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The Self, the Other, and God in 20th Century Jewish Philosophy:
Cohen, Buber, and Levinas
Mar 8, 2021 By Yonatan Y. Brafman | Public Event video | Video Lecture
her, and where does our relationship tothe other Other鈥擥od鈥攆it in? Modern Jewish philosophers, including Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas placed the intersubjective relationship鈥攖he relationship between persons鈥揳t the center of their thinking. Dr. Yonatan Brafman explores their reflections鈥攖heir similarities and differences鈥攊n order to grapple with its implications for Jewish ethics.
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Mitzvot and the Path to Human Flourishing
Dec 14, 2020 By Yonatan Y. Brafman | Video Lecture
The medievaldecisorand philosopher Moses Maimonides claimed that the mitzvot (commandments) are a divine law. By this, he meant not only that the mitzvot originate with God, but that they were a mediumby which people could flourish bothpoliticallyand personally鈥攚hich for Maimonides meant theattainment of intellectual comprehension.This session explores the significance of Maimonides鈥檝iew and how two modern Jewish thinkers, Mordecai Kaplan and Eliezer Berkovits,built on Maimonides鈥� ideas to develop their own understandings ofhowobservance of themitzvotcanadvancehuman growth andthe attainment ofperfection.
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The Spirit and the Letter
Feb 5, 2016 By Yonatan Y. Brafman | Commentary | Mishpatim
After the heights of the revelation at Sinai, Parashat Mishpatim settles down to more mundane topics, including a lengthy discussion of torts. Perhaps motivated by this sudden change of altitude, Nahmanides interprets these details as expansions on the Ten Commandments, such as the prohibitions on coveting and theft: 鈥淔or if a man does not know the laws of the house and field or other possessions, he might think that they belong to him and thus covet them and take them for himself鈥�.
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