The Wisdom of Shabbat: A Modern Israeli Perspective
Course Details
Shabbat has been a defining feature of Jewish culture for thousands of years, a central part of Jewish identity, a constant rhythm for Jewish life. In this course, we explore the philosophical underpinnings of Shabbat, the various themes and messages that make it so meaningful, and its place in the modern world using ancient sources against 19th and 20th century thinkers, extending their frameworks into the 21st century.
However, for many Jews—in Israel and beyond—Shabbat a very specific valence of extensive ritual laws and restrictions: synagogue ritual, Shabbat candles, prohibition on writing, and so on. In contrast, this course builds the picture from the ground up, assuming that Shabbat is the inheritance of every Jew, leaving aside the practical questions and instead asking the philosophical: What is Shabbat about? How does it correct or supplement modern ideological systems? How can this idea of Shabbat fit into a modern secular and/or Israeli, Jewish culture?
Dr. Meir Buzaglo is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the Hebrew University. As a son of the late Rabbi David Buzaglo and board member of the Avi Chai Foundation, he has been instrumental in the piyut renewal and its dissemination in contemporary culture of Israel. Dr. Buzaglo is deeply engaged in the question of Jewish identity in Israeli society; he draws on philosophical tools and methods to determine masorati (traditional) identity and is active in strengthening it. The understanding that the ethos of Israeli society needs to be brought up to date and integrated at its philosophical, political, cultural and social dimensions led Meir to the founding of the Tikun Movement, whose membership forms a community of solidarity spearheaded by today’s educational and social leadership of Israel.
