Jewish Ideas to Change the World

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Michael Meyer The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  This lecture, based on my book “Above All, We Are Jews ,” A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler, will cover the career of a German Jew of East European extraction who redirected American Reform Judaism so that it would more realistically address the nature of American Jewry.  Innova...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Richard Address The Event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel About The Event:  In this session, we will discuss the new life stage of Caregiving and how Jewish texts and tradition have approached this issue. Based on the 5th Commandment, we will examine how our tradition has looked at this life stage from the Talmud through contemporary commentaries. We will l...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Devorah Zlochower About The Event: The cry, “Why Should We Be Excluded,” made by those individuals who were not able to bring the Paschal sacrifice is echoed by so many disabled Jews who have been left out of our community – our shuls, our schools, our communal programming due to inaccessibility and to invisibility in the community. The laws of the megillah...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Reuven Firestone The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event:  What does the Qur’an say about Jews? “Israelites,” “Jews,” “People of the Book.” Even “rabbis.” These are all terms found in the Qur’an. Some have claimed that the Qur’an is antisemitic, while others have argued that it values Jews. What does the Qur’an say? This text study will examine th...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Avi Orlow The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion  About The Event:  The challenge of expressing our feelings is not just an issue for children. From the Pentateuch to Pixar, we will explore how we might better deal with complex emotions. *Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sfbgWHSQKsNE7Gv7YM6Y2uWYN67IkEEZwFJFVbLJmoQ/edit?tab=t.0 Abo...

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi David Kasher The event was co-hosted by Temple Chai About The Event:  We sometimes speak of holiness as if it were entirely ethereal, having nothing to do with our physical selves. But Leviticus, the book of the Torah most focused on holiness, is also profoundly interested in the human body. Beginning with sacred dietary practices and then moving to...

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz in conversation with Rabbi David Kasher.  Rabbi David Kasher is the Director of Hadar West, based in Los Angeles. He grew up bouncing back and forth between the Bay Area and Brooklyn, hippies and Hassidim – and has been trying to synthesize these two worlds ever since. He received rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and a doctorate in legal studies from Berkeley...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Or Rose About The Event:  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was a gifted Jewish theologian and scholar, and an impassioned social activist. His reputation has grown significantly since his death over fifty years ago. What can we learn from the unflagging efforts of this revered twentieth-century figure today? How can we share key elements of his call fo...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Yair Silverman The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event:  The Israeli Declaration of Independence opens with “The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped”. However, in the Jewish Tradition, the people of Israel are fashioned as freed slaves emerging from Egyptian bond...

In this powerful conversation, renowned author and speaker Yossi Klein Halevi joins us for an in-depth conversation exploring the evolving perspectives on Jewish survival, from the Shoah to the profound impact of October 7th. About The Speaker:  Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is co-host, together with Donniel Hartman, of the Hartman Institute...

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Yossi Klein Halevi The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion & Jewish Community Relations of Greater Phoenix   About The Event:  Israelis and Diaspora Jews are experiencing the upheavals caused by the October 7 massacre in different ways, but we share trauma and deep unease about the future. How will Israel emerge from the crisis? What change...

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with Yossi Klein Halevi for a powerful conversation on whether there is still hope for Israeli-Palestinian coexistence.  Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is co-host, together with Donniel Hartman, of the Hartman Institute’s podcast, “For Heaven’s Sake” – the number one Jewish podcast in the English-speaking wor...

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer The event was co-sponsored by Temple Chai About The Event:  What does it mean to be Jewish? There are many ways to grapple with this question, and this lesson is inspired by and an elaboration of a unique traditional Jewish oral teaching of an Ethiopian Qes. Specifically, through comparing two modes in which Jewish tradition is carried (as well...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCC About The Event:  Rabbanit Alissa will share personal stories and reflections on her new book, “ Shabbat Guidebook for Parents: Halacha of Caring for Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children on Shabbat and Yom Tov ”, also available on Amazon .  This guide is an easy go-to for parents to learn how to care for infants, toddlers, and ch...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Geoffrey Claussen About The Event: Rabbi Dr. Geoffrey Claussen’s new book, Jewish Ethics: The Basics , is designed to help us think critically about the diversity of Jewish ethics—on topics including authority, human rights, war, land, power, gender, sexuality, environmental ethics, animal ethics, and more. In this session, we will consider how Jews have p...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Zachary Truboff The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  Franz Rosenzweig has long been considered one of the most brilliant and insightful Jewish thinkers. At the heart of his thought is the belief that the Jews’ covenant with God marks them as different and, as a result, orients them differently in the world than all other peoples. By...

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Devora Steinmetz The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event:  The Passover seder challenges us to see ourselves as participants in an ancient story. In this session, we will look at a variety of ways in which the hagada helps us enter into our ancestors’ story and make it our own. *Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13b0-sp_J-Q4-WfRZbZAwrtIi...

A virtual event presentation by Ethan Davidson About The Event:  Inspired by his own experiences and the tragic events of October 7, 2023, And They Arose Early To Do Sexual Violence: My Personal Mirror of Torah by Ethan Daniel Davidson challenges readers to consider how ancient narratives parallel humanity’s ongoing struggle with violence and the responses to such violence; be they measured and ju...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi David Jaffe The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  According to 20th Century Mussar master, Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, much of our behavior is determined by past choices, habits, education, and family culture. Patterns of behavior can be passed down from generation to generation, for better or for worse. The Purim and Pesach season offers...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Shalhevet Cahana The event was co-hosted by Beth El Phoenix About The Event:  Often celebrated as the one who saved the Jewish people from certain downfall, how exactly did Esther do it? A close reading of the text indicates that Esther’s true brilliance lies not only in her bravery to even attempt it on the pain of death but also in her deft and magnificen...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph. D The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About The Event:  Why is Jewish Law important and relevant for us today? Written and oral Torah has been an ongoing adaptive legal system for over 3500 years. Its central institutions have been Justice and Loving Kindness, the Sabbath, and the Temple system. This talk will explore the id...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Adina Allen The event was co-sponsored by:  About The Event:  Join us for an inspiring book talk with artist and educator Rabbi Adina Allen, author of The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom . Creativity offers us a portal to transformation, spiritual connection, and revelation. It is there for us when we feel stuck,...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event:  Composed and sung in different lands from the 3rd or 4th century CE on, piyut is the sung sacred poetry that has accompanied individuals, families, and entire communities in the spiritual journey of life throughout Jewish history and which represents the core of the Jewish people’s spiri...

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with author Maggie Anton.  Maggie Anton is an award-winning author of historical fiction, a Talmud scholar, and an expert in Jewish women's history. Her novels include the Rashi's Daughters trilogy; Rav Hisda's Daughter: Apprentice (a National Jewish Book Award finalist) and its sequel, Enchantress; and The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud, which is...

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Batya Hefter About The Event:  Avraham is the father of faith for all monotheistic religions. What was so unique about Avraham that God should choose him? To answer this question, we’ll consider the Torah’s narrative, then learn a classic midrash and finally delve into an innovative and surprising Hasidic insight. Learning about Avraham’s spiritual journey...