A virtual event presentation by Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman

About The Event: 

And She Arose: Jewish Women Leaders for Our Troubled Times will document and analyze important public leadership roles played by Jewish women, leading up to and in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war. This discussion will paint detailed pictures of Jewish women courageously filling leadership lacunae during troubled and troubling times, drawing on their passionate attachments to traditional Jewish values and culture. Concluding analyses will focus on Jewish women leaders’ impact on the quality and vitality of contemporary Jewish life, based on my interviews with notable key informants.

About The Speaker: 

Sylvia Barack Fishman, Ph.D., is the Joseph and Esther Foster Professor of Judaic Studies, Emerita, in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University, and was the Founding Co-Director of the Hadassah Brandeis Institute. She is the author of eight books and numerous articles and book chapters on contemporary Jewish life and culture, and received the Marshall Sklare award from the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry. Prof. Fishman served on the JOFA Board for many years and continues her active involvement.

Rabbi Shmuly sits down with Mois Navon, a founding engineer of Mobileye, where he designed the EyeQ family of SoC (System On a Chip) – the chip powering the autonomous vehicle revolution.

Mois is also an ordained rabbi who has published numerous articles on Jewish law and lore. Working at the intersection of Torah U’Madda, he received his PhD from the department of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University, where his dissertation applies Jewish philosophy to address the ethical questions arising in the field of artificial intelligence. In this vein, he teaches a course on “Ethics in Artificial Intelligence” at Ben Gurion University.

A virtual presentation by Dr. Marc Brettler

About The Event:

The belief that the Torah is a composite book written by people over a long period of time, that the Hebrew Bible text that we use contains errors, and that the Bible was influenced by ancient Near Eastern texts, are main elements of the historical-critical analysis of the Bible. What is the variety of reactions to these developments of the last few centuries within the Jewish community?  To what extent have Jews of different types accepted these scholarly claims, and can they play a constructive role within Judaism?

About The Speaker:

Marc Zvi Brettler is the Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University, and the Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Literature Emeritus at Brandeis University. His books include How to Read the Jewish Bible, The Jewish Study Bible (edited with Adele Berlin), and The Bible and the Believer (with Peter Enns and Daniel Harrington).  He co-edited The Jewish Annotated New Testament and co-authored The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently with Amy-Jill Levine. He is deeply committed to making the Jewish community more aware of the richness of Jewish literature from the past, including the New Testament, and to introducing academic biblical study to the broader community, as reflected in TheTorah.com, which he co-founded.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Professor Corinna Lain.

Professor Corinna Lain is the S. D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law. Professor Lain’s scholarship focuses on two areas—Supreme Court decision-making and the death penalty—and she has published numerous articles and essays about lethal injection over the last decade. Her work has appeared in the nation’s top law journals, including the Stanford Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, and Georgetown Law Journal, among other venues. Professor Lain is a frequent presenter at both national and international conferences, and is co-author (with Ron Bacigal) of the Virginia Practice Series on criminal law, a four-volume treatise for the bench and practicing bar with new editions each year. Professor Lain graduated summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary in 1992 and received her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1996, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. She clerked on the Tenth Circuit and then was a prosecutor for three years before joining the Richmond Law faculty in 2001. Professor Lain is a recipient of the University of Richmond’s Distinguished Educator Award and is a veteran of the United States Army. Her first book, "Secrets of the Killing State: the Untold Story of Lethal Injection," was released in April 2025.

A virtual event presentation by Professor David Shyovitz

About The Event: 

Is Judaism—and by extension, religious identity—a category applicable only to human beings? Or might non-human animals also, in some sense, have religious standing and status? This session will explore some classical Jewish perspectives on this question, surveying medieval rabbinic debates over whether animals have immortal souls and are eligible for heavenly reward; whether they can—or must—perform religious commandments; how and when humans can transform into animals, and vice versa. While these subjects may seem fanciful, they were of obsessive interest to medieval Jewish thinkers. They had important implications for both Jewish self-understanding and debates between Jews and their Christian and Muslim neighbors.

About The Speaker: 

David Shyovitz is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Northwestern University and Director of NU’s Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. He is the author of the award-winning A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz.

About The Lecture:
Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh and final day of the fall Sukkot festival, is one of the most fascinating and least appreciated dates on the Jewish calendar and was traditionally regarded as the holiday season’s final opportunity for teshuvah (repentance). Come join us for a lecture by Dr. Daniel Stein Kokin exploring the significance and unique practices of Hoshana Rabbah and a performance of “Elyon, Melits Umastin” (“God, Defender and Accuser”), vocal and instrumental music composed especially for this day in 1733 in Casale Monferrato, Italy.

