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How Much of Our Suffering is Performative? (Seneca – Letter #63: On Grief for Lost Friends)

How Much of Our Suffering is Performative? (Seneca – Letter #63: On Grief for Lost Friends)

FromThe Stoic Jew


How Much of Our Suffering is Performative? (Seneca – Letter #63: On Grief for Lost Friends)

FromThe Stoic Jew

ratings:
Length:
11 minutes
Released:
Dec 23, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Synopsis: In today’s (short!) episode we compare Epictetus’s unrealistic and inhuman standards of grieving (or lack thereof) with the tempered and realistic alternative taught by Seneca, as codified by the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah. The explanation Seneca provides for why people grieve excessively raises an interesting question about the psychodynamic forces behind our own experiences of suffering and loss.  Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content:- Yet Another Inhuman Facet of Epictetus's Stoicism- Shooting Yourself With the Second Arrow Sources: - Epictetus, Enchiridion 3- Seneca, Letter #63- Rambam: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchos Avel 13:11-12----------This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss, in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz's birthday last week, and in gratitude for all the Mishlei he has taught his many generations of students.----------If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.----------If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle/Chase QuickPay and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor an article, shiur, or podcast episode, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.----------YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbischneeweissBlog: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/"The Mishlei Podcast": https://mishlei.buzzsprout.com"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: https://thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: https://machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": https://tefilah.buzzsprout.comGuide to the Torah Content of Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/2021/04/links-to-torah-content-of-rabbi-matt.htmlAmazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_shareSupport the show
Released:
Dec 23, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss. I am, first and foremost, an Orthodox Jew. My primary area of focus is the teachings of Shlomo ha'Melech (King Solomon) in Mishlei (Proverbs) and Koheles (Ecclesiastes). I also consider myself to be a student of the Stoic masters: Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. Over the past two decades I have been exploring the relationship between Judaism and Stoicism - where they overlap, where they differ, and how they complement each other. This year I started a daily reading of Marcus Aurelius with an aim to explore these questions. I'll read a passage from Aurelius's Meditations and then muse (or meditate aloud) on my thoughts about what he said and what the Torah would have to say. As Seneca taught: "Each day acquire something that will fortify you against poverty, against death, indeed against other misfortunes as well; and after you have run over many thoughts, select one to be thoroughly digested that day" (Letter #2). If this podcast serves that purpose, then it will have been of value.