{"podcast":{"title":"The Great Sources with Rabbi Shnayor Burton","slug":"the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468","podcast_index_feed_id":1203468,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/fb5467c/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shnayor-burton","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/2535383/2535383-1669581270294-8c5f4d2d7739e.jpg","author":"Rabbi Shnayor Burton","episode_count":235,"summary":"To help support this podcast, please consider making a tax-deductible donation via Zelle to jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com. Lecture series in Jewish Philosophy. What was the purpose of Creation? What is man's place in the world? What are prophecy and prayer about? What is the significance of Shabbos and the Promised Land? Explore these fundamental questions of Judaism from their sources, and become familiar with the systems developed by the great Torah thinkers: R' Saadiah Gaon, R' Yehuda HaLevi, R' Bachya ibn Paquda, Rambam and the school of the Mekubalim.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468"},"episode":{"title":"S10, E8 In Pursuit of Knowing Hashem: Why Do We Need the Torah?","slug":"s10-e8-in-pursuit-of-knowing-hashem-why-do-we-need-the-torah","published_at":"2026-01-06T16:26:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468/s10-e8-in-pursuit-of-knowing-hashem-why-do-we-need-the-torah","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shnayor-burton/episodes/S10--E8-In-Pursuit-of-Knowing-Hashem-Why-Do-We-Need-the-Torah-e3d8mii","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/fb5467c/podcast/play/113580050/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-6%2F415597912-44100-2-227d67ed557f.mp3","summary":"In this conversation, Zev and I discuss what role the Torah plays in the pursuit of knowing Hashem 00:30 Why do we require the Torah for the pursuit of da'as Hashem? 9:00 Can a person achieve da'as Hashem without the Torah? 16:30 Is the Torah the exclusive method that brings to da'as Hashem? 18:00 What is the Torah and to what genre does it belong? 21:45 It is impossible to disentangle Jewish values from the Torah 30:30 The Torah's words, narratives and practices anchor a person in da'as Hashem 40:00 Does all da'as Hashem trace its roots to the Torah? 51:00 Torah as Law and its difference from the Prophets: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364132946794... https://open.substack.com/pub/shnayor/p/ee-and-r-3_1-between-the-torah-and?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web 52:00 Da'as Hashem is absent from the Torah; Moshe is higher than the prophets by virtue of his recognition that Hashem is actually unknowable 53:30 The Law as guardrails against absolute freedom of thought 54:45 We cannot and will not contemplate infinity, and therefore we need the finitude of the Law 56:00 Paradoxically, restrictions allow for freedom of thought 1:00:00 The Jewish People is the greatest mitzvah 1:05:00 Summary of how the Torah serves da'as Hashem","meta_description":"In this conversation, Zev and I discuss what role the Torah plays in the pursuit of knowing Hashem 00:30 Why do we require the Torah for the pursuit of da…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4268,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468/episodes/s10-e8-in-pursuit-of-knowing-hashem-why-do-we-need-the-torah/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-great-sources-with-rabbi-shnayor-burton-1203468/s10-e8-in-pursuit-of-knowing-hashem-why-do-we-need-the-torah.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}