Jewish Ideas to Change the World
Religion & Spirituality:Judaism
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett
The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion & BMH-BJ
About The Event:
One of the most nuanced recent explorations of teshuvah is a television show that has been described as “the smartest, dumbest show on TV.” The Good Place follows four human beings whom we meet in a “neighborhood” of the afterlife supervised by two eternal beings. (This description will try not to spoil the show for those who haven’t watched it, but the session will definitely have spoilers!) One of the humans is a professor of ethical philosophy, and another quickly reveals to him that she has been sent there by mistake. Together, they get to work keeping her from being expelled to the “bad place”, by studying ethics and applying the concepts to working on her character. In the course of four seasons, the show explicitly teaches concepts in ethical philosophy and portrays their application to moral self-improvement. There is almost no specific religious reference in the show, beyond the gestures to “heaven” and “hell.” But what has intrigued Jewish educators are moves that seem like midrashim on teshuvah in a Maimonidean sense and on the book of Esther, and echoes of many core Jewish ethical concepts. The Tov! podcast began with the idea of just juxtaposing each episode’s theme against Jewish teaching — hardly a sophisticated educational methodology. But the further we went, the more alive certain texts become for me, particularly those about teshuvah. And the more I have been surprised at realizations about the moral significance of things like time, friendship, and theology. In the session, we’ll watch and hear some tastes from the TV show and the podcast along with my own story, and hopefully, you’ll be intrigued to watch the show on your own, or re-watch it with a new lens!
About the Speaker:
Jon Spira–Savett has served for nearly fifteen years as rabbi of Temple Beth Abraham in Nashua, New Hampshire, and is co-host of Tov! A Podcast About “The Good Place” and Jewish Ideas Jon has taught social ethics, bioethics, and environmental ethics in Jewish day schools, supplementary programs, teen philanthropy projects, and wider community adult education projects, and he serves on the ethics committee of Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua. Jon’s general writings and recordings about Torah and current events are on his blog at rabbijon.net. He is the immediate past president of the Nashua Area Interfaith Council, co-convener of the Greater Nashua Housing Justice Group, and co-founder of “How To Be President”, an initiative to transform how we learn about candidates by asking better questions. Jon was ordained and received his M.A. in Jewish education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and is an active alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. He did his undergraduate studies at Harvard College. Jon grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a proud alum of the Talmud Torah of St. Paul, to which he owes his interest in ethical philosophy, text study, and Hebrew language.
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 34 - The Value of the Individual vs. the Collective
Parshat Beshalach: On the Role of Song in Liberation Work
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 33 - Care for the Vulnerable vs. Education
Parshat Bo: On Reparations for Slavery and Injustice
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 32 - Zealousness vs. Tolerance
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 31 - Halacha vs. State
Parshat Va’eira: On Softening the Heart
Is A Person Obligated To Receive Medical Assistance?
Parshat Shemot: On Leadership and Persuasion
Changing the Mind to Change the World – Book Talk with Rabbi Marc Gopin
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 30 - Hobbes vs. Anarchist: A King vs. No King
Knowing Life Through Death
Parshat Vayechi: On Legacy and Introspection
Looking to Torah for Leadership in Uncertain Times, an interview with Russ Linden on his new book!
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 29 - The Mussar Movement vs. the Hasidic Movement
Parshat Vayigash: On Dealing Respectfully with the Other
How Heschel Taught Me To Be An Artist
The Pen and the Sword in the Warsaw Ghetto
Honeybees and Torah
40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History - Class 28 - Spinoza vs. the Rabbis of Amsterdam
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Jewish Grandma Podcast
For Heaven’s Sake
18 Questions, 40 Israeli Thinkers
Unpacking Israeli History
Unorthodox