The Podcast of Jewish Ideas

In this episode J.J. and Dr. Miriam Goldstein dig into the ideas the animated the Rabbis (and Karaites) of the early Islamic period. For more thoughtfull Jewish content like this, visit torahinmotion.org.If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review the podcast in your app of choice. Miriam Goldstein is a professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A specialist in medieval Judeo-Arabic texts, she focuses on interreligious relations in the medieval Arabic-speaking world as well as Judeo-Arabic Bible exegesis. She is author of A Judeo-Arabic Parody of the Life of Jesus: The Toledot Yeshu Helene Narrative (Tübingen, in press) and Karaite Exegesis in Medieval Jerusalem (Tübingen, 2011) and is editor of Authorship in Mediaeval Arabic and Persian Literatures (Jerusalem, 2019) andBeyond Religious Borders: Interaction and Intellectual Exchange in the Medieval Islamic World (Philadelphia, 2011), as well as numerous articles on Arabic and Judeo-Arabic literature. Her current major project is a critical edition and translation of the Judeo-Arabic commentaries of the Baghdadi Karaite scholar Ya‘qub al-Qirqisani, currently focusing on the books of Genesis and Exodus.

On this episode JJ and Dr. Shapiro get into the limits of Orthodox theology, as well as The Limits of Orthodox Theology. Marc B. Shapiro holds the Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton. A graduate of Brandeis (BA) and Harvard (PhD), he is the author of numerous books, articles, and reviews and is a popular scholar in residence at synagogues around the world. He has written Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy and The Limits of Orthodox Theology, both of which were National Jewish Book Award Finalists. Other books of his include Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox, Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters, and Changing the Immutable: How Orthodox Judaism Rewrites Its History. In 2019 he published Iggerot Malkhei Rabbanan which contains more than thirty years of correspondence with some of the world's most outstanding Torah scholars. He regularly publishes widely read scholarly articles on the Seforim Blog and is currently writing a book on the thought of Rav Kook. Dr. Shapiro leads a number of the Torah in Motion Jewish history trips.

In this episode Dr. Jon Levenson and JJ get into questions about good, evil, and the Book of Job._____________Jon D. Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, began teaching at Harvard in 1988, having previously taught at the University of Chicago and at Wellesley College. His work concentrates on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, including its reinterpretations in the "rewritten Bible" of Second Temple Judaism and rabbinic midrash. In addition, one of his courses deals with the use of medieval Jewish commentaries for purposes of modern biblical exegesis, and another focuses on central works of Jewish theology in the twentieth century. Levenson has a strong interest in the philosophical and theological issues involved in biblical studies, especially the relationship of premodern modes of interpretation to modern historical criticism. Much of his work centers on the relationship of Judaism and Christianity, both in antiquity and in modernity, and he has long been active in Jewish-Christian dialogue. His book Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life (Yale University Press, 2006) won a National Jewish Book Award and the Biblical Archaeology Society Publication Award in the category of Best Book Relating to the Hebrew Bible published in 2005 or 2006. Choice, a publication of the American Library Association, listed Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton University Press, 2012) as one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2013. His latest book is The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Princeton University Press, 2016). In all his work, Levenson's emphasis falls on the close reading of texts for purposes of literary and theological understanding.

Dr. Ariel Mayse, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, discusses the major ideas of early Hasidism, including the social dimensions, charismatic leadership, and the transformative power of intention. He explores the Hasidic attitude towards mitzvahs and the differences between the Hasidic and Kabbalistic perspectives. The chapter also delves into distinctions and tensions within the Hasidic community, as well as the critique of Hasidin beliefs and the culture of laryannic theology in Eastern Europe. The podcast also touches on the debate between scholars on the analysis of recidivism in understanding this social movement.

Welcome to The Podcast of Jewish Ideas!!In this episode JJ introduces himself, the podcast, and what we hope to do together in the coming episodes, we do hope you enjoy.