Shalom Carmy

STERN COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

Dec. 1995

Answer 7 of 12--at least 2 questions from each section.

Answer sagaciously and tenaciously

Halakhic Man:

1. Discuss the Rav's view of death, as presented in Halakhic Man. Note both his general philosophical framework and some of his specific halakhic arguments.

2. R. Hayyim Brisker: "G-d created the world because He willed it!" How does this statement express halakhic man's view of mitzvot? How does it reflect the similarity to cognitive man?

3. Every ish halakha contains a homo religiosus: Explain the Rav's statement; exemplify it and justify it.

4. How does the Rav, in Halakhic Man and in U-Bikkashtem, utilize the conceptions of prophecy presented in Rambam's Guide and in the Kuzari to formulate his views of creativity and of the religious experience.

Lonely Man:

5. Is kevod ha-beriyyot always identical to the Rav's category of dignity? Refer to his footnote and to our analysis.

6. Note differences between the way science is treated in Halakhic Man and in the discussion of Adam I in Lonely Man.

7. "If the tale of the heavens were a personal one... there would be no need for another encounter with G-d." Cf. to havaya tiv'it in U-Bikkashtem.

8. Had G-d placed man in only one of the communities, then... what? What is the result of man's being placed in both?

U-Bikkashtem miSham:

9. How does the Rav reformulate the medieval reason/revelation question in accordance with his conception of man's religious reality?

10. How do the fear and love of G-d correspond to the havaya tiv'it and the havaya gilluyit? Compare to Rambam.

11. What is the Rav's judgment of ethics or religion lacking in determinate divine commands? Why is it inevitable that these commands occasionally run counter to human reason?

12. Which aspects of religious life, according to U-Bikkashtem are equally open to all human beings, and which vary with the individual's capacities and inclinations?

PART II: BONUS!

In what seminal way(s) do you think that our way of thinking has been affected by the Rav's life and thought?

I regret not being with you in person.

I hope you found the course as worthwhile as I did. I can be reached during summer at

915 East 17th Street, Brooklyn, N.Y., 11230

Tel. (718)-252-0496,

E-Mail: carmy@ymail.yu.edu

Last update: 02/11/99.

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