EPISODE‌ ‌79 Reading Sinai: Tamar Ross and the Ethics of Cumulativism

“If the Torah is to bear a message for all generations… its revelation has to be a dynamic process, a gradual unfolding that reveals its ultimate significance incrementally, only through time.”— Tamar RossThe giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai reads something like a fairy tale, and to take the story at face value requires a high level of credulity. How is it possible for an invisible, unknowable, and divine force to communicate with human beings? How are we to accept not only this narrative, but the sacred laws and teachings that derive from it?When it comes to the Torah, how do we find the core of “truth” beneath and behind the layers of subjective human interpretation — and is this “truth” still relevant in our contemporary world?This episode of the Living Jewishly Podcasts is an instalment of What Would You Do?, a podcast about ethics in the modern world. Dr. Elliot Malamet speaks with Tamar Ross, Professor Emerita of Jewish Philosophy at Jerusalem’s Bar-Ilan University and a leading specialist of religious feminist philosophy, about the implications of the Mount Sinai story and how we may approach it in our modern context.This rich and fascinating conversation explores the tension between Orthodox beliefs and critical theories, the malleability of meaning behind words, and the concept of non-realism.“Humans haven’t begun to scratch the surface of possible modes of existence and consciousness.”— Tamar RossThis‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌

• Three assumptions that make up Professor Ross’s understanding of the Mount Sinai narrative and other traditional messages
• The primary job of religious statements of “truth” — and how they shape our worldview and day-to-day practices
• Three strands of thought that have helped Professor Ross build a subjectivist approach to metaphysics‌

Highlights:‌ ‌00:51 Intro05:06 Tamar Ross & youthful faith12:49 3 assumptions of cumulativism17:32 Words & meaning20:30 Non-realism & cultural perspectives25:43 Metaphysics, subjectivism & Kant28:56 Kabbalah & G-d’s view of human life32:00 Ludwig Wittgenstein35:27 Orthodoxy & religious fictionalism41:44 Obligation, meaning & prayer49:17 Overcoming disadvantages52:30 ConclusionLinks:‌ ‌Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism by Tamar Rosshttps://www.amazon.ca/Expanding-Palace-Torah-Orthodoxy-Feminism/dp/168458051XTo get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.orgFollow us on Instagram: @living.jewishlyWatch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzwor send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.Shalom!