S7, E6 The Guide of the Perplexed, The Problem of Evil, 02: Non-Existent Evil

This lecture series is a project of כרם בין תורה לחכמה, generously sponsored by R' Yoel Werzberger. Highlights:

1:00 Goodness is what is real, and evil is privation

3:20 The goodness of the universe is the foundational notion of the whole Torah

9:00 Are the masses of today similar to the masses in the past?

11:30 Existence is good as judged by all existents

14:45 Creation ex Nihilo and evil as privation

16:45 Non-existence is evil only relative to existence

28:30 Confronting evil is confronting the nothingness that preceded Creation, and induces fear of God due to its absurdity

33:00 Confronting evil is confronting the notion that perhaps nothing at all should exist; fear of God is the antidote to evil

38:00 When a person judges existence to be good, existence is judging itself; God does not "exist," and therefore He doesn't judge things to be good

46:00 The Torah talks about God as if he is part of the same system of existence as everything else