The Stoic Jew

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Last month I made an episode in which I objected to Marcus Aurelius’s practice of deriding food, drink, and other material enjoyments by means of hyperrealistic “objective” descriptions (e.g. describing coffee as “hot bean juice”). In today’s episode we reexamine that technique and recognize its place in our lives. Related Episod...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today is Friday, and you know what that means: time for The Stoic Jew Q&A! As you can tell from the title of the episode, today’s question is not so much of a question (nor was it submitted as such) but a request. This is not the first time I’ve been asked to slow down, but it is the first time I’ve examined this personal fau...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Warning – if you’re expecting a clear, neatly packaged, practical insight, then I advise you to skip this episode and listen to another one. Epictetus and I have been gradually coming to a head, and I finally decided to attempt to talk about it. The key word here is “attempt.” On the one hand, I am aware that Epictetus’s view of...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was inspired by a coffee-related mishap which led to a critique of Epictetus’s Stoicism, in contrast to Shlomo ha’Melech’s foundational Stoicism in Mishlei. Epictetus isn’t entirely at fault here, but in my opinion, the way he teaches Stoicism lends itself to these fallacious ways of thinking. For my other episode...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we discuss the different perspectives on sleep, as reflected in the teachings of Marcus Aurelius and the Rambam. I hesitate to characterize this as “the Stoic view on sleep” because this was literally the only Stoic teaching I could find on the topic, but perhaps that fact is significant in and of itself. Regar...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today will be our last episode on Letter #123 (for now, at least). In this excerpt Seneca provides us with further guidance on how to resist the “counterfeit Stoicism” we read about last time. His method parallels that of the Rambam in Hilchos Deios and Shemoneh Perakim, although it’s not exactly the same. The reason I wanted to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we read an example of a particularly insidious form of rationalization – one in which your yetzer ha’ra uses a counterfeit version of the value system you’ve embraced and persuades you to engage in self-destructive behavior, thinking that you’re making progress. And when this rationalization is promoted by the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Yesterday we discussed the “disease” of the relative value system, and the pain and unhappiness that comes from comparing yourself to others. Today we discuss the “cure” for this disease, as prescribed by Seneca and the Rambam. Some may find this remedy to be difficult to implement in practice, but I argue that even if a total im...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we continue reading Seneca’s Letter #123. In this excerpt he discusses what we might view as a very “modern” problem, namely, desiring possessions simply because everyone else seems to own them. As value as this lesson is in its own right, I think it applies equally to things that really matter, such as our lea...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I liked the letter we started yesterday so much that I decided to continue it in today’s episode. Because Rosh Chodesh and its newfound significance (thanks to Sforno’s idea, which I discussed in Season 3 Episode 17 ) has been on my mind, I decided to use Seneca’s words as a springboard to suggest a method for using Rosh Chodesh...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: We’re back for Season 4 of The Stoic Jew podcast! In today’s episode we hear Seneca’s strategy for making his bad bread taste good – a strategy which is also taught by Shlomo ha’Melech in Mishlei. Although it may look like both of them are advocating asceticism, they are really doing the opposite: showing you how to maximize plea...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode I reflect on my own chipazon -ridden journey from Pesach 5780 to Pesach 5781 in light of a memento mori passage from Aurelius and a beautiful commentary of Sforno on the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. I hope the ideas and personal reflections I share prompt similar thoughts in you. If you’d like to share them with me...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: I decided to record at least one episode commenting on the overlap between the Stoic and Jewish views on “true freedom.” We begin with an excerpt from Epictetus’s Discourses in which he addresses the complaint of the student who is interrupted in his studies by life’s obligations. We then read the Abravanel’s commentary on Chazal...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This episode is about how I decided to record an episode today by deciding not to record an episode today and thinking about my decision not to record an episode today. If you’d like to hear what my own neuroses sound like when filtered through the mesh of Stoic teachings, then this episode is for you. Also, this may or may not b...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we continue our exploration of the relationship between Judaism, Stoicism, and the teachings of the Jedi Order as depicted in George Lucas’s Star Wars. We focus on a single statement made by Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, which we examine in light of Seneca’s Letter #71, a famous Rashi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we explore the relationship between Judaism, Stoicism, AND the Jedi Order. The YouTuber Pop Culture Detective produced a video essay entitled “The Case Against the Jedi Order” in which he raises a number of valid criticisms against the philosophy of the Jedi as depicted in George Lucas’s Star Wars movies and ch...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode focuses on an unusual letter from Seneca in which he explains his motive for studying abstract philosophical questions about the universe. I was surprised that Seneca was even interested in such questions in the first place, but I was absolutely flabbergasted by the reason he gave for his interest in thinking abou...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode should be regarded as a brief introduction to a much broader topic: the similarities and differences between the Stoic and Jewish approaches to tefilah (prayer). We examine sources from Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus – all of which are encapsulated in a single quotation attributed to Bruce Lee.  In this ep...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today is Friday, and you know what that means - it's another episode of TSJ Q&A! Here is today's question: "Based purely on listening to your podcast and listening to the teachings of the Stoic thinkers, it’s evident that they were rational thinkers who utilized analytical thinking in their philosophy. However,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was brought to you by Seneca and Starbucks. Thoughts of death amid the taste and aroma of Café Verona led me to ponder a line from “Our Town” and contrast it with a passage in the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. As we’ll see, the point he makes has validity, but only up to a point. ---------- Aurelius – Meditation...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today’s episode was inspired by a rather hostile reaction online to a #prequeltorahmeme I made which featured the word “rational.” In this episode we examine the manner in which Seneca, Epictetus, and Shlomo ha’Melech introduce their readers to the life of rationality, and discuss why it is, perhaps, the best method of making thi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we read a beautiful excerpt from a letter about on an old theme that Seneca is a master of eloquence: the fact that we do not know when we will die. After reading the letter I reflect on a very small example of how this came to mind recently. Be sure to stick around until after the usual outro, because I rememb...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: HAPPY MARCUS AURELIUS DAY! Oh, what’s that? You didn’t KNOW that March 8th in the year 161 is the day that Marcus Aurelius became emperor? No worries – neither did I! In honor of this day we’ll be taking a brief break from Seneca’s letters to examine a topic through the lenses of Marcus Aurelius, Richard Mitchell, and Rabbi Mosko...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: Today we're going to try an experiment ... The Stoic Jew Q&A! This experiment was suggested by my friend, Albert, and our first question was submitted (unknowingly) by another friend, Yoel Schaper, who asked me the question: "Are you a Stoic?" If you enjoy this episode, please send me more questions about the r...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: In today’s episode we read Seneca’s lengthy comparison of the dingy “old school” Roman baths to the “new” luxurious style, and the habits and aversions of the newer generation to that of the old. It feels like Seneca talking about our present circumstances, albeit with different particulars. And as difficult as it would be for a...