The Book of Samuel:
Religion, Politics, and the Longing for Order
A free online course on the Biblical text with Dr. Micah Goodman
The Book of Samuel tells many seminal stories from ancient Israel's political history, including the rise of the Davidic kingdom. In Samuel we meet prophets and soldiers, and encounter some of the most dominant personalities of the Hebrew Bible. Along the way, Samuel also frames enduring human questions, including solitude and friendship; madness, erotic longing, and self-control; the grounds of political legitimacy, and how to satisfy man’s longing for order in history.
In this five-part online course, led by one of the impressive Jewish teachers in the world, you will:
Delve into the explosive episodes of the Book of Samuel, including Hannah’s prayer in the Temple, David’s defeat of Goliath, Saul’s coronation as king, and David’s sin with Bathsheba.
Probe the religious and political themes that this iconic book addresses, including the conflict between ritual and ethics, the challenge of monarchy, the utility of religion, and the nature of sacrifice.
Discover how the Biblical text provides antidotes to some of humanity’s most enduring afflictions.
Learn from one of the most dynamic and interesting teachers of the Hebrew Bible.
This course is generously sponsored by:
Joseph Allerhand and Randi Schatz
The Kress Project on the Hebrew Bible, Camille and Sandy Kress
Meet Micah Goodman
Micah Goodman was named by the Jerusalem Post as one of the 50 most influential Jews in 2017, and by the Israeli magazine Liberal as one of the 100 most influential Israelis in 2019. He is the author of six bestselling books. His first three—Moses’s Final Speech, The Dream of the Kuzari, and The Secrets of the Guide for the Perplexed—explore classical Jewish thought. His next three—The Wondering Jew, Catch 67, and The Attention Revolution—explore contemporary Israeli issues and ideas. Dr. Goodman is one of the founders of Mabua – Israeli Beit Midrash. He is also a Research Fellow at the Kogod Research Center of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and—alongside Efrat Shapira Rosenberg—hosts the popular Israeli podcast “Mifleget Hamachshavot” (“The Party of Thoughts”), produced by Beit Avi Chai.
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