The Schrift - Ancient Jewish Wisdom for Modern Times

By: Steven Toby Weinberg
  • Summary

  • Somewhere along the way, many of us were forcefed the idea that philosophy is boring and esoteric. What? Philosophy is, in fact, rebellious and therapeutic! Using humor, personal anecdotes, and much hubris, the Schrift provides fresh and unexpected answers to life's most tricky and fateful questions. The anchor of the Schrift is the weekly reading of the Torah. These passages are analyzed not as religious dogma but as brilliant pieces of literature and anthropology which bring ancient wisdom back into our lives. The greatest philosophers and writers of the German canon also weigh in on these questions during the Schrift. Finally the lectures incorporate Buddhist teachings and the practice of Yoga to bring together East and West, body and mind, eternity and the moment. And the Schrift will always give you a "life tip" to carry with you along the way. IG: stevehead0001 s.t.weinberg@gmail.com

    Steven Toby Weinberg 2020
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Episodes
  • Interview 17 - Bar Zemach, Principal Horn of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra - Yithro
    Aug 8 2024

    When Richard Wagner wrote his operas it was--wait for it--actually cool to be German. Indeed, one need only listen to this music for ten seconds to figure this out. Being Jewish back then on the other hand was, well, not so coveted. How times have changed. For today, horn players like Bar Zemach are welcomed to blast the shofar in the best orchestras of Germany.

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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Interview 16 - Erica Weitzman, Associate Professor of German at Northwestern University - Bishalach
    Jun 2 2024

    "Ironic" is a word we throw around in casual conversation. And yet, when we peer back the curtain, we soon see that irony has explosive cultural and philosophical meaning. And what happens when we get ironic about irony itself? That was a devastating question which even Alanis Morrissette seems not to have foreseen. Schlegel, on the other hand... Nowadays, ironic speech is so commonplace that it irks more than it phases. By contrast, in the entire Torah we get just one ironic remark. Professor Erica Weitzman disentangles irony for us and shares her fascinating theory of comic irony.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Interview 15 - Yady Oren, Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Potsdam - Bo
    Mar 28 2024

    In these all-too-modern of times, we not only have fast food and instant coffee, but we also get to enjoy bite-sized philosophy. Why read Hegel or Kant or Descartes when we can, you know, get their entire philosophy summed up in a YouTube video? If this sounds snobby, it shouldn't, for no one is more guilty of this "hack" than I. Fortunately, Yady Oren, who has actually read Hegel, is here to explain Hegel's real philosophy of history. We also hear his opinion on whether the tenth plague was a genocide and whether the Israelites had the right to jingoistically celebrate when the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea.

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    1 hr and 25 mins

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