In this course, we will meet and intimately get to know the first Jewish mothers and fathers. Reading select passages from the Book of Genesis, we will meet Sarah and Abraham, Rebecca and Isaac, Leah, Rachel and Jacob. In order to meet these mothers and fathers in light of our modern sensibilities, we will prepare our opening of the Book of Genesis by readings about mothers and fathers in the psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Viktor Frankl and Erich Neumann, and in the plays of the Greek tragedians Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Prof. Chighel is the Headmaster of the Ashkenazium where he teaches Jewish philosophy, as well as Jewish thought, history and literature in the “aspaklaria” of Jewish philosophizing. For the greater part of his professional life, Prof. Chighel produced Jewish television (1998-2009) and online videos for Chabad.org (2016-20). He has taught philosophy and Jewish studies in Canada at York University, Queen’s University and the University of Waterloo. During 2007-14 he held the Rohr Chair of Jewish Studies at the Lauder Business School in Vienna. Prof. Chighel has published various articles in Jewish philosophy and Ḥasidic Thought, and has translated two books from French. His major publications are Kabale. Das Geheimnis des Hebräischen Humanismus im Lichte von Heideggers Denken (2020) and Aschkenas: In der deutsch-jüdischen Apokalypse (2025).
Dates: February 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24
Time: 18:00 - 21:00
Registration: info@ashkenazium.eu
