Person
Every book David Wolpe recommended on podcasts
David Wolpe appears on podcasts such as the Lex Fridman Podcast, where he engages in deep, intellectual discussions centered around Judaism, history, human mortality, and literature. Wolpe frequently draws upon a rich literary background to explore profound existential questions. Among his top recommendations is Ernest Becker's 'The Denial of Death,' a work he encountered in high school on his father's recommendation and which he still considers one of the most profound books he has ever read. Wolpe also holds a deep appreciation for Viktor Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning' and Abraham Joshua Heschel's 'The Sabbath,' praising both as concise and beautiful works that address human resilience and sacred time. In addition to philosophical and spiritual texts, Wolpe shares a strong passion for classic fiction and biography. He names George Eliot's 'Middlemarch' as his favorite novel, expresses a strong love for Saul Bellow's 'Herzog,' and recommends Christopher Hitchens' autobiography 'Hitch-22' as a great read that reveals surprising personal history. Conversely, Wolpe also critically discusses polemical works like Hitchens' 'God Is Not Great,' analyzing the author's provocative phrasing regarding religion. Through these varied recommendations, Wolpe demonstrates a lifelong intellectual engagement with texts that examine the human condition, morality, and the search for meaning.
Books recommended by David Wolpe
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The Sabbath
The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel is a celebrated spiritual and philosophical exploration of sacred time within Jewish tradition.
Recommended“… and I also really really love Hesshel's the Sabbath I think it's a beautiful book very it's very short book just as Frankle's book is what do you take from the man search for meaning what what do you take of a human being in in the worst conditions, being able to …”
Where to get it
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... Trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen
...Trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen (published in English as Man's Search for Meaning) by Viktor E.
Recommended“In terms of the books that most influenced me, one of them is Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." I also really love Heschel's "The Sabbath." I think it's a beautiful book.”
Where to get it
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Herzog
Herzog by Saul Bellow is a celebrated modernist novel following a beleaguered intellectual who writes frantic, unsent letters to friends, enemies, and historical figures while suffering a midlife crisis.
Recommended“I also love Saul Bellow, especially 'Herzog.' But that's a very different kind of thinking—person's novel. I read a lot of mysteries, and a lot of other kinds of fiction and literature.”
Where to get it
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Hitch-22
Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens is a candid and intellectually rigorous memoir that chronicles the life, political evolution, and journalistic adventures of the renowned public intellectual.
Recommended“His autobiography, 'Hitch 22,' is a great read and I just want to say what you discover there. I don't know if I'm giving too much away by telling the story—spoiler alert—what you discover there is that his mother ran away with a minister or a priest, and they died in what seemed like a suicide pact.”
Where to get it
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Middlemarch
Middlemarch by George Eliot is widely regarded as a masterwork of Victorian literature, brilliantly capturing the complex social fabric, political undercurrents, and psychological depths of provincial English life.
Recommended“My favorite novel is Middle March.”
Where to get it
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The Denial of Death
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration of the thesis that human civilization and behavior are fundamentally driven by the fear of mortality.
Discussed“Uh, first of all, I would say when I was in high school, I think my father actually encouraged me to read this book. Uh, I read Ernest Becker's Denial of Death, which I found and still find to be one of the most profound works I've ever come across.”
Where to get it
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God Is Not Great
God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens is a fiery polemic that argues religion poisons everything, serving as a foundational text of the New Atheist movement through its sharp critiques of organized faith, scripture, and divine authority.
Discussed“So, for example, the idea that you would call a book 'Religion Poisons Everything'—I think he did that deliberately and provocatively so that he could defend a proposition that obviously is indefensible: that it poisons everything.”
Where to get it
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Letters from Earth
Discussed“Mark Twain has a passage in letters from Earth where he says people think they're going to list lie on green fields and listen to harp music”
Where to get it
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Letters from the Earth
Discussed“One is that every image of what it's like is foolish; like Mark Twain has in 'Letters from the Earth' says, 'We're going to lie on green fields and listen to harp music,' which you wouldn't want to do for five minutes while you're alive, but you think you'll be happy for the rest of eternity doing it after you”
Where to get it
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Man's Search for Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E.
Discussed“I read a lot of mysteries … and other kinds of fiction and literature but in terms of the books that most you mentioned one of them which is Victor Frankle's man's search for meaning …”
Where to get it
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The Talmud of Babylonia
Discussed“Yeah, well, the Torah is the five books of Moses written in Hebrew. Most modern rabbis, non-orthodox or non-literalist rabbis, will tell you that it's a product of human beings, and I believe that they are inspired by God.”
Where to get it
Books David Wolpe wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| #270 – David Wolpe: Judaism | Lex Fridman Podcast | 2022-03-16 | 12 |
| Judaism, Israel, and Religion in America | Rabbi Wolpe | SPIRITUALITY | Rubin Report | The Rubin Report | 2017-06-16 | 1 |
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“Yeah, you wrote in your book 'Why Faith Matters': 'Walt Whitman wrote that in order for there to be a great book, there must be great readers.' For a book to remain powerful throughout generations, it cannot have a single meaning; scripture, like great poetry, is not reducible to other words.”
“one of my books that called why Faith matters the preface was written by Rick Warren now the idea that an Evangelical Minister would write a preface to a rabbi's book about faith about faith”