Hebraica

Why do nations act the way they do? Why do some societies endure hardship while others collapse? Why do people continue to sacrifice, fight, build, and hope in ways that seem irrational to outsiders? In this episode, Robert argues that human beings (and the cultures they create) cannot be understood through material interests alone. As he puts it, we are what we believe. Our deepest convictions ab...

On the 250th anniversary of the American republic, Robert reflects on gratitude, wealth, and our tendency to focus on what we lack instead of what we have. Drawing on Ecclesiastes, the American experience, and observations from his own life, this dispatch (a new feature) dwells on what it means to be content in an age of abundance, and why counting our blessings may be the beginning of wisdom. If...

Benjamin Netanyahu recently sparked controversy by declaring that "history proves that Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan." Critics called the remark cynical, even blasphemous. But the real problem with the statement is not that it's wrong, but incomplete. In this episode, Robert explores the worldview undergirding Netanyahu's remark, tracing it through Will Durant...

What does a handwritten copy of Psalm 145 reveal about one of history's greatest scientists?  Robert explores a newly-discovered note in Galileo's personal copy of the Almagest and argues that the astronomer's worldview was shaped not by hostility to faith, but by a radical conviction that God—not the earth, the sun, the state, or even the Church—stood at the center of things.  Alon...

After more than a decade working on issues related to Christians, Jews, and Israel, Robert has come to believe that the conversation we're having is far too small. In this episode, he reflects on a recent discussion about Israel, Gaza, and the war that followed October 7, and explains why he launched Hebraica .  Robert explains that, while political and military questions matter, they're...

Christians and Jews share a common scripture, a common moral vocabulary, and a common God. They also share a long and often painful history. In this episode, Robert explores the paradox at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition: how two communities so deeply connected could become so deeply estranged.

What do we mean by "Hebraic culture"? In this episode, Robert explores the idea that Jews, Christians, and others who trace their deepest beliefs back to the Bible belong to a vast but invisible cultural community. Using an analogy from the Muslim world, he explains why he believes Jerusalem continues to exert a powerful influence on people far beyond the city itself—and why understandin...

In this introductory episode, Robert Nicholson explains the idea behind Hebraica : the existence of a vast but often invisible world of Jews, Christians, and others who still see reality through the moral imagination of Jerusalem. What is the Hebraic tradition? Why does Jerusalem continue to exert such gravitational pull on the imagination? And what does the rebirth of Hebrew culture mean for Jews...