{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Jewish Ideas to Change the World","title":"The Religious Significance of Secular Studies According to Rabbi Yosef Hayyim (1835-1909) ","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3362,"description":"A virtual event presentation by Professor Zvi ZoharThe event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or TzionAbout the Event: In ancient times, some rabbis held that since one is commanded to study Torah day and night (Joshua 1:8), other intellectual realms could be acquired only ‘when it is neither day nor night.’ An exception could be made only for learning a practical profession, enabling one to earn a living. (See, e.g., JT Pe’ah 1:1).Following in the spirit of those ancient scholars, many East European Rabbis in recent centuries were against secular studies for boys and men and viewed such studies as antithetical to the true Torah. So, too, some rabbis permitted secular studies as a practical concession enabling one to gain a livelihood.Rabbi Yosef Hayyim was one of the greatest rabbis in the entire world in the half-century leading up to WWI. He was an all-round scholar – Halakhist, Kabbalistic, interpreter of Aggada and Midrash, composer of religious poetry, and famous for his lively and compelling sermons. Nevertheless, many people have not heard of him, as he was a Sephardic/Oriental rabbi who spent his entire life in Baghdad. In addition, many people imagine Sephardic Jews (and rabbis) to be simple, naïve traditionalists – as opposed to the cleverness and sophistication of European/Ashkenazic Jews.However, it was specifically the ‘Sephardic/Oriental’ Rabbi Yosef Hayyim who strongly advocated that Jewish schools offer a curriculum offering both Torah and ‘general’ studies in tandem, not because general studies are needed to earn a living but because of their inherent intellectual and spiritual religious value.In this session, we will study (in translation) the original texts of  Rabbi Yosef Hayyim on this topic and discuss the significance of his views.*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c0bJtwOQ0FWHA-G_cf8wND9XqiOY2Lyt/view?usp=sharingAbout the Speaker: Zvi Zohar is a senior research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is the Chauncey...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/rgXhZfTlnTjybGe2Y8VJvw1nIGugVMdj7wEKsMGYlrk/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzI5ODEyLzE2NTEw/Nzg1NjAtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}