Spinoza Mondays
Alternate Mondays, 1pm-2pm
From October 20th 2025, we will study the Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza (1632–1677) was an important early modern philosopher and a forerunner of the Enlightenment. From a Sephardi family in Amsterdam, he was excommunicated by the Jewish community and lived a secular life devoted to reason. Drawing upon both Descartes and medieval Jewish philosophy, he constructed a system of thought in which God is understood as synonymous with Nature in its creative, dynamic aspect. The highest good of the human being is to find liberation from negative emotions through a deep understanding of the self, and to achieve the intellectual love of God/Nature. We will read together selections from the Theological-Political Treatise, a sustained argument for freedom of thought and speech which includes early biblical criticism, then progress to the Ethics, his philosophical masterpiece.
Midrash Mondays
Alternate Mondays, 1pm-2pm
From October 27th 2025, we will continue our study of Midrash, beginning with Bereshit Rabbah 12:15; 13:2, 7.
Bereshit Rabbah is one of the most important rabbinic midrashim, redacted in the early fifth century CE. It is the earliest midrash on the book of Genesis, composed in the Land of Israel and comprising a running commentary on the biblical text as well as introductory homilies (petiḥot) on weekly readings. Promoting a theology of Torah as medium of divine creativity, it engages in subtle polemics against pagan, Gnostic and early Christian ideas, as it weaves stories and elaborate interpretations around the narratives of Genesis.
Participants may attend all sessions or only those on Spinoza or Midrash. No prior knowledge is necessary, but in the Midrash sessions participants who wish to will have the opportunity to read the Hebrew/Aramaic text.
To sign up, please email marklsolomon@outlook.com
Mark Solomon’s Personal Meeting Room https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5403651249