S8, E2 Jerusalem and Athens: God-Centered vs. Human-Centered Governance, 02

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

Highlights:

2:15 What is achieved by humans thinking in non-human terms? 4:15 Humans are the most important aspect of reality; viewing the world from God's perspective involves viewing humanity accurately 8:30 The actions are God can be understood only by understanding humans 12:00 God is good only if humans are good 16:00 By bringing things back to God's perspective, we simultaneously value the way things are and remain open to progress 18:00 The tension between progressivism and conservativism 22:00 God's will as the ultimate constant that allows for infinite progress 30:45 The Golden Mean as the way of God 33:10 Finding law within human behavior brings human behavior back to God 35:45 A person cannot know the ways of God without knowing himself 37:25 The prophets call God righteous and thereby make Him righteous, since humans, His ultimate creation, will be inspired to be righteous, making Him righteous 40:00 The difference between the philosophers and the prophets about whether human perfection involves intellectual perfection or moral perfection 47:20 What makes the Torah divine: the connection between ordering society and thinking about God