*Presentation Slideshow: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CR5ESfOwMyqoqL6Zy-V8QInWH0XdHwH6/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=true

About The Speaker:
Dr. Daniel Stein Kokin is an adjunct member of the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies faculty at Arizona State University. He has lectured and published widely on both Jewish and Israeli cultural history.

Cosponsored with Beth El Congregation and The Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer

About The Event: 

Why do certain people appear in our lives? And how can certain kabbalistic contemplations deepen our relationships with our family, friends and day-to-day encounters? In this class, we learn about a beautiful secret relating to the tree of life, reincarnation and their relevance to our day-to-day lives.

About The Speaker: 

Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer is probably the only PhD in Jewish Philosophy, focusing on medieval kabbalah, who can say that he once beat the head of Israeli Naval Commandos in a swimming race. His dissertation focused on the scientific kabbalah of Rabbi Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi. Jonnie’s forthcoming book is about Ashkenazi’s Kabbalah as well as a critical edition of the kabbalist’s majestic commentary on Sefer Yesira. Jonnie’s also the author of the Mossad thriller, The Way Back, which paints a picture of contemporary Israel. Jonnie also orchestrated the publishing of an English edition of ‘The Hitler Haggadah’, an important piece of Moroccan Jewish history from the Holocaust. Jonnie has also taken on several leadership roles in the Jewish world, including advisor to the CEO of Birthright and executive manager with StandWithUs. He lectures on a wide variety of topics relating to Judaism and Israel, especially about the untold stories and unspoken heroes of Jewish history. Jonnie is happily married, with four gorgeous little kids, lives in Israel, and thinks that Australian Rules Football is the greatest sport ever invented.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D.

About The Event:

Jewish tradition teaches that through teshuvah (repentance), we can “remake” ourselves as better people. But how do we present and live as our new, improved selves when our mistakes are preserved on the internet and available for everyone to see (and dredge up)? We will tackle this challenge through rabbinic texts.

About The Speaker:

Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D., is the Rabbi Aaron Panken Professor of Rabbinics on the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew Union College. Rabbi Weisberg served for eleven years as the Rabbinical Program Director in Los Angeles and then as the National Rabbinical School Director of Hebrew Union College from 2020 to 2025.

Rabbi Weisberg was raised in San Francisco. She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Brandeis University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Her undergraduate thesis, for which she was awarded highest honors in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, was entitled “Can the Demands of Jewish Feminists Be Met Within the Halakhic System?”  She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Talmud and Rabbinic Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and was ordained at Hebrew Union College.

Before Hebrew Union College, Rabbi Weisberg taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Rabbi Weisberg is the author of Levirate Marriage and the Family in Ancient Judaism (2008), a study of the ancient rabbis’ vision of the family and its members, and Tractate Menahot: A Feminist Commentary (2020). Her book on levirate marriage and the family was a finalist for the 2009 National Jewish Book Awards in the category of Women’s Studies.

Rabbi Weisberg is married to Rabbi Neal Scheindlin and is the mother of Micah (& Elana) and Noah Scheindlin, and the savta of Orli Maya and Eitan Yonah.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Yisroel Juskowicz

About The Event: 

Meditation has been providing comfort and relaxation to people of all walks of life and ages. What many people may not know is how deeply rooted meditation is in Jewish tradition, and how one can make a guided meditation into a Jewish experience.  In this class, participants will explore ancient and modern techniques rooted in Torah and Chassidic teachings that help quiet the mind and open the heart to Divine presence. Whether you’re navigating stress, seeking clarity, or simply yearning for spiritual grounding, this class offers a warm and supportive space to uncover the peace that already exists within your soul. Included will be a sample of a Jewish guided meditation.

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Yisroel Juskowitz is a noted artist, musician, author, and speaker. He has performed for Jews across the country of all walks of life and ages, and is best known for his warm, engaging style and inspirational messages. He has produced three CDs of his own soulful music, has drawn commissioned artwork, and has three bestselling books on Jewish topics, which drew widespread critical praise. Yisroel received a Bachelor’s in Talmudic Law from Ner Israel, and later a Semichat Chaver Degree from RIETS at Yeshiva University. Yisroel is also a licensed Physical Therapist and a Certified Life Coach, and focuses on people overcoming their obstacles and reaching their potential. He received Semicha (Rabbinic Ordination) through Machon Semicha, a Chabad-based program. He has two beautiful children who are the pride and joy of his life. Yisroel lives with his wife and family in Baltimore, MD.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Vanessa Harper

About The Event:

In Pirkei Avot, we read, “If there is no bread, there is no Torah, and if there is no Torah, there is no bread.” Rabbi Vanessa Harper takes this dictum literally in her book Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah, using challah as a spiritually significant material for interpreting and teaching Jewish texts. Discover fascinating challah history, explore the intersections of challah and Torah, and gain inspiration for your own creative Torah study journey along the way.

