Episode 41: Dr. Brian Keating "God and the Astrophysicists"

Episode 41: Dr. Brian Keating "God and the Astrophysicists"

Author: Ben Koren and Benzi Siouni | A Geonic-Maimonidean Approach to Torah Through the Ages and Today January 30, 2023 Duration: 49:27
Dr. Brian Keating's book 'Losing the Nobel Prize' is a memoir about his scientific and personal journey. In one of his talks, he said, "searching for God was in a way searching for my father." He explains how being estranged from his father impacted his relationship with God. Raised Catholic by his stepfather, he spent a year as an altar boy, but his spiritual search eventually led him to becoming a Baal Teshuva. We discuss how Judaism requires one to ACT, not necessarily to BELIEVE. Discover how this particular fact about Judaism shaped who he is, why he returned to his roots after becoming an atheist, and how he reconciles the seeming tension between religion and science. Also, it seems that scientists are reverting to the Eternal Universe Model to avoid the implications of the Big Bang (via the Multiverse theory). Many scientists insist that if God were to exist, something MUST have created Him, yet they don't apply the same logic to the universe. In this sense, is science any different than dogmatic religion? On another note, he explains how space and time are related and why this is so fundamental. We also touch on the big question about mathematics: Is it hardwired into the fabric of the universe, or are we creating it to understand and navigate our world? Lastly, we ask the professor if he thinks aliens exist, which is always a fun topic. (His talks with Ben Shapiro, Lex Fridman, Avi Loeb, Dennis Prager, Eric Weinstein, and Neil Degrasse Tyson are available on all major platforms.) • Thank you to friend of the podcast Zev Gotkin of Zev Media for guest co-hosting this episode!

In a world of soundbites, JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED | A Guide for Today's Perplexed: Torah Foundations, Reason, and Tradition offers a different space: long, thoughtful conversations that delve into the questions and concepts often passed over. Lifelong friends Ben Koren and Benzi Siouni host this series, bringing together voices from across disciplines-religious thinkers, scientists, historians-to examine Jewish wisdom through a specific lens. Their approach is rooted in the Geonic-Maimonidean tradition, a classical stream of Jewish thought that champions reason alongside deep faith, and they thoughtfully engage with the modern intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. This isn't about simple answers, but about rediscovering the robust, foundational frameworks of Torah that can speak to contemporary complexity. Each episode aims to build a bridge between ancient text and modern perplexity, reigniting a genuine passion for tradition by taking it seriously as a living, intellectual pursuit. The resulting discussions in this podcast are nuanced, patient, and designed for anyone who feels that standard explanations have left gaps in their understanding. You'll hear explorations where tradition meets rigorous inquiry, where historical context illuminates enduring principles, and where the goal is a more coherent, personally owned Jewish life. It’s a guide for the curious, the skeptical, and the devoted, all seeking a deeper anchor in timeless wisdom.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 139

JUDAISM DEMYSTIFIED | A Guide for Today's Perplexed: Torah Foundations, Reason, and Tradition
Podcast Episodes
Episode 16: Rabbi Joshua Maroof "Judaism vs. Spinoza & Atheism" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:47
In the recently published book 'Strauss, Spinoza, & Sinai' (Kodesh Press), it is said that both the Enlightenment and Orthodoxy rest on axioms that neither side can fully prove or fully refute (as Leo Strauss presented).…
Episode 15: Hakham Mordehai Ish Yemini "Foundational Principles" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:13
Hakham Mordehai provides a brave and unsafe space to explore the legacy, ideology, and principles of the Torah according to Maimonides. He makes an impassioned plea for the return to classical Judaism, explains the diffe…
Episode 13: Mentalist Mark Edward "Exposing the Charlatans" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:45
Mr. Edward reveals secrets of the trade and takes us on a journey through the world of illusion. Although he is agnostic, he is doing God's work. We share our different views on faith but there is quite a lot of common g…
Episode 12: Reuben Ebrahimoff "My Crypto-Jewish Heritage" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:05
This particular episode is more personal for the hosts of the podcast, as Mr. Ebrahimoff speaks to Ben about their shared roots as descendants of Iranian crypto-Jews. He gives a brief overview of the Mashhadi story then…
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Duration: 1:39:55
Rabbi Phillips provides an in-depth analysis of Judaism's most complex concepts such as Resurrection of the Dead, the Afterlife, Esotericism, the pursuit of human perfection, Rabbinic innovation, and the concept of Sacre…
Episode 10: Professor Henry Abramson "Unmasking History" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:32
Dr. Abramson brilliantly breaks down how historians process data to determine what sources are reliable, the respective approaches of historians and archaeologists in interpretating events, the difference between biblica…
Episode 9: Professor Jeffrey L. Rubenstein "Stories of Our Sages" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:30
Dr. Rubenstein explains the difference between midrash and aggadah, the methodology in deciphering aggadot, how to go about navigating through the different versions of aggadot (specifically between Talmud Bavli and Yeru…
Episode 8: Rabbi Tovia Singer "Why Jews Reject Jesus" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:21:14
Rabbi Singer (www.outreachjudaism.org) presents an eye-opening historical account of Jesus, and discusses how Paul of Tarsus invented antisemitism, why the Jews rejected Jesus, how the gospels paganized Judaism to form a…
Episode 7: Rabbi Abe H. Faur "The Horizontal Society" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:15
Rabbi Faur addresses a variety of pertinent topics such as the importance of understanding diqduq (Hebrew grammar) when interpreting Torah verses, the general idea of classical mysticism, the prophetic experience, the Ho…