Dr. Ochs will take us through a journey of Torah, science, and prayer in the work of Hasdai Crescas, a 14th-century rabbinic leader and mathematical physicist. We will explore (rhetorical) questions such as: “do we know God at all?” If so, what is our best means of knowing or gaining intimacy with God? Intellect? Passions and desires? What is the relationship between Judaism and science?
We’ll contrast the responses of Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) and Crescas as his respectful critique, and then consider a final set of questions: for Rabbinic Judaism, what links Torah and creation? What might Torah study and natural science share? (Crescas: Prayer).
Click here for information about Rabbi Vanessa Ochs’ talk as part of the Scholars in Residence Shabbat.
About Dr. Peter Ochs
Dr. Peter Ochs is the Edgar Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies Emeritus at the University of Virginia, where he co-directed the UVA Research Initiative on Religion, Politics, and Conflict. Among his publications are 15 books and 250 essays in Jewish philosophy, Jewish prayer, pragmatism and semiotics, the logic of scripture, religion and conflict, comparative Abrahamic scriptural traditions, and Jewish-Christian-Muslim theological dialogue. Among his books are Breaking the Tablets: Jewish Theology After Shoah (David Halivni with P Ochs); Understanding the Rabbinic Mind; Textual Reasonings; Peirce, Pragmatism and the Logic of Scripture; and Religion Without Violence: The Practice and Philosophy of Scriptural Reasoning.
