Uriel da Costa | David Solomon

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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:26 — 44.5MB)

Continue reading “#101 The Power of Change, the Challenge of Teshuva (4)”

A Jewish History Podcast

With a background of war, emerging superpowers, and the Enlightenment, Jewish History of the 17th century is largely seen through the prism of communal experience. In this podcast episode, David explores the narratives and circumstances of communities across Europe, tales of emerging Jewish life in the Americas, and accounts of the situation for Jews in the Land of Israel. In examining these fascinating stories, David also weaves in portraits of individuals, showing how their contributions and situations were reflected in the broader picture of shared Jewish experience.

The old synagogue in Josefov, Prague. Public Domain.

Continue reading “#41 Communities in Search of Meaning: Jewish History of the 17th Century (part 1)”