Dr. David Sclar will speak on “Purpose and Perfection in the Thought of Moshe Hayim Luzzatto (RamhaL).” Dr. Sclar is a History teacher and Librarian at Yeshivat Frisch. He earned his doctorate in history at the CUNY Graduate Center and has held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford. He researches Jewish religious life in the 17th and 18th centuries and is the curator of the exhibition "The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries" -- currently on view at the Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History -- and author and editor of the book of the same name. He lives in Teaneck with his wife Yafit and children, Noa, Avi, and Ayala. 

Moshe Hayim Luzzatto (RamhaL; 1707-ca. 1746), author of Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Righteous), was one of the most original and influential Jewish thinkers of the past several centuries. Dr. Sclar will discuss his activities and how he understood purpose and perfection, then relate that to current conceptions of Jewish life, values, and tradition.