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#109 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (4)

David Solomon explores messiahs of the modern period of Jewish history and the dangers of mystical attempts to bring about redemption.

Among the figures David discusses are:

  • Yosef Della Reina
  • Rabbi Avraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi
  • Shlomo Molcho and David haReuveni
  • Asher Lemlein
  • Rabbi Ḥayyim Vital
  • Shabbetai Zvi
  • Rabbi Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal
  • Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov
  • Jacob Frank
  • Gaon of Vilna
  • Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
  • Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, the Maid of Ludmir
  • Rav Abraham Isaac Kook
  • Theodor Herzl
  • Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Ideas that the lecture examines include:

  • a return to the apocalyptic- this time with mystical magic
  • the transformation of Christianity
  • the concept of a ‘special time’
  • end times
  • prophecy
  • redeeming the sparks
  • the antinomian messiah
  • redemptive consciousness
  • kabbalistic efforts to bring redemption
  • sexual practices to bring the special soul
  • the redemptive spirit in the special soul.

David discusses the stories of these fascinating messianic figures and thinkers and unpacks their ideas, influences, and contributions to history as well as to the ever-developing notion of redemption and messianic fulfillment.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:27:18 — 64.5MB)

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#107 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (2)

The second in David Solomon’s series “The Messianic Idea in Jewish History” explores fervent messianism in the land of Israel in the first century CE.

In the latter years of the second temple in Jerusalem, the atmosphere was rich with apocalyptic eschatology. As a result, several people emerged contending to be the messiah. In this talk, David examines the actions and impact of some of these contenders, with a particular focus on:

  • Jesus,
  • Bar Kokhba.

David also discusses factors contributing to this time of heightened messianic expectation and presentation, including:

  • The welding of the pre-exilic ‘ideal ruler’ of Davidic descent with eschatological anticipations,
  • The idea of the anointed one,
  • The warrior spirit of redemption and the inspiration of the Maccabees in the past,
  • The revival of Hebrew,
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls,
  • The promise of the prophets and the reality of Roman occupation.

David also explores two types of messianic figures presented in Jewish literature – Ben Yosef and Ben David.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:21:57 — 62.7MB)

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#106 The Messianic Idea in Jewish History (1)

David Solomon explores the evolution of the messianic idea in Jewish history following the Second Temple era. He examines how circumstances and events propelled transformations in messianic thought. With the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE, David traces the emergence of apocalyptic notions fused to Davidic restoration hopes. He then analyses and contrasts two radically different messianic claimants who arose from this milieu – Jesus of Nazareth and Simeon Bar Kokhba.

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#73 Women in Jewish History: the Second Temple Period

In this absorbing Jewish history lecture, David examines the stories and contributions of nine remarkable, often powerful, Jewish women from the period of the second temple in Jerusalem, including:

  • Queen Esther
  • Judith (Yehudit)
  • Hannah and her seven sons
  • Hannah Maccabee
  • Queen Salome (Shlomtzion)
  • Queen Miriam
  • Queen Mariamne
  • Berenice
  • Drusilla.

David also explains how the changing political and cultural landscape impacted women’s rights, roles, and opportunities during a period that included:

  • Persian rule
  • Hellenic rule
  • Hasmonean rule
  • Roman rule.

Moreover, he provides historical background and context to this time in Jewish history, packed with complex political intrigue, military machinations, civil war, and regime changes.

Watch a video slideshow of the podcast lecture on Youtube below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:07 — 110.5MB)

    

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#71 A Prophetic Revolution In One Hour

In the first millennia BCE, the prophets of Israel launched an unprecedented spiritual revolution, the impact of which has resonated throughout the ages and across the world. In this fascinating lecture, David presents an overview of the twelve ‘minor’ prophets of Israel. Although their messages contained profound insight, analysis, and inspiration, these prophets are known in English as ‘minor’ because their books are short compared to those of the ‘major’ prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. With lightning speed and characteristic clarity, David takes us through the story of these prophets and reminds us of the remarkable relevance of their words for us today.

