I gave a shiur today on what the word ‘heart’ means in the Torah, Rishonim and Acharonim. This is not a medical shiur (obviously) but a discussion of the changing meanings of the metaphor of heart.

The ancient Greeks also disagreed as to the meaning of the heart, and even in the earliest uses in the English language we find at least two different (opposite) uses.

This is a very important shiur because it defines how we should be serving G-d. Does He want our emotions and feelings, or our minds and intellects?

We say ‘Rachmana Liba Bai’ (G-d wants our heart), but without knowing what ‘heart’ means we cannot serve G-d properly.

At the very least it will give you a better understanding of p’shat in the Talmud and in K’rias Shema when you say ‘b’chol levavecha’

The audio is here:
Heart and Soul mp3 audio download

and the pdf of the sources is here:
Heart and Soul pdf download