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The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind

The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind

By: Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education
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Welcome to The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind, a podcast that tells the story of the prophets, philosophers, and poets who created the West. In this podcast, Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin guides listeners through more than 3,000 years of Western history, offering a coherent, civilizational story of how the West came to be—along with a deepened understanding of the challenges it now faces. While many of the texts discussed will be familiar to students of the humanities, Rabbi Rocklin offers a new framework for understanding them—a framework in which the teachings of the Jewish religious tradition play a central role. For, as Rabbi Rocklin explains, Western civilization can only be understood as the product of a transformative and ongoing collision between the great traditions of Jerusalem and Athens—between the religious spirit of the Jews and the philosophical spirit of the Greeks.2024 Judaism Spirituality World
Episodes
  • Immanuel Kant: The Pinnacle of the Enlightenment

    Immanuel Kant: The Pinnacle of the Enlightenment
    May 13 2026

    Immanuel Kant is widely regarded as the greatest of the Enlightenment philosophers. Today, we'll learn more about him and address the following questions:

    1. How did Kant's Protestant background influence his approach to philosophy?
    2. In what way did Kant influence the Romantic era?
    3. Why did Kant reject Judaism as irrational?

    If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of The Pillars, we invite you to join the Tikvah Ideas Circle by clicking here.
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    32 mins
  • Sentiment and Sense: Hume, Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment

    Sentiment and Sense: Hume, Smith, and the Scottish Enlightenment
    May 6 2026

    The Scottish Enlightenment was markedly different than the Enlightenment on the European continent. To help us explore this topic, we'll take a look at the following questions:

    1. How did David Hume influence the way in which history is recounted?
    2. Why would later philosophers see Hume as more reasonable than his French and German counterparts?
    3. Why was post-Enlightenment Britain more open to organized religion than the continent?

    Recommended Reading: Herman, Arthur. How the Scots Invented the Modern World. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2003.

    If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of The Pillars, we invite you to join the Tikvah Ideas Circle by clicking here.
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    32 mins
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The End of the Enlightenment

    Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The End of the Enlightenment
    Apr 29 2026

    One of the most intriguing philosophers of the Enlightenment was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As we learn about his assertions and contradictions, Rabbi Rocklin will touch on the following questions:

    1. In what sense is Rousseau at least partly responsible for the invention of the child?
    2. According to Rousseau, why is society fundamental to the individual?
    3. How can Rousseau, an Enlightenment thinker, be considered a Romantic?

    Recommended Reading: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract and Discourses. 1762.
    Rousseau. Emile: Or On Education. 1763. Reprint, translated by Allan Bloom. New York, Basic Books: 1971.
    Rousseau. Discourse on Inequality. 1755.
    Rousseau. Reveries of a Solitary Walker. 1782.
    If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of The Pillars, we invite you to join the Tikvah Ideas Circle by clicking here.
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    36 mins
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