Life as a Jew in the Middle Ages was difficult across both Christendom and Islamic lands. To help us unpack the topic, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions:

1. How much truth is there to the notion that life for the Jews under Medieval Christendom was bleak?
2. Why did distinctions between Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions begin developing in this time?
3. What fueled the many Jewish migrations across Europe? How does the Spanish Inquisition fit into the larger picture of persecution?

When it came to establishing the doctrine of the Catholic Church, there are few quite as important and influential as Augustine. To explore the topic, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions:

1. Why are Augustine’s reflections on his childhood considered monumental?
2. According to Augustine, what is the best way for a Christian to protect his soul? How can the Christian achieve immortality?
3. How does Augustine reimagine history distinct from Herodotus and Thucydides?

Recommended Reading: Augustine of Hippo. Confessions. Translated by F.J. Sheed. Indiana: Hacket Publishing Company, 2006.

The disasters of the fourteenth century triggered reactions that involved and impacted the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church. As we work through the topic, we’ll explore the following questions:

1. How did the populace of Europe respond to the disasters of the fourteenth century?
2. Why did religious reformers begin springing up around this time? How did the Church react to them?
3. What were the goals of Gothic architecture?

The greatness of the thirteenth century will collapse into the disasters of the fourteenth. To explain the how and why of it, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions:

1. Why did the price and wage controls not help the economic chaos following the Black Death?
2. Why were the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries known as the Age of Parliament?
3. What sparked the Hundred Years’ War?

The Middle Ages were marked by a contradiction between the stability of settling down and a dynamic spirit that inspired greatness. On today’s episode, we’ll uncover answers to the following questions:

1. How did the Creation Mandate inspire Christians to start thinking beyond their horizons?
2. Why does Medieval art depict figures who are clearly disproportionate? What was Gothic architecture trying to accomplish?
3. What precipitated the Crusades? How were they a product of the restless Christian spirit?

Recommended Reading: Urban II, Speech at the Council of Clermont

The tension between intellectual reason and divine revelation stands at the heart of the Medieval spirit of inquiry. As we explore that tension, we’ll unpack the following questions:

1. Why did universities develop at this time? How were they different than the ancient academies?
2. How did Christian thinkers begin employing philosophy to develop Christian doctrine?
3. Why was scholasticism important towards building up intellectual life?

The Middle Ages will see the continued development of the relationship between God and man. On today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will discuss the following questions:

1. What role did church and religion play in the day-to-day life of the layman of the Middle Ages?
2. Why was religion as important for Jews as it was for Christians?
3. Why was medieval Christian scholarship so focused on theology, and why did the Church come down so hard on what it perceived as heresies?

The structures of government in the Middle Ages are quite different from what we have today. On today’s episode, Rabbi Rocklin will address the following questions:

1. What were the various obligations of the different ranks of people in the Middle Ages? How were they obligated to each other?
2. What role did the king play in Medieval times?
3. Was it really all bad for Jews in the Middle Ages?