Ian Buruma's new biography, "Spinoza: Freedoms Messiah," presents the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza as a champion of free thought, whose ideas about the nature of God were highly controversial in both the Jewish and Calvinist communities.

The documentary "Spinoza: Six Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher" explores the motivations behind Baruch Spinoza's excommunication by the Amsterdam Portuguese Sephardic community.

Rabbi Moshe Yitzchak (Ies) Vorst, the founder of Chabad-Lubavitch in the Netherlands, passed away at the age of 85.

This episode delves into the Cherem placed on Baruch Spinoza by the Amsterdam Jewish community, exploring the halachic definition of a Cherem, the role of shofar blowing in the process, and the significance of curses in Cherem.

This episode discusses how Spinoza's level of Jewish education affected his understanding of traditional Jewish texts.