This final part of David’s Jewish History overview series explores the biblical period, from Avraham to the Jewish return to Zion after the Babylonian exile. The talk covers:
the patriarchs and matriarchs
the Egyptian exile and the going out of Egypt
the settling of the land and the period of the judges
the period of the kings
the rise of the prophets of Israel
the division of the united kingdom of Judah into northern and southern kingdoms
the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel, by the Assyrian Empire
the destruction of Judah, the southern kingdom, and the temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire
the 70-year Babylonian exile
the return to Zion and the rebuilding of the temple.
David examines this period through a historical lens. He also provides content and thematic overviews of the books of the Hebrew Bible.
This Jewish History lecture examines the Second Temple Period (Bayit Sheini), which spans from approximately the year -500 (or 500 BCE) to the theoretical year 0 (3260 to 3760 in the traditional Hebraic calendar).
The period is divisible into four distinct phases, named after whichever political power was in control of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel and the Temple in Jerusalem. These entities were:
The Persian (Achaemenid) Empire
The Hellenistic (Greek-based) dominions
The Hasmonean dynasty
The Rome Empire
Each of these phases includes several significant historical events or people that provide the keys to understanding the era as a whole. They were:
Persian
Zerubavel ben Sh’alti’el, Yehoshua ben Yehotzdak, and last of the prophets
Ezra and Nehemiah
The temple at Elephantine
Greek
Alexander the Great
The Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties
The translation of the Torah into Greek
The Antiochus III and Antiochus IV
Hasmonean
Yehudah, Yonatan, Shimon, Yochanan Hyrkanus, Yehudah Aristobulous, Alexander Yannai, Shlomtziyon, Yochanan Hyrkanus II and Aristobulous II
The conversion of the Idumeans
The conflict between ‘Scribes’ and ‘Sadducees’ (Tzeduqim)
Rome
Herod and Roman subservience
The reconstruction of the temple
Hillel
The rise of rabbinic leadership and the tradition of interpretation
The beginnings of political rebellion against Rome.
In the final part of this series, David 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.
Messiahs of the post-Talmudic period to the Renaissance are the subjects of the third lecture in David’s series “The Messianic Idea in Jewish History.”
David discusses:
The emergence of ‘the Midrashic Messiah’
The concept of the false messiah
The disappointment of Bar Kokhba
The influence of Islam on the messianic idea
Spiritual messianism
The impact of the Spanish Inquisition and Expulsion on Jewish messianism
Other messianic movements.
He examines several messianic figures, including:
Nehemiah ben Ḥushiel
David Alroy
Avraham Abulafia
Shlomo Molcho and David Ha Reuveni.
David also explores different messianic types, including:
The ‘classic’ Rabbinic messiah
Ishmaelic and Edomic models.
And discusses various ideas of messianic manifestations through Jewish history, including the messiah:
as warrior
as king
as magician
as persecuted
as kabbalist and wonder worker
as penitent
with a plan.
David examines passages from key Jewish texts which chart discussions about the concept and role of the messiah. He also provides historical context to the people, events, and developments mentioned throughout the lecture.
Fervent messianism in the land of Israel in the first century CE is the focus of this lecture, the second in David’s series “The Messianic Idea in Jewish History.”
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.
In this new four-part lecture series, David discusses how the concept of the messiah emerges in Jewish History, beginning with the biblical period.
This first lecture examines the appearance of the messianic idea in Tanach, charting its metamorphosis towards a universal application.
David explores the development of the Jewish messianic picture throughout the books of the Hebrew Bible, including in:
The Book of Samuel and its discussion of the ultimate messianic figure, King David
The Book of Kings and its depiction of one of the most exceptional Jewish monarchs, King Hezekiah
The Book of Isaiah, a contemporary of Hezekiah, whose visions of messianic prophecy are foundational to Jewish eschatology
The Book of Jeremiah on messianic and Davidic lineage
The Book of Ezekiel on David the shepherd and prince
The Book of Daniel’s eschatological visions for the future
The Book of Zechariah, who made clear pronouncements on the coming of a messiah
The Book of Haggai, with its messianic vision of the role ascribed to the Davidic descendent, Zerubavel, charged with rebuilding Jerusalem and the Second Temple.
