At the core of the Jewish tradition are some claims about how God relates to us and some claims about how we relate to Him. This seminar begins by exploring what sorts of reasons God might have had for creating free creatures (say, human beings), and for initiating some sort of shared life with those creatures (say, in the form of a covenant). Then we’ll shift from looking at how God relates to us to looking at how we relate to God. We’ll discuss what Jewish tradition teaches about work and rest, and whether there are unforgivable sins.