Verein

Good and Evil - Seminars presented by Verein. Save the date(s)

Verein – Education Committee with oomph!

November 2 – Lunch and Learn

Over the last several months we have discussed our personal beliefs: what is God, from whence comes the Torah, what is the value of prayer, etc. Although the subject of good and evil lurked in our discussions, it was never addressed per-se. It is of note that Torah begins with creation placing man/woman in Eden quickly followed by woman/man’s “sin” of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the subsequent punishment.

It is of interest that this “Tree” narrative only appears in sections identified as having been written by the author identified as J. No other author ever mentions this. There are, as usual, many different interpretations, including the Christian “original sin” theory and to Maimonides’ allegory.

The Traditional Jewish explanation has been that Good and Evil is defined in the Torah by the Mitzvahs so the knowledge offered by the Tree was not necessary. In the Millennia that have passed, our ability to acquire knowledge has increased exponentially.
How do modern sages approach this issue?
In 1953 Martin Buber wrote the Book “Good and Evil”.

It can be acquired at AbeBooks.com and is priced reasonably.
We will be reviewing this book at a Lunch & Learn on Nov 2.
In today’s world, few would claim that this is an outdated topic.
What does an American/Jewish view on Good and Evil look like in 2019?

So we are planning three sessions, one as mentioned above on November 2, Lunch & Learn after Kiddush.

I don’t have the dates for the other two sessions – as of this writing. But be sure to pay attention to information from the office.
Session two will review a more recent author. And the third session will address the thorny issue of Free Will

Ralph and Richard