Not all C.S. Lewis fans are Christian! Today David is joined by an Orthodox Jew, Dr. Yaakov Weinstein, to talk about his love of Lewis.
S5E36: “Jewish Lewis” – After Hours with Dr. Yaakov Weinstein (Download)
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Show Notes
Introduction
Quote-of-the-week
“[God] selected one particular people and spent several centuries hammering into their heads the sort of God He was —that there was only one of Him and that He cared about right conduct. Those people were the Jews, and the Old Testament gives an account of the hammering process.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book II, Chapter 3)
Biographical Information
Dr. Yaakov Weinstein is physicist for the MITRE Quantum Information Science Group and lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and he blogs at Torah from Narnia
Biographical Information for Dr. Yaakov Weinstein
Chit-Chat
David discovered Dr. Weinstein through his appearance on the Tradition podcast:
David discovered the meaning of Purim through this song by the band, The Maccabeats:
Dr. Weinstein referenced the book Esther in America.
Beverage and Toast
- David was drinking a cup of tea brewed with a teabag which his sister-in-law liberated from a fancy hotel.
- Dr. Weinstein was drinking Aha sparkling water (Lime and Watermelon Flavour)
- Toasted Patreon supporter, Christopher Buchanan:
The Lord bless you and keep you:
Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
The toast was the Hebrew “L’Chayim!”, literally meaning “To life!”. This was a nod to one of Marie’s favourite movies, Fiddler on the Roof:
Discussion
1. “Background”
- Could you please tell us a little bit more about yourself?
2. “Background”
- For those who are unfamiliar with modern-day Judaism, would you mind just sketching for us the major groups within Judaism and how the practice of the faith looks different in each?
- What does worship look like for you?
3. “Encountering Lewis”
- How did you first encounter Lewis and what did you like about him?
- What motivated you to start a blog?
- Do many other people in Judaism read Lewis, or are you an anomaly?
4. “Jewish Narnia”
- You’ve obviously written a lot about Narnia. What would you like to talk about?
…in every generation they attempt to destroy us, and the Holy One Blessed Be He saves us from their hands.
Seder Haggadah
…those Northern Witches always mean the same thing, but in every age they have a different plan for getting it.
C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
5. “The Screwtape Letters”
- I heard that The Screwtape Letters is your second favourite Lewis work, which we read last season. What were your thoughts on that book?
6. “Till We Have Faces”
- You wrote a four-part series of articles on what Lewis considered to be his best book, Till We Have Faces. We went through this book in Season 3. Can you talk us through what you discuss in your series?
7. “The Four Loves”
- This season we read through The Four Loves and you were invited onto the Tradition podcast to talk about your essay, Four Facets of the Love of God, which draws on Lewis’ work. In the time we’ve got left, could you please tell us about it?
