In this episode of the <i>18Forty Podcast</i>, we speak with Alon Shalev, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, about how Rav Hutner found existential meaning.In this episode we discuss:<ul><li>How do we find and build purpose within our short lives?</li><li>What is the role of individualism and self-expression in Jewish life? </li><li>How should we respond to the crisis of perceived meaninglessness in the modern world? </li></ul>Tune in to hear a conversation about the coming together of <i>machshavah</i>, <i>nigleh</i>, and <i>nistar.</i><br /><br />Interview begins at 23:20.<br /><br />Alon Shalev is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a Research Associate at the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University. He holds a doctorate in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University. He deals with the question of meaning in life in Jewish thought and philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy. His book <a href="https://18forty.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e5fe6ac24e4238308a750e693&amp;id=3a4d9de3ae&amp;e=35cdd1fb8f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner’s Theology of Meaning</a> was published by Brill. Alon lives in Tzur Hadassah, and is married with three children.<br /><br /><b>References</b>:<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Black-September-Eyewitness-Hijackings/dp/1403984204" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terror in Black September: The First Eyewitness Account of the Infamous 1970 Hijackings</a></i> by David Raab<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.eichlers.com/pachad-yitzchak-shavuos-hs2386.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqAHJx9DlblqmvGskOI1RUIXuakuFX0ee78rcegyWCjsHZT-Wuj" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pachad Yitzchak Shavuos</a> </i>by Rav Yitzchok Hutner<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.eichlers.com/pachad-yzchak-h-purim-hs2384.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq_RzZU1uL3BpmDbdrb6TaPhp8yi2xcYewkP5Csu0gLfIf7WUCl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pachad Yitzchak Purim</a> </i>by Rav Yitzchok Hutner<br /><br />“<a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/letters-rav-yitzchok-hutner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Letters of Love and Rebuke From Rav Yitzchok Hutner</a>” by David Bashevkin<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.13a.16-37?lang=bi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berakhot Chapter 2</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-Berlin-Slobodka-Transition-Figures/dp/1602804397" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Between Berlin and Slobodka: Jewish Transition Figures from Eastern Europe</i></a> by Hillel Goldberg<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Jewish-Letters-Inspirational-Personalities/dp/1422609537" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Great Jewish Letters</a></i> by Moshe Bamberger<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Proverbs.24.16?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proverbs 24:16</a><br /><br /><i><a href="https://18forty.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e5fe6ac24e4238308a750e693&amp;id=3a4d9de3ae&amp;e=35cdd1fb8f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner’s Theology of Meaning</a></i> by Alon Shalev<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heidegger-Kabbalah-Poi%C4%93sis-Philosophy-Thought/dp/0253042577" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Heidegger and Kabbalah</i></a> by Elliot R. Wolfson<br /><br /><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/heidegger-and-his-jewish-reception/7F6A78074E2EF7E07FF704B754F2A25B" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Heidegger and His Jewish Reception</i></a> by Daniel M. Herskowitz<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Mesillat_Yesharim?tab=contents" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Mesillat Yesharim</i></a> by Moses Chaim Luzzatto<br /><br /><i><a...

18Forty Podcast

18Forty

Alon Shalev: How Rav Hutner Found Existential Meaning [Mysticism III 1/3]

DEC 9, 2025108 MIN
18Forty Podcast

Alon Shalev: How Rav Hutner Found Existential Meaning [Mysticism III 1/3]

