A shiur on Mishlei as royal education: parable as a technology of rule; Shlomo and the language of animals; the snake as political challenger; and the stabilizing role of the god-fearing woman. How to govern without being governed by one’s own symbols.

In this conversation, Zev and I discuss what role the Torah plays in the pursuit of knowing Hashem

00:30 Why do we require the Torah for the pursuit of da'as Hashem?

9:00 Can a person achieve da'as Hashem without the Torah?

16:30 Is the Torah the exclusive method that brings to da'as Hashem?

18:00 What is the Torah and to what genre does it belong?

21:45 It is impossible to disentangle Jewish values from the Torah

30:30 The Torah's words, narratives and practices anchor a person in da'as Hashem

40:00 Does all da'as Hashem trace its roots to the Torah?

51:00 Torah as Law and its difference from the Prophets: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364132946794...

https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/ee-and-r-3_1-between-the-torah-and?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

52:00 Da'as Hashem is absent from the Torah; Moshe is higher than the prophets by virtue of his recognition that Hashem is actually unknowable

53:30 The Law as guardrails against absolute freedom of thought

54:45 We cannot and will not contemplate infinity, and therefore we need the finitude of the Law

56:00 Paradoxically, restrictions allow for freedom of thought

1:00:00 The Jewish People is the greatest mitzvah

1:05:00 Summary of how the Torah serves da'as Hashem

"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.

Written essays are published bi-weekly ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe!

This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.

0:00 How to wage war for Hashem1:45 Rambam's treatment of the laws of Chanukah – a celebration of military victory – ends with the teaching that peace is the purpose of the whole Torah4:45 Why Jews can't be inspired to wage war8:15 The motivations of war11:45 People who believe in fighting tend to fight more effectively; why polytheists are the better warriors15:30 A person who believes that war will never be completely eradicated from the world will wage war with more conviction18:30 King David couldn't build the House of Hashem because he was a man of war20:25 Mashiach will wage war and also build the House of Hashem26:30 Before the war of Gog U'Magog, Eliyahu the Prophet will come to make peace in the world29:30 People are motivated to war because they value one thing more than any other thing; Hashem is not a thing, but rather the possibility of all things being harmonized32:45 Hashem will tell Mashiach to smash his enemies with a metal bat, and Mashiach will refuse and instead offer Shalom35:15 Mashiach can't fight for Hashem because Hashem is not a thing36:15 The word "Shalom" is the thing for which Mashiach is motivated to fight 37:45 Polytheists have things to which they are dedicated and committed; the Jews have words instead of things41:15 Jews care about nothing but words43:45 Why Hashem alone has a Bible and the other gods don't45:30 The Torah is a method of making something out of nothing47:15 "Davar" means both thing and "word"; "Shalom" is the ultimate word because it is not a thing52:30 By declaring the word "Shalom," a motivation for war is generated55:45 Why Eliyahu's teaching of "Shalom" will trigger the ultimate war59:45 Mashiach will wage war because he stands for peace1:01:45 What makes Hashem effective in this world is words1:05:00 Everything that Hashem does is for the good because of the people who say that everything that Hashem does is for the good 1:07:30 "Shalom Aleichem" is a verbal offer

"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.

Written essays are published bi-weekly ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe!

This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.

"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.

Written essays are published bi-weekly ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe!

This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.

In this conversation, Zev and I discuss the 1000-year era of prophecy, how the perfectly righteous man bends the world to the perfect good, and the challenges of the new prophecy.1:45 Summary of the lecture "How to Reclaim Prophecy": • The New Knowledge of Hashem: How to Reclai...

6:00 Prophecy 1.0 is the guide to prophecy 2.08:20 Why we consider the era of prophecy to begin with the Exodus despite the great prophets who preceded it10:00 The one thousand years of Jewish history recorded in Tanach stand as the paradigm of Divine Providence, when nothing occurred that lay outside its order12:30 On public and private prophecy; why widespread public prophecy requires the Ark of the Covenant and the Mikdash20:00 How the perfectly righteous man bends God's will to what is good in his eyes26:15 Tefillah is the absolute commitment to what is right32:30 The perfectly righteous man is the one who cannot abide any evil38:30 Those who forgive some evil in themselves will forgive some imagined evil in God42:30 Are we living in prophetic times?44:15 Between the Rambam and R' Yehudah HaLevi48:00 How come the great books don't discuss the new prophecy?52:45 Would someone be able to do the original kind of prophecy today?1:01:45 Today, even the greatest righteous person will accept the impersonal laws of nature as being righteous1:07:00 The challenges of the new prophecy

"Exodus, Exile and Redemption" is a study of the profound significance of Judaism's history.

Written essays are published bi-weekly ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe!

This series is made possible by the Jacob Lights Foundation. To support this and other ongoing foundation initiatives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Substack newsletter or making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.