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This is the final episode of our Universal History series on the American Religion. Deacon Seraphim Rohlin and I look at the religious ideas behind the American project, especially the influence of Kabbalah and the search for a “pure” and universal mystical tradition. We trace how early Protestants, thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, and figures like Ezra Stiles engaged with Jewish mysticism as part of their attempt to understand and shape America’s role in the universal history.

- Watch the YouTube version of this episode: https://youtu.be/A563i-jrZs0
- Watch the rest of this series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_U0msyBRVpwCI_srzn3tjL
- Universal History playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVX4HUUPrIY_M2uZP3yW6EEiod3fGD6FD



Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming Up
01:10 - Intro Music
01:35 - Introduction & Framing the Topic  
02:28 - Jefferson, Adams & “Pure Religion”  
05:23 - Kabbalah and the Founding Fathers  
07:48 - Puritans, Quakers & Early American Mysticism  
11:11 - Adam Kadmon & Christian Kabbalah  
16:18 - George Keith & Quaker Debates  
20:18 - Sabatianism & Messianic Movements  
26:03 - Apocalyptic Expectations in Early America  
29:44 - Judah Monis & Kabbalah in Harvard  
33:48 - Kabbalah Used to Defend the Trinity  
35:59 - Ezra Stiles & America as the New Israel  
39:06 - America as the “New World” in Prophecy  
42:49 - Loss of Christian Mysticism & Turning to Kabbalah  
48:33 - America as the Promised Land Idea  
51:50 - Is America the “End of the World”?  
54:54 - The Contradictions of American Culture  
58:10 - Final Reflections on America’s Spiritual Identity  

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Join us at the Symbolic World Summit | May 14-16 | Ohio | Keynote speakers: Jonathan Pageau, Fr. Josiah Trenham, Mary Harrington, Dcn. Seraphim Rohlin, Kale Zelden, Annie Crawford, and Heather Pollington.
Buy your tickets: https://symbolicworldsummit.com/ 

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NEW COURSE: Plutarch: Symbolism in History with Pavel Shchelin
The problem with history is that you are in it. Plutarch teaches us to read power symbolically—asking "whom does the hero serve?" to predict leadership patterns before they play out.
Presenter: Pavel Shchelin
Duration: 8 weeks studying the lives of Greeks and Roman Lycurgus, Alcibiades, Lysander, Pompey, Caesar, and Octavian –as living patterns, not dead men.
Live classes are on Wednesdays at 4-6pm Eastern Time, starting March 18th through May 6th, 2026.
Price: $180 USD - Involved patrons can get a 10% discount. Apply your code at checkout. 
Register now: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/plutarch-symbolism-in-history 

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/