What Is the Good Society?
What is the Good Society? How should human beings live together in community under God, lawfully and morally? Beginning with the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature, this course of study traces how foundational Jewish ideas of creation, law, holiness, and community developed in conversation and tension with Greek philosophy, Christianity, and modern political thought.
These sessions follow a chronological and thematic arc from ancient revelation to modernity, encountering doctrinal debates, political revolutions, and social transformations along the way. Readings include biblical texts, Talmudic passages, medieval and modern philosophy, and political documents. We will encounter numerous thinkers, including rabbis, church leaders, and philosophers. We will pay particular attention to questions of authority, pluralism, faith, reason, and the moral limits of politics. The goal is to emerge intellectually equipped to evaluate competing visions of the Good Society and articulate how Jewish thought, both classical and modern, contributes to contemporary moral and civic life beyond the four walls of the beit midrash.
This course was developed by Gabriel Stein for Tikvah’s William & Mary chapter in the spring of 2026.