Hasdai Crescas and His Circle on the Reason for the Commandments of Sabbath and the Holidays

The lecture will examine Hasdai Crescas` extensive treatment of the question of the reason for the commandments in his philosophic work, Or Hashem, with particular emphasis on his explanation of the rationale for the commandmens of the Sabbath and the holidays. His apporach will be comapred to previous medieval Jewish philosophers and his students and colleagues.