Course B4 - Famous Jewish Controversies

David Cohen

8th February - Christianity and Judaism
In 1263, Pablo Christiani, a learned apostate Jew, backed by the powerful Dominicans, makes the outrageous claim that the truth of Christianity can be proved from the Talmud itself. Nachmanides, Spain's foremost Rabbinic authority, is compelled to respond in a public debate presided over by the King and his leading nobles. The religious destiny of mediaeval Spanish Jewry hangs in the balance. David Cohen provides a blow-by-blow account of the disputation and a detailed analysis of its ramifications.
15th February - Faith and Reason
Judaism's greatest philosopher and theologian, Moses Maimonides, is accused by many of his contemporaries and later scholars of outright heresy. His Magnum Opus, the Guide for the Perplexed, is brutally savaged and ultimately burnt. Are all secular studies to be permanently banned? David Cohen examines the root causes of the controversy and traces its subsequent stages of development over the succeeding centuries.
22nd February - The Karaite Movement and my personal encounter with them
The origins of the Orthodox/Reform split and the history of the Karaite Movement qualifies as one of Judaism's great controversies. This lecture will talk about the development of Rabbinic Judaism over the centuries and will feature David Cohen's graphic description of his personal encounter with the Jerusalem Karaites and their leader, and his debate with them.
1st March - Christian Anti-Semitism
A discussion and analysis of the Reformation leaders' attitude to Jews and Judaism with particular emphasis on Luther, and Calvin and the Popes of the Catholic Church. What was the impact of the Reformation on the overall course of Jewish history?

David Cohen was educated at Carmel College and gained a Masters degree in Law at Oriel College Oxford. He attended Jews College and Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel and is a qualified solicitor. David has had a longstanding interest in promoting adult Jewish education within the wider community and has lectured widely on a large spectrum of subjects to a wide variety of audiences.