The Sages of Provence and the Rambam Controversy

Introduction

The 13th century is a rich time for Jewish history. This class opens with a description of the resurgent Catholic Church and then introduces the Sages of Provence through the context of the Albigensian Crusade. It ends with the struggle within Am Yisrael between reason and revelation and how this erupted into a controversy around the works of the Rambam.

This podcast has been sponsored in loving memory of Charles Feuer, B’tzalel Avraham.

Mike Feuer

Rabbi Mike Feuer teaches Striving for the Divine, Rav Kook, and Jewish History at Pardes. He studied at Yeshivat HaMivtar, the Mir Yeshiva, and Sulam Yaakov, where he received rabbinic ordination and later served as Educational Director. Mike’s teaching combines rigorous textual analysis with a deep love of the poetry and spirituality found in Torah.

Since making aliyah in 2001, he has been the program director of a post-high school yeshiva and taught history, Jewish thought, and Bible in several Jerusalem yeshivot and midrashot. Today, as a consultant, spiritual counselor and creator of the Jewish Story podcast, Mike is driven by the power of story to shape our world.