knowledge of the good

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1. Implications of the Akeida: Part 2- Human Knowledge of the Good

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 35 minutes

   In the second part of this series, we challenge and reject the notion that Abraham forfeits the ethical in order to obey God, or that it is impossible for man to come to know the ethical or moral truth of his own accord. On the contrary, we argue that there is an independent idea of “good" that man can indeed come to know, and that God also does not command the impossible or the unethical. 

2. Mishlei - Part 12: Concluding the First Book of Mishlei

   Rabbi Shlomo Dov Rosen | 45 minutes

   In our final shiur on the first Book of Mishlei, we will notice that the last two poems serve as a summary of the basic ideas that we have studied: the relationship between the fear of God and wisdom, natural wisdom and what it means to be pushed away from developing the potential for wisdom, approaching God through wisdom, and the possibility and pitfalls of being led astray.

   We will look at the last five verses of the eighth chapter which constitute the penultimate poem, and then we will move on to the ninth chapter – the last chapter of the first part of Mishlei. Why does the text say that one who hates wisdom loves death? Why cannot it not say that one who loves wisdom loves life? Natural wisdom is necessary to develop one’s potential goodness, but it is wrong to equate it with goodness in and of itself. Wisdom along with spirituality, morality and ethics will make life better and can lead to the potential for closeness with God.