Shabbat Talmud Study: Learning From the Moral Failures of King Solomon

Evidently, being the wisest, wealthiest and most powerful man on the planet is not enough to keep you centered, grounded, and living a decent and moral life.

That is the Bible’s testimony based on the life of King Solomon. He had it all. But his rule and his life end in disgrace, disrepair, failure. His legacy is a divided kingdom and ultimately destruction and exile.

What is the learning for us, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah? What can King Solomon’s sordid story teach us about proper posture not only for High Holiday services but for life?

We will compare and contrast Christian and Jewish responses to the problem
of human failure.

The material for this class comes from a lecture Micah Goodman gave to
a rabbinic seminar at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

Welcome back, Talmud class! I have missed you. See you Shabbat
at 8:30.

Shabbat shalom and shana tova,
Wes