About The Speaker:
 Rabbi Vanessa Harper is the author of Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah, published in 2023 by the CCAR Press; the book is based upon her long-time Instagram-based education project @lechlechallah, which uses challah as an artistic medium for interpreting and teaching Torah and the Jewish calendar. She is passionate about facilitating creative, joyful, and meaningful Jewish learning and living for people of all ages.

About The Event:
Through the lens of the biblical figure Daniel—a Jerusalem noble taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar II who rose to prominence while staying true to his Jewish identity—we’ll examine what it means to live as Jews in the diaspora today. This class will delve into the complexities of balancing integration with authenticity, navigating pressure to conform, and discovering spiritual resilience in foreign or secular environments. Together, we’ll uncover timeless lessons from Daniel’s life that speak powerfully to our modern Jewish experience.

About The Speaker: 

Marc Gitler is the visiting Rabbi of Aish SanDiego. A recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, he was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The founder of Fast for Feast, he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Jade Sank Ross

The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ

About The Event: 

Year after year, as we read and re-read the same portions of Torah, it does not change, but we do. The Psalms have been part of Jewish ritual and liturgy for centuries, and generation after generation they have sung to us in moments of awe, sorrow, longing, and much more. Together, we will explore how the ancient words of Psalms can be part of our daily lives today and how we might forge deep and personal connections with the words of the Psalmist.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RV5qCB0ylWmWYELYtUYhU644aNVNd5eSznPJNzYgZ24/edit?tab=t.0

About the Speaker: 

Rabbi Jade Sank Ross grew up in Kinnelon, New Jersey. She received her BA in Anthropology and International and Global Studies from Brandeis University. She was ordained as a rabbi in 2018 by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Rabbi Sank Ross currently serves as the Associate Rabbi at The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York. She is married to Rabbi Daniel Ross, and together they are most proud to be raising their children, Adina and Bella. Rabbi Jade Sank Ross is the author of To You I Call: Psalms Throughout Our Lives, new from CCAR Press.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dvir Cahana

About The Event: 

What happens when a Rabbi and an Artist study Torah together? … Chidushim!!! The Amen Institute has provided an incubator to empower artists with the charge of being wisdom disseminators. Join Rabbi Dvir Cahana in a unique program describing the discoveries of these artist meaning seekers.

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Dvir is our Base Rabbi for Miami. He has taught Torah, led tefillah, and built community in his hometown of Montreal, then New York City, and now Miami. Dvir was a winner of the Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” award for launching The Amen Institute, an international space where professional artists and rabbis unite to inspire each other in the creation of Torah-art. Himself a hip hop and rap artist, Dvir is the rabbinic educator for the Jewish rap collective Rappers and Rabbis. Under his guidance, the group has made a Hip Hop Haggadah and The MC-DUR, performed in front of thousands of teens nationwide. Dvir’s 15 studio albums show a love of Yiddishkeit and wordplay. 

He received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in 2024 and holds a master’s in Jewish studies from McGill University.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Nolan Lebovitz

The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion

About The Event: 

Following October 7, Rabbi Lebovitz synthesizes the Jewish turning point in history with lessons from the past, arguing that it is a moral imperative to radically change the way we engage with both Israel and the United States. Proudly declaring Jewish loyalty forges a new path forward imbued with pride in peoplehood and collective destiny. Challenging the trope commonly cast against the Jewish people in diaspora, Lebovitz argues that affirming dual loyalty serves as our best hope to shape a brighter tomorrow here in the United States and for our sense of Jewish peoplehood.

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz, PhD, is the Senior Rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom, one of the largest Conservative synagogues in North America. Shaped by a proud Zionist upbringing and as the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, he has endeavored to instill a strong relationship with Israel in all of his congregants. As a prominent Jewish thought leader, his work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Jewish Journal, and Jerusalem Post. Rabbi Lebovitz is an adjunct fellow at the Z3 Institute, sits on the Executive Board of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition, and serves as a national board member of MERCAZ. The horrific massacre of October 7 and its aftermath around the world prompted Rabbi Lebovitz to begin speaking out about the next chapter of Jewish life.

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.  Innovating in multiple areas, Schindler came to grips with the increasing rate of interfaith marriage even as he expanded the vision of a liberal Jewish faith.  While chairing the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations, his deep personal friendship with Prime Minister Menachem Begin prevented a crisis between American Jewry and Israel.  Using citations from his speeches and writings, this lecture will illustrate the importance of Rabbi Schindler within American Jewry of the 1970s and 1980s and his legacy for Reform Judaism today.

