecture series is a project of כרם בין תורה לחכמה, generously sponsored by R' Yoel Werzberger.
00:30 Moses perceived the whole of the universe, which is "all of God's goodness"
2:15 In order to understand the true nature of reality, one has to transcend the body
10:00 Was Moses' great perception the whole of the created universe or God's transcendence?
14:00 One cannot understand God's transcendence without understanding the whole of the created universe; and one cannot understand the whole of the created universe without understanding God's transcendence
21:00 What is actually meant by "God saw that it was good"?
24:00 The world is right but by no metric
29:30 To see the goodness of the world is to be blinded
33:30 Everyone perceives evil since they perceive reality through the lens of the body
35:00 The perception through the lens of the body is also important and a part of nature
42:00 The hamoni in the Guide is not the other guy – everyone has some hamonism within themselves
44:00 The tension between whether man is defined by his intellect or by his body as well
45:00 How to prevent evil actions – through knowledge or character training?
48:00 Does human perfection involve intellectual perception or doing good?
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States