As the world becomes, to all appearances, a discordant, chaotic jungle inhabited by trees with glass shard leaves and strange, growling nocturnal beasts, it might seem counter-intuitive to seek comfort and guidance from the works of a 17th century Jewish heretic who spent most of his life living quietly as a lens grinder and exchanging…
Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza has been disinvited by the 92nd St Y. from giving his talk “Why I am a Heretic and Abjure Traditional Judaism.” According to event organizers the lecture has been cancelled because he has, in the past, failed to disown the BDS movement. This isn’t the first time Spinoza has courted controversy….
Baruch Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in 1632, the son of Portuguese Marranos (or conversos, or crypto-Jews) who had fled the Inquisition. A prodigy at Amsterdam’s Etz Chaim Yeshiva, he was widely expected to become a rabbi. As rumors of his heretical ideas spread, he was denounced by his yeshiva teachers, and in 1656 he…
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree The modern Jewish experience is awash in fascinating personalities whose imprint extends far and wide. Were you to compile a list of such people, Benedictus (né Baruch) Spinoza would undoubtedly be on it. Streets are named after him, conferences mark his birthday and both paintings and plays take him…
Bento’s Sketchbook By John Berger Pantheon, 176 pages, $28.95 Can a mass of ordinary, well-meaning people, without great wealth or political power, radically change the structure of the society in which they live? It’s a question that has been much on the world’s mind this past year. In Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, autocratic rulers and…
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Jonathan D. Sarna writes about “Great Jews Since…
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