In this episode of 'ADERABA,' hosts Rafe Neis and Gilah Kletenik delve into so-called nature, the natural, and the unnatural in Jewish Studies. The discussion opens by addressing Rabbinic approaches to nature and the ways in which such texts are excluded from what is conventionally deemed "science" and "scientific." Then, they discuss how the naturalism of medieval Islamic and Jewish philosophy present alternatives to the hegemony of Christian transcendence from nature, conceits of escapes from the natural. Particular attention is granted to Maimonides and Spinoza. The conversation then turns to analyze the ways in which notions of "deviance," "natural law," and the "natural," are deployed today in the realms of reproduction, sexgender, and the family. They conclude by considering the ways in which certain Jewish studies scholarship perpetuates certain Christian frames of thinking, as regards reproduction and the nuclear family, notions of freedom, and radical individualism. Mention is made of affect theory, feminist scholarship, and possibilities for future study.

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast

00:40 Nature in Rabbinic Texts

02:32 The Exclusion of Jewish Sources in the History of Science

04:52 Rabbis and Their Approach to Nature

17:05 Medieval Jewish and Islamic Philosophy on Nature

20:21 Nature, Law, and Morality

30:37 Modern Science and Its Theological Underpinnings

45:07 Conclusion and Reflections