Dare We be Authentic?: Zusya's Dream and Dante's Divine Comedy

"When I come before God, He will not ask me why I was not Moses.
He will ask: why, Zusya, were you not Zusya?"
- Hasidic legend, retold by Martin Buber

Most of us live accordingly to expectations, norms, standards, religious or social models. But the story of Zusya reminds us: the real tragedy is not failing to reach someone else's ideal, but failing to become oneself.

Another powerful illustration comes from Dante's Divine Comedy (Divine Comedy,Inferno, Canto III)
At the entrance to Hell, Dante sees a crowd of shadows who belong neither to Hell nor to Heaven.
Here are the souls of those
"who lived without disgrace and without praise,"
who never chose either good or evil,
and who, as Dante says,
"never truly lived at all."
They run forever after a blank, meaningless banner,
chasing it in endless circles,
never finding its purpose or direction.
They are stung by wasps and hornets,
whose bites make their faces stream
with blood and tears;
and this mixture of blood and sorrow
drips to their feet
and feeds the filthy worms that writhe below.

As Dante writes,
"They are forgotten in Heaven and refused in Hell; Compassion does not
remember them, and Justice does not accept them."
These are people who betrayed themselves not through evil. They did not commit great sins - but they did not live. They abandoned their desires, their will, their calling.
Where Zusya teaches us about the fear of not becoming ourselves, Dante shows the punishment for those who never dared to choose themselves at all.

Together, these two stories open a deeper question for our discussion:
What are the consequences of avoiding your own path - due to fear, conformism or indifference?
And what does this say about the search for happiness, authenticity and a life that is truly our own?
This discussion aims to understand what it means not to betray yourself and your true desires, to live your own life, and to recognize your own authenticity.

• Good News from Dante! Dante and the Beauty that awakens desire to be alive
  -I will tell you about the Great Hope from the Dante to Humans

by Dina

Schedule:
18:00–18:10 – Getting to know each other
18:10–19:40 – Discussion: Authenticity
19:40–20:00 – Debrief and choosing the next topic

Everyone is welcome—no prior philosophy background needed, only curiosity and openness.