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Synopsis: Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I decided to see if I could find any Stoic writings on that theme. I selected an excerpt from Seneca’s letter of consolation to his own mother, which – as the title reflects – could be perceived as rather ruthless. But I do believe that if we understand the wisdom of his words, which are paralleled by Judaism’s laws of mourning, we will see that his seemingly harsh approach shows how capable and courageous of a person he believed his mother was.
P.S. "premeditatio malorum" (“the pre-meditation of evils”) is the phrase I was searching for at the end! I thought of it RIGHT when I stopped the recording.
Sources:
- Seneca: Consolation of Helvia
- Rambam: Mishneh Torah, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchos Avel 13:11-12
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If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.
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Stoic texts:
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
Letters from a Stoic Master (Seneca)
The Discourses of Epictetus
The Enchiridion (Handbook) of Epictetus
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