Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education

The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind

History EN ↓ 132 episodes

Welcome to The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind, a podcast that tells the story of the prophets, philosophers, and poets who created the West. In this podcast, Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin guides listeners through more than 3,000 years of Western history, offering a coherent, civilizational story of how the West came to be—along with a deepened understanding of the challenges it now faces. While many of the texts discussed will be familiar to students of the humanities, Rabbi Rocklin offers a new framework for understanding them—a framework in which the teachings of the Jewish re...

Author

Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education

Episodes

Egypt Through the Middle Kingdom: Memphite Theology and The Story of Sinuhe 26.09.2024 35:15

Eastern Origins and Biblical Clash: The West's Roots in the Ancient Near East 24.09.2024 34:59

In this next episode, we go back to the roots of civilization with an overview of the great kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. We'll find answers to the following questions: 1. How did the Code of Hammurabi begin to push civilization forward, and in what ways was the Code deeply flawed? 2. How do the laws in the Code of Hammurabi compare to the laws laid out in the Hebrew Bible? 3. How do the diff...

Revitalizing the West by Rediscovering Its Jewish Roots 19.09.2024 38:05

What does it mean to live well as a human being? The covenantal Jew introduced a new answer that fundamentally shaped the West. In today 's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will also help us answer the following questions: Why is creativity the inevitable imperative that results from the covenantal relationship with God? What role does religion, and specifically Judaism, play in western civilization? Wha...

The Jew in the West: His Covenant, Place, Influence, and Responsibility 16.09.2024 28:07

In today 's episode, Rabbi Rocklin explores how pagans and Jews differ on the relationship between man and God. Together, we'll discover answers to the following questions: What is a covenant? How is the Jew's relationship to God framed through the covenant? Does God depend on man to be manifest in the world, or is just fine without man? How does the uniquely Jewish perception of God's relationsh...

Cult and Culture 12.09.2024 36:45

In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin examines the concept of "culture" and its relationship to religion. Together we'll explore: What does the word "culture" mean, such that we use it with regards to both bacteria and humans? How does the busyness of civilized man impact his relationship to religion? What unique concept is found within Judaism that was essential to the development of the West?

Why the West? Its Greatness and Openness to Culture 10.09.2024 45:51

In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin asks, "What makes Western culture worth studying and preserving?" You'll discover answers to the following questions: In what ways has Western self-criticism been formative and positive? Should we understand the West to be narrowly introspective or uniquely open to other cultures? How has the West been shaped by the conviction that God is in search of man?

An Introduction to The Pillars 03.09.2024 39:13

Eric Cohen, Tikvah's CEO, joins Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin to introduce the Pillars podcast: a systematic journey through the unfolding drama of Western civilization. Along the way, they discuss Plato's Apology , Virgil's Aeneid, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, and how the Jewish people's civilizational impact has been a source of blessing to the nations and offers hope...