Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Rabbi Professor Marc B. Shapiro, the Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Scranton (https://www.scranton.edu), on the topic of "Orthodox Rabbis Censoring Truth." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP PURCHASE THE BOOK: https://amzn.to/2EmK6L5 For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybei...

Rabbi Emily Langowitz, of Temple Solel, presents her lecture "Judaism and Reproductive Justice: Reframing the Jewish Conversation on Abortion from Torah to Today," before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In this class we will explore the continuing dialogue within Judaism around issues of reproductive health, specifically focusing on ab...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz (www.rabbishmuly.com), the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, presents his lecture, "The Book of Jonah: A Rebellious Prophet We Can Relate To" before an audience at Temple Chai (templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: We read the story of Jonah every Yom Kippur but have we studied it in depth yet? In this session, participants will read the Book o...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Professor Peter Singer (https://petersinger.info/) the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University & Laureate Professor at the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at University of Melbourne, on the topic of "Utilitarian Perspectives on Saving...

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Rabbi Dr. Richard Schwartz, one of the earliest voices on the subject of Jewish vegetarianism and environmentalism, as the two Jewish community leaders discuss what we can do to stop climate change before it's too late! DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Au...

Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie (http://amichai.me/), the founding spiritual leader of Lab/Shul NYC and the creator of Storahtelling, Inc., presents his lecture, "Interrupting the Bible: Five Tools to Reinvent the Jewish Story" before an audience at Temple Chai (templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ for Valley Beit Midrash's 2018-2019 Learning Season Closing Event. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Can Monotheism’s oldest st...

Rabbi Noa Kushner, Founding Rabbi at The Kitchen (www.thekitchensf.org/), presents her Valley Beit Midrash discussion "Social Justice, Mitzvah, and God Then and Now: The writing of R. Arnold Jacob Wolf z”l" before an audience at Temple Kol Ami (www.templekolami.org/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: “What we cannot believe is that God is a revolutionary. So long as we act by our lights we shall...

Rabbi Noa Kushner, Founding Rabbi at The Kitchen (https://www.thekitchensf.org/), presents her Valley Beit Midrash discussion "Jewish Thought in Three Acts: Creation, Revelation, Redemption" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: How do we ask our most serious questions about the meaning of life and our place in the world? According to...

Professor Jonathan K. Crane, Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Eating Ethically: Religion and Science for a Better Diet" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Few activities are as essential to human flourishing as eating, and fewer still are as e...

Professor Jonathan K. Crane, Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Dying to Die: Jewish Perspectives on End of Life Interventions" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.c...

Professor Peter Beinart (http://peterbeinart.net/), Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York and a contributor to The Atlantic, a Senior Columnist at The Forward, a CNN Political Commentator, and a Fellow at The Foundation for Middle East Peace, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture, "Jewish Power and Jewish Vulnerability in the Age of Trump" be...

Professor Peter Beinart, Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York and a contributor to The Atlantic, a Senior Columnist at The Forward, a CNN Political Commentator, and a Fellow at The Foundation for Middle East Peace, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture, "The Coming Democratic Party Civil War Over Israel" before a VIP roundtable audience at T...

Professor Samuel Brody, assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Kansas, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "What Would God’s Economy Look Like?" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Jewish thinkers commonly argue that the Torah is meant to provide a complete, all-pervasive guide to Jewish life. And yet, fo...

Professor Samuel Brody, assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Kansas, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "A Land of Two Peoples: Martin Buber and Bi-nationalism in Palestine" before an audience at Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley (http://www.bethemethaz.org/) in Sun City West, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Most today remember Martin Buber for his collections of Ha...

Jordan B. Gorfinkel(http://jewishcartoon.com/), aka GORF, presents his lecture "Illustrating the Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In “Illustrating the Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel…Or: Everything I Needed To Know About the Haggadah I Learned From Batman,” veteran comic book creator and editor Jordan B. Go...

Dr. Alexandra Birch (www.alexandrabirch.com) presents her lecture and performance piece "Music and the Holocaust: Musical Stolpersteine and Recovered Music from the Holocaust" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Dr. Alexandra Birch is a researcher and violinist who finds and performs lost music from the Holocaust in Europe and the former USSR...

Professor Steven Windmueller, the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service, presents his lecture "The Jewish Community in 2050" before an audience at Temple Kol Ami (www.templekolami.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: This program analyzes what is happening demographically, religiously and culturally to American Jewry. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, pl...

Professor Steven Windmueller, the Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service, presents his lecture "Why Now, Why Here: Anti-Semitism in America" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: This presentation focuses on the recent and rapid rise in anti-Semitism and seeks to explain why this is happening. DONATE: bi...

Stephen M. Flatow, vice president of the Religious Zionists of America and a noted author, presents his lecture "A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror" before an audience at Temple Kol Ami (www.templekolami.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: This is the story of one brave father’s determination to bring his daughter’s murderers to justice through the American just...

Rabbi Dr. David Kasher, Associate Rabbi at IKAR (ikar-la.org/)presents his lecture "The Torah of Martin Luther King, Jr." before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of our great American heroes, was a uniquely gifted orator. His speeches are breathtaking performances, by any standard. But heard th...

Rabbi Dr. David Kasher, Associate Rabbi at IKAR (https://ikar-la.org/)presents his lecture "Thou Shalt Be a Mensch: The Jewish Line Between Law and Ethics" for the Jewish Community Foundation (www.jcfphoenix.org/) ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In perhaps no other religious tradition does Law hold more central place than it does in Judaism. In their founding code, The Mishnah, the rabbis mapped out a system...

Professor Judith Hauptman, the E. Billi Ivry Professor (emerita) of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture at the Jewish Theological Seminary, presents her lecture "The Moral Obligation to Speak Out in the Face of Wrongdoing" for the Jewish Community Foundation (www.jcfphoenix.org/) ABOUT THIS LECTURE: A wonderful sugya in Bavli Shabbat (54b-55a) takes up the question of what to do when one sees people misbe...

Professor Judith Hauptman, the E. Billi Ivry Professor (emerita) of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture at the Jewish Theological Seminary, presents her lecture "Women's Voices in the Talmud" before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: In general, only men issue halakhic statements in the Talmud. But women appear often in anecdotes about...

Rabbi Naomi Levy (http://rabbinaomilevy.com/), presents her lecture "Einstein and the Rabbi" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: A bestselling author and rabbi’s profoundly affecting exploration of the meaning and purpose of the soul, inspired by the famous correspondence between Albert Einstein and a grieving rabbi. “A human being...

Professor Eitan Fishbane, associate professor of Jewish thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary (www.eitanfishbane.com/), presents his lecture "Love of Neighbor, Love of God: How the Two are One in Jewish Mystical Thought" before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: The imperative to love (ve-ahavtah) appears in at least three...