Jewish Ideas to Change the World

An event presentation by Rabbi Marc Gitler About The Event: This is the first session in a four-part series. Participants may register for one, multiple, or all four sessions – attendance at every session is not required. Each session relates to the main theme but will stand on its own, allowing participants to join at any point in the series. All sessions will also be recorded and made available...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Garroway About The Event: Jews have viewed Christians alternately as friends and as enemies, as partners in salvation and as pitiable idolaters. Why such contrasts? Learn how Jewish perspectives on Christianity have developed from ancient to medieval to modern times. Hopefully, you’ll come away with some combination of amused, disgusted, and inspire...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Marc Gitler The event was co-sponsored by Shalom Park About The Event: Rebecca is one of the most active and decisive figures in the Torah — yet her voice is often heard only in fragments. In this class, we will explore the tension between speech and silence in Rebecca’s story: when she speaks boldly, when she remains silent, and what those moments reveal abou...

A virtual event presentation by Professor Elias Sacks About The Event: What can Jews learn from Christianity, and what can Christians learn from Judaism? What might we gain from interreligious dialogue, and what challenges can such conversations pose? To what extent does a commitment to Judaism or Christianity benefit from—or perhaps even require—learning about the other tradition, and what sorts...

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with the Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Japan, Rabbi Scheer. Rabbi Andrew Scheer was born and raised in Woodmere, New York. He studied at Yeshivat Sha’arei Mevaseret Zion and earned his BA in Jewish History from New York University. Between college and seminary, Andrew taught English in the Japanese countryside and Sunday School at the Jewish Community of Japan....

A virtual event presentation by Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About The Event: This class will draw on recent American and Israeli novels that portray what it’s like to be a Jew in each country, as well as changing relationships between Jews in America and Jews in Israel, as Jews in both countries feel threatened by unanticipated challenges. Ab...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Sid Schwarz About The Event: America is suffering from a spiritual “deficit”. It has been made worse by social media, ideological polarization, and an erosion of key parts of the American ethos. Rabbi Sid has been at the forefront of the synagogue transformation movement ever since the publication of his groundbreaking book, Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New...

A virtual event presentation by David Shyovitz About The Event: Classical Jewish texts are chock-full of demons, monsters, incantations, and other occult and fantastical contents. But these elements are often treated dismissively or deemed embarrassing or “superstitious” — when they are even acknowledged at all. In this session, we will analyze a cryptic series of texts about the monstrous “Childr...

A virtual event presentation by Michael Fishbane About The Event: Primacies begins with the assertion that our earliest preverbal experiences are accompanied by a primary language—tears, cries, and laughter—offered long before we learn our ordinary languages. In this virtual book talk, Michael Fishbane explores how ancient, medieval, and modern literature and poetry express and transform these pri...

A hybrid event presentation with Rabbi Marc Gitler and Austin Swafford About The Event: When we study Torah, are we uncovering truths that have always existed—waiting to be discovered like treasures buried in ancient text? Or are we active creators, bringing new meaning into the world through our interpretations and questions? Join Rabbi Marc Gitler and Dr. Austin Swafford for a dynamic Beit Midra...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Leah Cohen Tenenbaum and Rabbi Douglas Kohn About The Event: In his clarion call for ethical behavior, Rabbi Hillel tells us, “In a place where there is no humanity, strive to be human.” But what exactly does it mean to be human, especially in an age of rapid transformation? Striving to Be Human: Jewish Perspectives on Twenty-First-Century Challenges confronts...

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with comedian Benji Lovitt.  Comedian Benji Lovitt brings a unique and uplifting presentation that blends humor with insight. In this fun and educational presentation, Benji Lovitt explores how Israelis have always turned to humor during even the darkest times, not to be insensitive, but as a coping mechanism. People often say that Hamas celebrates death and Jews...

