The British Christian Political Theorist Who Found the Answers in the Talmud

In 1628, the English lawyer, scholar, and parliamentarian John Selden found himself confined to the Tower of London, and allowed access to only one book. He requested a copy of the Babylonian Talmud, knowing that its many volumes could keep him occupied for a lifetime. A man of immense erudition who had mastered Hebrew and Aramaic, despite likely having never met a Jew in his life, Selden henceforth dedicated most of his spare hours to studying this text. As the historian Ofir Haivry explains in conversation with Ari Lamm, he found therein the basis for a political and legal philosophy that could reconcile tradition with reason and universalism with particularism. (Audio, 59 minutes.)