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JTA
EST 1917

philosophers

They say he dressed in rags. That he appeared with no warning, and disappeared just as quickly. That he was fluent in many languages, and equally so in the texts of multiple religions. That his mastery of science, math, and philosophy was unparalleled. That he taught Torah to the great thinkers Emmanuel Levinas and Elie Wiesel, who names […]

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Talmudic and aggadic lore offers many episodes of rabbinic sages intellectually defeating the luminaries of the Hellenistic world. Far less common are instances of rabbis dismembering their pagan nemeses. So 2nd-century Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah really stands apart. As recounted in the Babylonian Talmud (Bekhorot 8b-9a), acting on Roman Emperor Hadrian‘s dare to abduct Athens’ top philosophers, Ben Hananiah traveled all the […]

Few have better embodied the intersection between rabbinical thought and Western philosophy  as well as the late American philosopher and ordained rabbi Sidney Morgenbesser (1921-2004). Morgenbesser’s academic focus may have been on the humanities, but he was best known for his whip-smart humor and wit. One of his most famous retorts involves a lecture given by a prominent philosopher […]

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