Benjamin Franklin's Influence on Jewish Thought and Practice at Fall River Temple Beth El

At age 25, Benjamin Franklin resolved to perfect his character, devising a self-improvement method to aid him in the challenging task of becoming virtuous, and intending to write a a book on his method. His influential program became incorporated into the practical Jewish ethical tradition of mussar through the publication of Rabbi Mendel Lefin's 1808 "Book of Spiritual Accounting," which made it available to Hebrew-reading audiences. Shai Afsai will discuss this surprising historical development, which Judaic scholars have often been confused about or uncomfortable acknowledging, and to which Franklin specialists have been largely oblivious.

Shai Afsai is a writer and librarian living in Providence. His recent research has focused on the writings of Thomas Paine, Jews and Freemasonry, the religious traditions of the Beta Yisrael Jewish community from Ethiopia, emerging Judaism in Nigeria, aliyah to Israel from Rhode Island, Jewish pilgrimage to Ukraine, Jewish-Polish relations, and Jews and Irish literature. His work on Franklin and Judaism was made possible through funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, and has been published in The Journal of the American Revolution and in The Review of Rabbinic Judaism.