About The Speaker: 

Michael A. Meyer was born in Berlin, Germany, and grew up in Los Angeles, where he graduated from UCLA with highest honors. His doctorate in Jewish history is from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, where he served as Professor of Jewish History for fifty years. He has also been a guest professor at three Israeli universities and served as president of the Association for Jewish Studies and international president of the Leo Baeck Institute. He is the recipient of three Jewish Book Awards and has published more than 200 scholarly articles and longer reviews. His books include The Origins of the Modern Jew, Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism, and Rabbi Leo Baeck: Living a Religious Imperative in Troubled Times. He is the recipient of an honorary degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Cross of Merit from the German Federal Republic.

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 look at what it means to “honor” and “respect”, the issue of who and how an adult child “pays”, as well as when it may be permissible to cede care to a third party.  We will look at difficult questions, such as do we need a new vocabulary for caregiving in light of technology and the challenges of “quality of life” and the emerging issue of Medical Aid in Dying.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OiZfmzcc-ywctGm64SGIQN7R2_TA0ZP7/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=true

About The Speaker: Rabbi Richard F Address, D.Min.: ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (1972), is the founder and director of Jewish Sacred Aging®, the website jewishsacredaging.com, and hosts the weekly “Seekers of Meaning podcast/tv show.  Rabbi Address served congregations in California and New Jersey for over 25 years and also served on the staff of the Union for Reform Judaism for over three decades as the regional director for the Pennsylvania Council and then as founding director of the URJ’s Department of Family Concerns. He continues to teach and consult with congregations in areas related to the impact of longevity on congregations, families, and organizations. He has edited numerous articles and books dealing with issues of aging and is the author of “Seekers of Meaning: Baby Boomers, Judaism and the Pursuit of Healthy Aging”. Rabbi Address continues to teach at a variety of locations and is an adjunct at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Wurzweiler Social Work at Yeshiva University, and the Aleph Seminary. In addition, Rabbi Address serves on the board of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Southern N.J., co-chairs their Senior Services Committee, and co-chairs the Jewish Advisory Group for Samaritan Hospice/Healthcare in southern New Jersey.  In January 2024, he was honored to receive the Isaac Mayer Wise award for lifetime service from the Reform Jewish community of Denver, CO. He is married to Jane Travis-Address and lives in Gloucester County. 

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 were designed by our Sages to make the reading of the Book of Esther accessible. In this shiur, we will learn that the halakha places a major value on comprehension of the story and allows for a megillah to be written in all languages. This serves as a model for ensuring that all Jews are full and equal members of our communities.

About The Speaker:
Rabbanit Devorah Zlochower is Senior Scholar and Mashgichah Ruchanit at YCT Rabbinical School. Previously, she served as Academic Dean and Rosh Kollel at Yeshivat Maharat and as Rosh Beit Midrash and Director of the Full-time Programs of Drisha Institute. Devorah has taught Talmud and Jewish Law for 3 decades at Drisha, SAR High School, Hadar, YCT, and Maharat.

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 the range of Qur’anic writings about Jews to gain a solid understanding of the status of Jews in the Qur’an. We will then consider how these verses have been interpreted in Muslim tradition.

About The Speaker: 

Reuven Firestone is Regenstein Professor in medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles, and affiliate professor of religion at the University of Southern California. Author of eight books and over one hundred scholarly articles on Judaism, Islam, their relationship with one another, and with Christianity, Professor Firestone lectures at universities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as throughout North America. His books include Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam, Who Are the Real Chosen People, Introduction to Islam for Jews, Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, and Holy War in Judaism. Active on the boards of numerous scholarly journals and boards and commissions treating interreligious relations and dialogue, Firestone is an ordained rabbi, received his Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies from New York University, and served as Vice President of the Association for Jewish Studies and President of the International Qur’anic Studies Association.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Avi 

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

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Avi Orlow is the Scholar-in-Residence at Foundation for Jewish Camp. He has a deep love of irreverent, relevant, and revealing Torah and blogs religiously at saidtomyself.com.

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 rituals that deal with health, sex, birth, and death, Leviticus offers a rich framework for understanding how the body can serve as a vessel for sacred living. This ancient holiness code invites us to integrate the physical and spiritual dimensions of life, challenging modern assumptions about the separation between body and spirit.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13UcLDLcCO6X0PXsFv7UVPaPIIOEFDq__2orn-oOPkyk/edit?usp=sharing

About the Speaker: 

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 Law. He has served as Senior Jewish Educator at Berkeley Hillel, Director of Education at Kevah, and Associate Rabbi at IKAR. He is the author of ParshaNut: 54 Journeys into the World of Torah Commentary, and the host of the Torah podcast, Best Book Ever.