Mahshavah III (Jewish Thought)

Taught by: Rabbi Shai Held
Thursday, 3:00 - 5:00pm; Friday, 8:45-10:15am

Wonder, Prophecy, and Creativity: The Religious Worldviews of Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel and Joseph Soloveitchik

In this class, we will explore the theological worldviews of Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel and Joseph Soloveitchik.  We'll begin with Heschel, and discuss:
a) the meaning of wonder and radical amazement, and their connection to a sense of commandedness;
b) Heschel's belief in a personal God and his idea that God is "in search of man";
c) the meaning of prophecy, and how prophets can serve as role models for our own religious lives;
d) the problem of evil and how it affected Heschel's relationship with God; and
e) the life of prayer, and our attempt to overcome self-centeredness. 
Then we'll turn to Soloveitchik and focus especially on the idea of the human being as creator, and on how that plays out in a variety of Soloveitchik's writings. The class aims both to introduce Heschel and Soloveitchik on their own terms, and to provide students with a vocabulary for thinking about their own religious commitments and obligations.