Machshava Mastery Curriculum
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SURVEY COURSES
The purpose of these two required survey courses is to introduce learners to the leading Medieval and Modern Jewish thinkers, while surveying the major issues in Jewish thought which they dealt with in their times and briefly exploring why they thought the way they did and how they differed from one another. Each Survey Course will last 24 weeks, with each weekly lesson lasting an hour.
Medieval Jewish Thinkers Survey Course
The course will explore some of the forces that formed the various philosophical works of this era, which include pressure to assimilate coming from the majority culture of Christianity or Islam, as well as confusion among the masses about Jewish belief that arose from interaction with Karaites and both secular and Islamic Aristotelian rationalism. Topics of interest include the question of proving God’s existence, the rationality of the commandments, the nature of prophecy, the immortality of the soul, and others. Differences between Rambam’s and Harav Yehuda Halevi will be emphasized, and other thinkers explored will include Rav Saadyah Gaon, Rabbeinu Bahya, Ralbag, Rav Hasdai Crescas, Rav Yosef Albo, and others.
Modern Jewish Thinkers Survey Course
This course will examine the thought of rabbinic figures such as the Maharal of Prague, R. Nachman Krochmal, Moses Mendelssohn, R. Ḥayim of Volozhin, R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and R. Abraham Isaac Kook, alongside some major modern Jewish philosophers such as Benedict Spinoza, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, and Emmanuel Levinas. Central themes include the tension between autonomy and authority, the challenge of modern individualism, the rise of historicism, the influence of existentialism, and the impact of the Enlightenment on Jewish thought and identity. The individuals and topics shall be studied with an eye toward understanding cultural movements in modern Judaism, including Hassidism, Reform, the Mussar movement, Ultra-Orthodoxy and Modern Orthodoxy.
JEWISH THINKER COURSES
Students must complete at least one of the following courses. Each Jewish Thinker course will last 12 weeks.
Rambam
Rabbi A. I. Kook
Rabbi Soloveitchik
MACHSHAVA SUGYOT COURSES
Students must complete at least one of the following courses. Each Machshava Sugya course will last 12 weeks, with each weekly lesson lasting an hour.
Ikkarei HaEmunah (Fundamentals of Faith)
Hashgacha Pratit (Divine Providence) & Bitachon (Trust in God)
Holocaust & Zionism
Ta’amei HaMitzvot (The reasons for the mitzvot)