He also considers the messianic role ascribed to Cyrus, king of the Babylonian Empire, in Tanach and later in Jewish History.
Additionally, the lecture examines discussions by modern scholars of the implications when biblical ideas of messianism become reimaged as contemporary visions for Zionism.
This final part in David’s four-part Zoom series in the lead-up to Yom Kippur, The Power of Challenge, the Challenge of Teshuva, looks at the issue of repentance and forgiveness within community.
David examines three fascinating and, at times, heartbreaking stories from Jewish History of people who have:
accepted their mistakes,
sought communal acceptance of their penitence,
found revelation in teshuva.
Exploring the experiences of:
Rabbi Yonah of Girona, a medieval rabbi who explored the concept of seeking forgiveness for misdeeds from the deceased;
Uriel de Costa, a 17th-century radical thinker with a tragic story of communal punishment; and
Franz Rosenzweig, the 20th-century philosophy who found inspiration in the idea of teshuva.
In each of these episodes, David draws out the principle of individual repentance and its relationship to communal acceptance, connection, and redemption. He also provides essential historical and cultural background to the stories, giving context and depth to the ideas and events discussed.
This third lecture in David’s Zoom series, The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva, different ways the Talmud discusses the concept of teshuva.
David explores three illustrative episodes from Tanach and the Talmudic period identified by the sages as:
Examples that teach the importance of teshuva
Halachic guidance in the process of seeking – or bestowing – forgiveness
The importance of self-responsibility in teshuva.
David considers the discussions of the sages in relation to the stories of:
King David
Rav and Mechilah
Elazar bar Dordia.
He also summarises the messages from these episodes and draws them down to their meaning for us as we each consider our actions and failings and come to terms with our individual relationships with teshuva.
This final episode of David’s four-part series entitled Unorthodox Episodes of the Talmud explores the idea of the evil inclination – the yetzer harah – with a particular focus on problems relating to sexual temptation.
David explains that sages of the Talmud discussed how few things are as powerful as the desire for intimacy. This inclination affects all people, including great spiritual leaders.
Illustrating this point, David examines two stories from the Talmud. The first concerns Rabbi Amrum the Pious, a third-century sage who lived in the Babylonian city of Naharda’ah who fights his evil inclinations. The other looks at a tragi-comic story of Rabbi Hiyya bar Ashi, a student of Rav, who condemned himself in the face of temptation.
Both stories explore moral and ethical considerations concerning intentional, transgression, culpability, and redemption. Other concepts discussed include:
individual and communal shame – both in this world and the world to come
mystical manifestations of evil
the psychology of guilt and self-control
recognition of human failings
the power of sexual urges
whether thinking about a sin carries the same weight as its enactment
moral karma
the importance of remembering and respecting human relationships in our quest to do right
whether suicide is permitted in certain circumstances
the importance of humility
an appreciation that we may each fail when our moral will is tested.
In examining these two unorthodox Talmudic episodes, David discusses the notion that individuals are often tested in line with their unique moral parameters; that we should be wary of placing ourselves on moral pedestals because we may be found wanting; we are all responsible for our behaviour; and that we must know our limitations and our weaknesses.
The third part of David’s series, Unorthodox Episodes from the Talmud, explores a fascinating series of interconnected stories involving:
a high-level international diplomatic mission,
undercover rabbinical espionage,
a cast of remarkable Talmudic rabbinical figures,
parental concern,
a curious question of Jewish law,
the mystical powers of the rabbis,
a sighting of looted treasures from the temple in Jerusalem,
and a quest to overturn devastating Roman decrees.
David discusses key Talmudic personalities from the first two centuries, including:
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
Rabbi Yossi Ben Halafta
Rabbi Reuben Ben Strobilus
Rabbi Yossi HaGellili
Rabbi Eleizer Ben Yossi
as well as (lehavdil) Ben Tamalia.
He also provides historical context for the events discussed in the Talmudic passages, some of the prevailing cultural and religious norms of the time, and the messages that arise from this unorthodox episode of the Talmud.
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