The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind

Our study of Plato's Republic continues with Socrates' remarkable insight into human nature. Rabbi Rocklin will walk us through the following questions: To Socrates, what is the relationship between the form of government in a city and the ideal man within that city? How does Socrates imagine cities transitioning from one form of government to another? What does Socrates see as the potential dange...

Plato's Republic is one of the most foundational texts in the western canon. To help us unpack why that is, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions: What was Socrates' goal in this very long conversation with his students How does the individual fit into Socrates' "city in speech"? What is the role of knowledge in the pursuit of the good and the true?  Recommended Reading: Plato. The Re...

Athens' contributions to the development of the west would be vastly incomplete without its invention of philosophy. Today, Rabbi Rocklin will walk us through the following questions: What is philosophy and why did it develop as a discipline? Is there any truth to the notion that philosophy is necessarily sacrilegious What made Socrates different than the philosophers who came before him such that...

The grandeur of Greek thought is captured in the heart of Greek tragedy. On today's episode, we'lll explore the following questions: To the Greek, what was the purpose of poetry? What was its relationship to prophecy How does Greek drama develop from poetry? What makes Greek tragedy so compelling that it lives on to today?

Thucydides takes one step beyond Herodotus in his approach to history. As we read his account of the Peloponnesian Wars, we'll address the following questions: What is the difference between Thucydides' tragic perspective of the Peloponnesian Wars and the Homerian tragedy? How does Thucydides' description of Athenian devotion to the polis highlight a fundamental difference between Greeks and Jews?...

Not even the Peloponnesian Wars could stop the continued development of culture in Athens. On today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will walk us through the following questions: Why did Athens and Sparta start warring with each other? How did fifth-century Athens cultivate Greek thought so that the spirit of inquiry became the hallmark of Greek intellectuals? What made Thucydides different from Herodotus...

Herodotus is sometimes called the "father of history," because he fundamentally changed the way humanity viewed its own story. As we read Herodotus, we'll uncover answers to the following questions: Why did Herodotus decide to write history? What made it different than other stories that had been written until then? How does Herodotus' including the Persian perspective reflect a particularly Greek...

The rivalry between Athens and Sparta is one that has ignited minds and passions for generations. Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions: Why would the Greeks have experimented with different types of government? How did Athens resolve the tension between loyalty to the family and loyalty to the state? What were the Persian Wars and how did they lead to the rise of Athens?

The Persian Empire dominated the Ancient Near East, affecting Jews and gentiles alike. Today, we'll explore the following questions: How did the mighty Persian Empire come to be? Why did the Persian Empire have multiple capital cities? How is Persia and Persian culture affected by Alexander's conquest of the empire?

The gods and fate continue to control mankind, but The Odyssey will now add a third element: human folly. Together, we'll answer the following questions: Why would Odysseus have chosen to go home instead of possibly becoming immortal? What role does Telemachus, Odysseus' son, play in bringing Odysseus home? How does Odysseus model a different version of Greek heroism than Achilles and Hector? Reco...

Rage, honor, and fate continue to drive The Iliad to its ultimate, tragic end. As we read, we'll explore the following questions: What is it about beauty that would have made the Greeks go to war over a beautiful woman? How does The Iliad highlight the values of the Greek gods that the heros then personify? How does Homer attempt to resolve the conflict between loyalty to the family and loyalty to...

We turn our attention now to The Iliad, which is one of the most fundamental texts in western civilization. We'll discover answers to the following questions: Who was Homer, what is The Iliad, and why are we reading it? How do rage and honor drive the story as much as the gods do? Why are the gods so heavily involved in Homer's recounting the story of a human war? Recommended Reading: Homer. The I...

The way in which we choose to live will be affected by whether we live with Greek outlook or a Jewish one. Together, we'll discover answers to the following questions: According to the pagan mentality, why do people suffer? What does the Bible say about suffering? How did the pagans define good and evil and how does that impact the ways in which they conducted their lives? How does the Greek notio...

The concept of sacrifice is one that differs sharply from the pagan to the covenantal setting. Today, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions: How does the cult of Dionysus uniquely position Greece—and eventually Rome—to be open to the notion of the covenant? What is the difference between the Jewish and Greek aversion to human sacrifice? Why must the Greek gods follow through on all pr...

The difference between the Jewish and Greek worldviews come into even sharper focus with a careful study of the ancient Greek myths. Together, we'll explore the following the questions: Why do shepherds feature so prominently in both Jewish and Greek hero-figures? How do the Jews and the Greeks differ in the way they relate to the animating spirits of the world? What is the difference between the...

The earliest Greek mythologies come to us from Hesiod, to whom we turn for a glimpse into the Ancient Greek psyche. Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions: Who was Hesiod and why do we need to study his works? According to Hesiod, why was woman created? How does that compare to the Biblical account of the creation of woman? How does Hesiod's Fable of the Hawk highlight the pagan perspe...

Today, we step back in time to explore the earliest Greek civilizations. Rabbi Rocklin will help us answer the following questions: How did the Olympic games begin, and why did the athletes compete naked? Why did the rise of the polis lead to the development of different types of government? How did the Greeks develop a culture that valued other cultures?

Although Ancient Greece is long gone, its legacy stands until today, influencing and enriching culture throughout time. Today, we'll explore the following questions: If Greeks were pagan, why would the Jews have considered embracing Greek thought to the point that the Rabbis allowed Torah scrolls to be written in Greek? Why are Greek disciplines not only permissible, but vitally important for reli...

Now that we understand what a covenant is, we turn to the Hebrew Bible to see what it means to live a life according to that covenant. Rabbi Rocklin will help us answer the following questions: What does it mean to live a sacrificial life according to the covenant? How does the Bible illustrate the challenges of keeping the covenant alive even when everyone around you would let it die? Why is the...

The Biblical approach to politics is yet another arena that is drastically affected by the covenant. Together, we'll explore the following questions: 1. Why is there no disctinction in the Bible between religious life and political life? 2. What makes the Bible unique in its perspective on government as compared to its Ancient Near Eastern counterparts? 3. How does the Bible carefully and sensitiv...

In contrast to the pagan world, the Biblical creation story is ordered, purposeful, and covenantal. In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will help us answer the following questions: How does the Biblical story of creation differ from Bronze Age stories of creation, particularly in its emphasis that man is the purpose of creation? Why did God choose Abraham as the person to carry on the covenant? Or d...

The oldest surviving myth from the Ancient Near East sheds remarkable insight into the pagan mindset. Together, we'll explore the following questions: 1.    Why was the Epic of Gilgamesh so popular in its time and why should we still read it today? 2.    How does the Epic of Gilgamesh illustrate the pagan view of a life well-lived, and how does that contrast with the Biblical perspective? 3.    Wh...

The conquests of the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Persian empires will completely upend the Ancient Near East. In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions: 1.    What was the Neo-Assyrian policy of resetllement, and why did Tiglath-Pileser III, arguably the greatest Neo-Assyrian emperor, institute it? 2.    How did the larger geopolitical affairs within the region le...

With the backdrop of the wider geopolitical affairs of the Ancient Near East, we turn our attention to the Jewish people. We'll discover answers to the following questions: 1. Why does the Hebrew Bible spend so much time emphasizing that God is the only God and that no other gods are real? 2. Why don't we have extensive archeological records of the ancient Israelites? Does that imply that they did...

The great empires of the Ancient Near East begin to mingle as we move forward from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Rabbi Rocklin will help us explore the following questions: 1. How were the Jews, a relatively small and inconsequential people, able to march into the land of Canaan and conquer the local tribes? 2. What did each of the five major empires that made up the Concert of Powers contribute...