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Four Interpretations of the Genesis Creation Story
Rating: 4.6 out of 5(14 ratings)
55 students

Four Interpretations of the Genesis Creation Story

A Jewish Journey through Religion, Philosophy, Science, and Mysticism to Explain the First Verse of the Bible.
Created byMichael Gold
Last updated 9/2023
English

What you'll learn

  • Students will learn how Judaism allows a variety of interpretations of the beginning of Genesis. It will explore topics like religion, philosophy, science, and mysticism.
  • Religion

Course content

3 sections • 10 lectures • 1h 58m total length

  • Religion Philosophy Science - Introducing Me14:45

    This is an introductory lecture on my work in the area where religion, philosophy, and science meet.  More materials can be found on my website A Rabbi Encounters the Universe arabbiencounterstheuniverse.com.   

  • A Rabbi Encounters the Universe - Introductory Lectures14:45

    These lectures form the introduction to a series that will soon appear on my new website, arabbiencounterstheuniverse.com.   

  • Four Interpretations of the Genesis Creation Story7:27

    We will introduce the topic, explaining the four different methods Jewish tradition uses to interpret scripture.  They are p'shat -the simple meaning, d'rash, -the rabbinical meaning, remez - the philosophical meaning, and sod, -the mystical meaning.  As we go through the course, we will look at these in greater detail.

Requirements

  • No prerequisites.
  • Interest in Biblical Interpretation.

Description

Look at the introductory lecture which describes my new project, A Rabbi Encounters the Universe.  The project will contain an ongoing series of lectures that combine religion, philosophy, and science.  These particular lectures begin to explore one of the most important topics I plan to cover, the creation of the universe.  What can the beginning of Genesis teach us?  Jewish tradition has never read scripture in a literal manner.  On the contrary, Jewish tradition has always allowed multiple interpretations of every verse in the Bible.  In this course we will look at the four classical methods of interpretation found in Jewish tradition - the simple, the rabbinical, the philosophical, and the mystical.  The simple concerns what the words of Scripture meant to the author who wrote them.  The rabbinical looks at other verses of Scripture with hopes of learning insights from one verse to another.  The philosophical approaches the text from within the medieval philosophical tradition.  Finally, the mystical is built on kabbalah or Jewish mysticism, offering a radical new insight.  How does each of these interpretations fit in with how modern science understands the beginning of the universe?  Finally, as we study these four approaches to interpretation, we will learn about the powerful idea from kabbalah that we live in four worlds, each encased in another, like Russian nested dolls. 

Who this course is for:

  • Anyone interested in questions about the Bible and science, or in exploring the wisdom of Judaism.
  • People interested in religion, philosophy, or science.

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