DEC 9, 2025108 MIN

Description

In this episode of the <i>18Forty Podcast</i>, we speak with Alon Shalev, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, about how Rav Hutner found existential meaning.In this episode we discuss:<ul><li>How do we find and build purpose within our short lives?</li><li>What is the role of individualism and self-expression in Jewish life? </li><li>How should we respond to the crisis of perceived meaninglessness in the modern world? </li></ul>Tune in to hear a conversation about the coming together of <i>machshavah</i>, <i>nigleh</i>, and <i>nistar.</i><br /><br />Interview begins at 23:20.<br /><br />Alon Shalev is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and a Research Associate at the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University. He holds a doctorate in Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University. He deals with the question of meaning in life in Jewish thought and philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy. His book <a href="https://18forty.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e5fe6ac24e4238308a750e693&amp;id=3a4d9de3ae&amp;e=35cdd1fb8f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner’s Theology of Meaning</a> was published by Brill. Alon lives in Tzur Hadassah, and is married with three children.<br /><br /><b>References</b>:<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Black-September-Eyewitness-Hijackings/dp/1403984204" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terror in Black September: The First Eyewitness Account of the Infamous 1970 Hijackings</a></i> by David Raab<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.eichlers.com/pachad-yitzchak-shavuos-hs2386.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqAHJx9DlblqmvGskOI1RUIXuakuFX0ee78rcegyWCjsHZT-Wuj" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pachad Yitzchak Shavuos</a> </i>by Rav Yitzchok Hutner<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.eichlers.com/pachad-yzchak-h-purim-hs2384.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq_RzZU1uL3BpmDbdrb6TaPhp8yi2xcYewkP5Csu0gLfIf7WUCl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pachad Yitzchak Purim</a> </i>by Rav Yitzchok Hutner<br /><br />“<a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/letters-rav-yitzchok-hutner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Letters of Love and Rebuke From Rav Yitzchok Hutner</a>” by David Bashevkin<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.13a.16-37?lang=bi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Berakhot Chapter 2</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-Berlin-Slobodka-Transition-Figures/dp/1602804397" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Between Berlin and Slobodka: Jewish Transition Figures from Eastern Europe</i></a> by Hillel Goldberg<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Jewish-Letters-Inspirational-Personalities/dp/1422609537" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Great Jewish Letters</a></i> by Moshe Bamberger<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Proverbs.24.16?lang=bi&amp;with=all&amp;lang2=en6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proverbs 24:16</a><br /><br /><i><a href="https://18forty.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e5fe6ac24e4238308a750e693&amp;id=3a4d9de3ae&amp;e=35cdd1fb8f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner’s Theology of Meaning</a></i> by Alon Shalev<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heidegger-Kabbalah-Poi%C4%93sis-Philosophy-Thought/dp/0253042577" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Heidegger and Kabbalah</i></a> by Elliot R. Wolfson<br /><br /><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/heidegger-and-his-jewish-reception/7F6A78074E2EF7E07FF704B754F2A25B" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Heidegger and His Jewish Reception</i></a> by Daniel M. Herskowitz<br /><br /><a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Mesillat_Yesharim?tab=contents" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Mesillat Yesharim</i></a> by Moses Chaim Luzzatto<br /><br /><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Who-Man-Abraham-J-Heschel/dp/0804702667/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aQDtchGoaAqn7UpMoxdInl2pf7kMG_ooVEXfZzLcelg5ScEVX5TM4D8DBK2lXQRJG4pUpTNbws9FuoqKHFK89Q.Gv_R0FjjAkxayTUC1agFPfpK-142X7HT_1NQYM9IlnM&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;hvadid=695467430771&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvexpln=67&amp;hvlocphy=9030078&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvocijid=16305060101816773808--&amp;hvqmt=e&amp;hvrand=16305060101816773808&amp;hvtargid=kwd-315418566459&amp;hydadcr=8237_13544358&amp;keywords=who+is+man+heschel&amp;mcid=a031e6b9f68f32ef87e89aff08269184&amp;qid=1765260697&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Who Is Man?</a></i> by Abraham J. Heschel<br /><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Halakhic-Man-Rabbi-Joseph-Soloveitchik/dp/0827603975" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Halakhic Man</i></a> by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik<br /><br /><a href="https://torahinmotion.org/podcasts/the-podcast-of-jewish-ideas/68-yitzchak-hutner-dr-alon-shalev" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Alon Shalev on <i>The Podcast of Jewish Ideas</i></a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.eichlers.com/pachad-yzchak-h-chanuka-hs2383.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqThNuwhpuIxtz_4p7nWcOaVEX4I-CM1nDh1GSXQoGW9y8p8h7Q" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Pachad Yitzchok Chanukah</i></a> Rav Yitzchok Hutner<br /><br /><b>For more 18Forty:</b><br />NEWSLETTER: <a href="http://18forty.org/join" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">18forty.org/join</a><br />CALL: (212) 582-1840<br />EMAIL: [email protected]<br />WEBSITE:<a href="http://18forty.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> 18forty.org</a><br /><br />Become a supporter of this podcast: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss">https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/18forty-podcast--4344730/support</a>.