Synopsis: In today’s (short!) episode we compare Epictetus’s unrealistic and inhuman standards of grieving (or lack thereof) with the tempered and realistic alternative taught by Seneca, as codified by the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah. The explanation Seneca provides for why people grieve excessively raises an interesting question about the psychodynamic forces behind our own experiences of suffering and loss.
Related Rabbi Schneeweiss Content:
- Yet Another Inhuman Facet of Epictetus's Stoicism
- Shooting Yourself With the Second Arrow
Sources:
- Epictetus, Enchiridion 3
- Seneca, Letter #63
- Rambam: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchos Avel 13:11-12
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This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Yael Weiss, in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz's birthday last week, and in gratitude for all the Mishlei he has taught his many generations of students.
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