A Philosopher in Search of the Sabbath
Hosted By: Jewish Study Center
Using an often humorous PowerPoint presentation, Philosopher Susan Pashman takes you through her new book, “Journey to a Temple in Time: A Philosopher’s Quest for the Sabbath.” Dr. Pashman, raised in an atheist family, always loved the Sabbath lights and the notion of a day separated from all others, but wondered how she, who could be sure where she stood on the question of God’s existence, could authentically “keep” the Sabbath. Her search for an answer takes her into the Ten Commandments as a whole to see how the fourth Commandment, on the observance of the Sabbath, fits in with the others. She concludes the Sabbath is a special TIME, set aside to be with God. But how does one accomplish that? A review of the “melachot,” the work is forbidden on the Sabbath, proves unhelpful. But looking to some old philosopher friends like Spinoza and Kant, Aristotle, Nietzsche and Sartre, she finally figures out the deepest meaning of the Sabbath and why it is a morally good thing to exercise one’s “Godlike self” on the day set aside to do just that.
Enjoy the video below.
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