The Problem of Evil & Theodicy

Suggested prerequisites: one credit each of Jewish Theology (Live) and Pastoral Care (Live). 

About This Course

A large part of the spiritual leader’s job is “meaning making”, and there is no more complicated a task of making meaning during times of tragedy. This is where theodicy, the confrontation of “a good God with an evil world” becomes an important conversation, particularly given the history of the Jewish people.

Here we’ll explore the Problem of Evil, answers given in response to suffering, and build a theological tool kit for working with those in pain. One unique feature of this course is that we will be reviewing theodicy through the sources. In some cases, the individual solutions to the problem of evil will show up in multiple places in the course, but this will stand to show that no thinking on human suffering lives in a vacuum, and that there is always more to add to the question.

This course is 1 credit towards smicha

Units will include:

• An introduction to theodicy and philosophical questions of evil
• The evolution of the problem of evil in Jewish history and thought
• Harold Kushner’s mainstreaming of Limited Theism
• The Book of Job and the problems it creates
• Holocaust theology as Jewish theodicy
• Building a spiritual toolkit for your own “problem of evil” explorations on your own and with others

This course will be graded on personal reflections (audio, video or written) that you will post on the main #prs Slack channel. While this only has six units, as it requires reading two books in full as well as the biblical text and many other texts, it will count as a full credit. I ask that the level of work put into the course be on-par with its full credit status.

This course is one credit.

Required Reading:

• When Bad Things Happen to Good People
• The Book of Job (JPS or Robert Alter is fine)
• Finding God
• Recommended (But Not Required) Reading:
  • Evil and the Morality of God
  • Holocaust Theology: A Reader

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, students will have:

• Developed a brief, survey level knowledge of philosophy of religion’s “problem of evil” and a few of the Jewish responses based on Jewish text, Holocaust Theology and issues of Pastoral Care
• Articulated a personal perspective to the problem of evil question
• Assembled a spiritual and practical toolkit for dealing with times of suffering and crisis, focusing on what “works” for different situations one encounters in the rabbinic vocation

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