In this podcast episode, David examines the life and ideas of the following prophets:
  • Hosea
  • Joel (Yoel)
  • Amos
  • Obadiah (Ovadiah)
  • Jonah (Yonah)
  • Micah
  • Nachum
  • Habakkuk
  • Zephaniah
  • Haggai
  • Zechariah
  • Malachi
He places these prophets in their historical context, looking at the following periods and events:
  • life in the northern Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judea (Judah)
  • the destruction of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians
  • the assault on Jerusalem by the Assyrians
  • the defeat of the Assyrians by the Persians
  • the Babylonian exile
  • the return to Zion and the rebuilding of Jerusalem under the proclamation of Cyrus
  • the beginning of the Second Temple Period.
David delivered this talk in 2015 at the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
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#66 Great Battles of Jewish History (Part 1)

The earliest detailed accounts we have of military contests between the Jewish people and their enemies are found in the Bible. In this podcast episode, the first in a four-part series on great battles of Jewish History, David examines three events from the books of Judges and Samuel in which the Jewish people experience war. Beginning with an in-depth exploration of the fundamental role played by the geography and topography of the land, David explains how an understanding of these details can transform our historical picture of the tactics, leadership, and circumstances of those involved. He also discusses other significant elements that led to the success or failure of each military test and how figures like Devorah and Barak, Gidon, and Saul each fared in these critical moments of individual and national survival.

For listeners to the podcast who can not see the maps David draws in this lecture, we have provided a series of graphics that capture the information provided on the whiteboard. In order to gain the most from this lecture, we recommend referring to these maps as you listen.

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#65 Kefitzat Haderech – Instant Travel

Kefitzat haderech, roughly translated as instant travel, is an idea in Judaism that a person can travel from one location to another in a moment – a type of Jewish teleportation. In this podcast episode, David discusses this fascinating concept and its place in Jewish life and texts. He explains four methods for achieving instant travel and the place teleportation will have in messianic times. David also describes several intriguing episodes in Jewish history in which this extraordinary mode of movement is said to have occurred.
Kefitzat Haderech - David Solomon Kabbalah podcast
Kefitzat Haderech

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#64 Hope in Darkness: Jewish History of the 14th & 15th Centuries (Part Three)

The 1400s in Jewish history was a time of turbulence and uncertainty while also a period of tremendous Jewish intellectual and mystical exploration. In this podcast episode, the last of the three-part series ‘Hope in Darkness: Jewish History of the 14th and 15th Centuries’, David examines the lives of several fascinating figures and their contributions to Jewish and world thinking. However, it is the enormity of the historical events that shaped the Jewish experience of the time, particularly in Europe, that dominates much of the material discussed in this episode. David explores the impact of printing on Jewish life and learning; the increasing interest in Hebrew and Jewish texts among Christian scholars; and the devastating consequences arising from the union of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, leading to the unrelenting cruelty of the Inquisition and the eventual cataclysmic expulsion of the Jews of Spain.

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#56 The Power of Teshuva

The concept of teshuva – usually translated in English as “repentance” but literally meaning “return” – is, as David discusses in this episode, a phenomenal idea in Judaism that a person can be defined, not simply by what they do, but by their ability to change. This podcast episode, coming in advance of Yom Kippur, is unusual in that it brings together segments of lectures David has given over the years on the subject of teshuva. Starting with an in-depth examination of the Book of Yonah (Jonah), which we read on Yom Kippur, he explores Biblical and Talmudic stories that raise discussions about what we can do – and what we should do – when our behaviour is found wanting. David also explores 20th-century Jewish philosophical ideas on the meaning of teshuva for us as individuals and for the world.

Yom Kippur in the Jerusalem Temple. Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop’s “Treasures of the Bible,” 1894. Public Domain.

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#55 The Prophets: The Twelve ‘Minor’ Prophets

A Podcast on the Prophets of Israel in Tanach (Hebrew Bible)

The Trei Asar, known in English as the twelve ‘minor’ prophets, have been fundamental to the transmission of ideas and moral perspectives through the past two and a half millennia. In this podcast episode, the final instalment of this four-part series on the prophets of Israel for Elul, David explores the fascinating lives, historical context, and profound messages of these spiritual giants. In dynamic succinctness, David marches through the short but canonical texts of Hosea, Yoel, and Amos; Ovadiah, Yonah, and Micah; Nachum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. David explains the importance of each book and their contributions to Jewish and world spirituality.

Find ‘Collected Talks of David Solomon’ on the Jewish podcast rating list at Feedspot.

Sophonie s’adressant au peuple. Valenciennes – BM – ms. 0007 (f. 183). 16th century. Public Domain.

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