Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

A virtual presentation by Rabbi Marc Gopin ABOUT THE EVENT: Around the globe, people who work in the helping professions are often heroic bridge-builders and creators of peaceful societies. They have in common, Marc Gopin argues, a set of cultivated moral character traits and psychosocial skills. They tend to be kinder, more reasonable, more self-controlled, and more goal-oriented towards peace. T...

Enjoy the thirtieth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - Hobbes vs. Anarchist: A King vs. No King In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for about 20-30 m...

A virtual presentation by Jonnie Schnytzer ABOUT THE EVENT: Taking a journey back in time with texts from Midrash & Kabbalah, we will look at how death can be understood and as a result, perhaps what life is about (this can be 1-4 lessons spanning from the idea of death in the Bible and the circle of life in kabbalah through to the idea of resurrection of the dead and the secret of death accor...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

Russ Linden is a management consultant, leadership instructor and author, who's worked with public and nonprofit organizations for 35 years. He's also a regular shul goer, and often gives the D'var Torah R his lay-led Shabbat morning service. You can purchase the book (Loss and Discovery: What the Torah Can Teach Us about Leading Change) on Amazon at the link below! https://www.amazon.com/Loss-Dis...

Enjoy the twenty ninth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - The Mussar Movement vs. the Hasidic Movement In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for about...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

A virtual event presentation by Mindy Weisel ABOUT THE EVENT: This compelling and candid memoir (AFTER: The Obligation of Beauty) by Mindy Weisel, an internationally acclaimed artist and author, traces her search for beauty in her life, which began as a child born in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Person’s Camp to parents who had survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. This is not her parents’ sto...

A virtual event presentation by Dr. David I. Bernstein ABOUT THE EVENT: Mordechai Anilewicz was one of the leaders of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the spring of 1943. Yet alongside him in the ghetto was another Jewish leader, Emmanuel Ringleblum, who chose the pen over the sword. Two heroes, two different kinds of heroism, for their own time and place — and beyond. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Dr, David I....

ABOUT THE EVENT: How are honeybees portrayed in biblical and later Jewish sources? Why is honey kosher? What is the status of other hive products – bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly? Join Rabbi Amalia to discuss this and other issues relating to bees. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Rabbi Amalia Haas facilitates life cycle events, programming and retreats grounded in Torah, mindfulness, bibliodrama, nature, ar...

Enjoy the twenty eighth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - Spinoza vs. the Rabbis of Amsterdam In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for about 20-30 mi...

A virtual event presentation by Professor Marc Zvi Brettler ABOUT THE EVENT: Hannukah is a prime example of a post-biblical festival—but it has left its tracks in the Bible, and is based on biblical texts. We will look at the earliest evidence we have for this festival, and how it has changed over time. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Marc Zvi Brettler is the Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor o...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

Enjoy the twenty seventh session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - What's the Purpose of Mitzvot? Obedience vs. Meaning In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

Enjoy the twenty sixth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - Body vs. Soul In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for about 20-30 minutes and then the rema...

This lecture is in honor of Dr. Sherman Minkoff. ABOUT THE EVENT: The Hebrew School I attended as a child taught us about every catastrophe that befell the Jewish People. It was a tale of endless destruction, persecution, and exile. But left out of the story they told us was the best part — the miraculous capacity of the Jewish People to turn catastrophe into opportunity, and tragedy into creativi...

Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/donate  •  Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/ValleyBeitMidrash  •  YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiLYSyEus7DcWMhyEZ_CQFQ  •  Become a Member:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/become-a-member    Follow Rabbi Shmuly:  •  https://www.facebook.co...

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jon Greenberg Event Co-Sponsored By: Sinai and Synapses, Scientists and Synagogues Program ABOUT THE EVENT: The class will cover many of the following ideas – *How the discoveries of Isaac Newton and Ferdinand Magellan changed the halachic definitions of up and down *Changing meaning within Tanach: Why is “a land dripping with milk and honey” a blessing in Torah...

ABOUT THE EVENT: This event will be a book interview of Dr. Fishbane’s latest work of original poetry entitled: “EMBERS OF PILGRIMAGE”. Rabbi Dr. Aubrey Glazer, who wrote the interpretive introduction, will offer a valuable voice in drawing meaning from the poetry while in conversation with Dr. Fishbane. Rabbi Dr. Aubrey is also the Director of The Panui Institute, of which this book is a project....

Enjoy the twenty fifth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic - Love: Emotion vs. Deed In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for about 20-30 minutes and then...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowtiz (President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash) explores social justice in the weekly parsha (Torah portion). This podcast series is now available as its own podcast channel titled "Social Justice in the Parsha." Make sure to subscribe!       Stay Connected with Valley Beit Midrash:  •  Website:   https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org  •  Donate:   https://www.valleybeitmidra...

Enjoy the twenty fourth session of Valley Beit Midrash's "The 40 Greatest Debates in Jewish History!" series. (1 per week for 40 weeks). Topic: Judging Others Favorably vs. Judging for Justice In this class, we will explore the 40 greatest debates in Jewish history. We will study texts, reflect on the historical contexts, and discuss the values involved. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz will present for ab...

A virtual presentation by Rabbi Dr. Devorah Schoenfeld ABOUT THE EVENT: The Song of Songs is a collection of poems describing romantic love, and is traditionally read as an allegory for the love between God and God’s people. Traditional commentaries have tended to read the Song of Songs as one continuous narrative, telling a single love story between two lovers. But is the Song of Songs one story...