From Pompey to Hadrian, it took the ancient Romans close to two centuries to conquer a restless Jewish people. But Rome’s physical conquest of the Jews led to an ironic counter–reaction: a Jewish (and Christian) conquest of the Roman soul. How did this great spiritual reversal happen? Through readings from classical authors like Livy, Virgil, and Cicero—and Jewish sources like Pirkei Avot and Midrash—this course will examine how a small people—the Israelites—prevailed over the world’s greatest empire. We will explore why the triumph of the Biblical vision of human beings and human history enabled the formation of Western Civilization as we know it. And we will explore the impact of this transformation of Greco-Roman culture through a Jewish lens on philosophy, literature, and religion to this very day.
Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin
Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin is Director of the Jewish Classical Education Concentration track at the University of Dallas and the academic director and dean of the Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education. His prior work on Jewish Classical Education as a research fellow with Tikvah was featured in the Wall Street Journal. He received his Ph.D. in history from the CUNY Graduate Center, held postdoctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Yeshiva University, and taught at both CUNY and Princeton. He is also a chaplain in the Army National Guard with the rank of Major. Rabbi Rocklin is also the president of the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, as well as a member of the Rabbinical Council of America’s Executive Committee and Military Chaplaincy Committee. Prior to his work at Tikvah, he served as a congregational rabbi in Connecticut. His writings have been featured in publications including The Los Angeles Times, National Review Online, The Daily Wire, The Forward, The Public Discourse, and Mosaic.