In contrast to the pagan world, the Biblical creation story is ordered, purposeful, and covenantal. In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will help us answer the following questions:

1. How does the Biblical story of creation differ from Bronze Age stories of creation, particularly in its emphasis that man is the purpose of creation?
2. Why did God choose Abraham as the person to carry on the covenant? Or did he?
3. What would happen to the world if the covenant were to fail? Why?

The oldest surviving myth from the Ancient Near East sheds remarkable insight into the pagan mindset. Together, we'll explore the following questions: 1. Why was the Epic of Gilgamesh so popular in its time and why should we still read it today? 2. How does the Epic of Gilgamesh illustrate the pagan view of a life well-lived, and how does that contrast with the Biblical perspective? 3. What does the Epic of Gilgamesh say about immortality in contrast to the Biblical understanding of eternity?

The conquests of the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Persian empires will completely upend the Ancient Near East. In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions: 1. What was the Neo-Assyrian policy of resetllement, and why did Tiglath-Pileser III, arguably the greatest Neo-Assyrian emperor, institute it? 2. How did the larger geopolitical affairs within the region lead to the destruction of the first Temple and the kingdom of Judah? 3. Who were the Persians, and how did they capture the mighty Babylonian empire?

With the backdrop of the wider geopolitical affairs of the Ancient Near East, we turn our attention to the Jewish people. We'll discover answers to the following questions: 1. Why does the Hebrew Bible spend so much time emphasizing that God is the only God and that no other gods are real? 2. Why don't we have extensive archeological records of the ancient Israelites? Does that imply that they didn't really exist? 3. How does the Hebrew Bible differ from contemporary texts in its recording events, criticizing its people, and portrayal of Biblical characters?

The great empires of the Ancient Near East begin to mingle as we move forward from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Rabbi Rocklin will help us explore the following questions: 1. How were the Jews, a relatively small and inconsequential people, able to march into the land of Canaan and conquer the local tribes? 2. What did each of the five major empires that made up the Concert of Powers contribute to the development of the Ancient Near East? How did those developments affect the Jewish people? 3. Why are the Phoenicians credited with originating the alphabet?

In this next episode, we go back to the roots of civilization with an overview of the great kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. We'll find answers to the following questions: 1. How did the Code of Hammurabi begin to push civilization forward, and in what ways was the Code deeply flawed? 2. How do the laws in the Code of Hammurabi compare to the laws laid out in the Hebrew Bible? 3. How do the differences between Babylonian and Biblical law highlight the difference in the pagan and Jewish perspectives on the value of human life?

What does it mean to live well as a human being? The covenantal Jew introduced a new answer that fundamentally shaped the West. In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin will also help us answer the following questions:

1. Why is creativity the inevitable imperative that results from the covenantal relationship with God?
2. What role does religion, and specifically Judaism, play in western civilization?
3. What will it take to revitalize the west? More importantly, why should we care to revitalize it?

In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin explores how pagans and Jews differ on the relationship between man and God. Together, we'll discover answers to the following questions:

1. What is a covenant? How is the Jew's relationship to God framed through the covenant?
2. Does God depend on man to be manifest in the world, or is just fine without man?
3. How does the uniquely Jewish perception of God's relationship with man fundamentally transform the west?

In today's episode, Rabbi Rocklin examines the concept of "culture" and its relationship to religion. Together we'll explore:

1. What does the word "culture" mean, such that we use it with regards to both bacteria and humans?
2. How does the busyness of civilized man impact his relationship to religion?
3. What unique concept is found within Judaism that was essential to the development of the West?