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Radically Inclusive Jewish Culture

22 June - Deviant Yeshiva Reads Benjamin

Photo of Walter Benjamin with the quote: "For every second of time was the strait gate through which Messiah might enter."

The Hague, The Hague

22/06/2025 19:30

Looking for a good philosophical discussion about Jewish ideas? Look no further than Oy Vey’s Deviant Yeshiva.

Oy Vey’s resident philosopher Yoni Busquila will be leading a series of face-to-face discussions of Jewish philosophical in Den Haag. The discussions and texts are in English.

In the second session of the 2025 2nd edition of the Deviant Yeshiva, we will be discussing a selection from Walter Benjamin’s text “On the Concept of History”.

 “For every second of time was the strait gate through which Messiah might enter.”

— Walter Benjamin

Registration

LOCATION: The Hague (details follow registration)

TIME: 19.30-21.00

Places are limited. Register using this form:

You can also register for the other sessions on Jewish philosophy:

🗓️May 11 – Levinas, “Messianic Texts” from Difficult Liberty
🗓️June 22 – Walter Benjamin, selection from “On the Concept of History”
🗓️Sept 6 – Hermann Cohen, “To Create Messianic Time: A Jewish Critique of Political Utopia” from Ethics of Maimonides
🗓️Oct 4 – Gershom Scholem, “On Jonah and the Concept of Justice”

About the Reading Group

The goal of the reading group is to inspire reflection on Jewish themes and questions.

The main theme is messianism and the different approaches to it by Jewish thinkers in the past century.

The four sessions explore the theme of messianism in 20th-century Jewish philosophy:

  • We will begin with Levinas’ interpretation of the Talmud tractate (Sanhedrin) on messianism, where he attempts to define what the concept means in those rabbinical discussions.
  • We will then move on to Benjamin’s classic text on the concept of history, where he takes a kabbalistic approach to the possibility of changing it.
  • The third session will focus on Cohen’s engagement with Maimonides, in which he argues against the idea of messianism as a form of utopia.
  • The final meeting will be a discussion on Scholem’s interpretation of Jonah and the relationship between prophecy and justice.

The meetings take place once a month, and everyone is welcome to join.

The sessions are guided dialogues centered on the texts and their proposals. Participants are not expected to agree with or even like the texts—our only request is that you engage with them and join the conversation.

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