An event presentation by Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, and Rabbi Noah Chertkoff About The Event: In celebration of Lag Ba’Omer, a day of celebration, music, and weddings, an engaging learning session co-facilitated by Moishe Steigmann – The Mindful Rabbi, and Rabbi Noah Chertkoff, Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shalom. About The Speakers: Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, is the founder an...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Moishe Steigmann About The Event: The rabbis once made a bold, audacious choice that changed the course of Jewish history and saved Judaism. In this class, we’ll trace that pivotal moment and discover how their courage and ingenuity can still guide and inspire us today. About The Speaker: Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, is the founder and director of Own...

A hybrid event presentation with Rabbi Ed Feinstein About The Event: Over 2,000 years of the Jewish diaspora, no place has welcomed us and offered us more opportunities and freedom than America. And in turn, we offered America the gifts of our cultural genius. As we prepare to celebrate the 250th year of America, let’s look back at the wonders of American Jewish life. Source Sheet: https://drive.g...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Marc Gitler About The Event: In this class, we’ll explore the complex reality the Israelites faced after leaving Egypt, when liberation gave way to uncertainty in the wilderness. Drawing on the biblical narrative of their journey through the desert, the class examines how sudden freedom can be disorienting—marked by fear, lack of direction, nostalgia, and the...

A hybrid event presentation with Rabbi Mike Feuer About The Event: The difference between leading yourself and becoming the hero of your story isn't just semantic - it's spiritual. This talk presents seven questions from the Torah of Jewish heroism that transform personal growth into something greater: a journey of moral courage, service, and sacred purpose. They are a guide for those seeking to l...

A hybrid event presentation with Rabbi Mike Feuer About The Event: On the day after Israel’s Independence Day, this talk explores how certain models of Jewish heroism - the warrior and the public leader - have made sovereignty possible, yet cannot by themselves fulfill its deeper promise. Drawing on the Torah of Jewish heroism, we will ask what fuller independence requires today. The answer points...

A hybrid event presentation with Rabbi Ed Feinstein The event was co-sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of Utah and hosted by Temple Har Shalom. About The Event: A child asks innocently, Where is God? Where did Grandma go when she died? Why do bad things happen? The language may be childlike, but the questions are profound. These are the questions that grow from being human. And Judaism off...

A virtual event presentation by Sara Tropper About The Event: In this book talk, I will present the forging of “White Heat” and read select poems from the volume. I will share what spurred me to write the book, define haiku and its interesting history, and discuss the sumi-e (Japanese pen-and-ink) artwork that accompanies the poems. The talk is designed to give the audience time to absorb the poem...

A virtual event presentation by Martin Herskovitz About The Event: Eighty years after the Holocaust, a new narrative is taking its place alongside the heretofore trauma-based narratives: the artistic narratives of the Second and Third Generations. It is no longer just the atrocities themselves that are at the center of attention, but also how the heirs of the victims, the Second and Third Generati...

A sit-down conversation with Mayim Bialik and Rabbi Shmuly.  Mayim Bialik is best known for her lead role as Blossom Russo in the early-1990s NBC television sitcom Blossom. She played the role of Amy Farrah Fowler on the critically acclaimed CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, for which she received 2 Critics’ Choice Awards, 4 Emmy nominations, and a SAG Award nomination. She served as host of Jeopard...

An event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Armin Langer and Rabbi Moishe Steigmann About The Event:  This year, we explore what freedom meant for the Israelites, who were included—and who were left out—in the Torah’s vision of liberation. We’ll reflect on how the call for freedom is both aspirational and incomplete and consider how its message resonates today. Together, we’ll imagine ways to carry forward...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler About The Event: This class will trace the origin of my feminist Kaddish / COVID memoir and the related Shir Hadash project, as well as the title “Going Out with Knots,” and will cover some thematically related poems. *Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tT11EayuMRuXhgqP7FBTjAePMCHQCWG1/view?usp=sharing About The Speaker: Wendy Zie...

Rabbi Shmuly has a sit-down interview with the founder of The Mussar Institute, Alan Morinis as they talk about the intersection of religion and spirituality in Judaism. Alan Morinis received his doctorate from Oxford University, which he attended on a Rhodes Scholarship. He is one of the leading lights in the revival of the Jewish spiritual tradition of Mussar and is the author of Climbing Jacob’...