A Two-Year Exploration of Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind

Source: Tikvah

Join Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin as he guides listeners through the history of the Western world, offering a coherent and uniquely Jewish perspective on the origin and essence of our culture.

Every week for the next two years, Rabbi Rocklin will release two 40-minute episodes that examine many of the great thinkers, key texts, important leaders, and crucial moments that define Western civilization.

Over the course of this series, Rabbi Rocklin will discuss the inspiration of Judaism, the wisdom of Greece, the rise and fall of Rome, the intellectual life of the Middle Ages, the beauty of the Renaissance, and the promise and challenges of modernity.

Meet Your Teacher

Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin​is the Academic Director of the Lobel Center for Jewish Classical Education. His insights on the Jewish contributions to Western Civilization have been developed in a curriculum and used in classrooms around the country. One of these programs was profiled in the Wall Street Journal ("Jerusalem Meets Athens in New Jersey"). Rabbi Rocklin serves on the advisory board of Emet Classical Academy, America's first Jewish classical school. He received his PhD in history from the CUNY Graduate Center and has taught at both CUNY and Princeton.

Join us on a walk through Western Civilization

Trailer - The Pillars Podcast

"The Pillars: Jerusalem, Athens, and the Western Mind" is a new podcast from Tikvah that tells the story of the prophets, philosophers, and poets who forged the West.

In this series, Rabbi Dr. Mitchell Rocklin will guide listeners through more than 3,000 years of Western history, offering a coherent and uniquely Jewish perspective of how the West came to be—along with a deepened understanding of the challenges it now faces. The podcast will chronologically cover each chapter of the great Western story, explored through the study of the period's greatest works of literature, history, art, music, religion, and philosophy.

Get episodes and special content delivered right to your inbox