A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Gila Fine The event was co-sponsored by The New Shul and BMH-BJ About The Event:  “Women in the Talmud are generally marginal and almost always anonymous – the daughters, sisters, and wives of prominent rabbis. The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic explores the stories of the exceptions, the six named heroines of the Talmud: Yalta the shrew, Homa the femme fatale, Marta the prima donna, Heruta the madonna/whore, Beruria the overreacherix, and Ima Shalom the angel in the house. As their epithets suggest, all of these women appear to embody an antifem ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Elias Sacks The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  We live in an anti-intellectual age—a time of scientific skepticism, doubts about the value of higher education, and hostility toward many forms of expertise and advanced learning. But anti-intellectualism is not an exclusively modern development; on the contrary, it has a long history in religious traditions, including Judaism, where many figures have cast science, philosophy, and other forms of rigorous intellectual inquiry as irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst ..read more

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz and esteemed scholar Dr. Mehnaz Afridi come together for a virtual conversation on Muslim-Jewish collaboration in support of democracy and tolerance. Dr. Afridi, a respected Muslim expert on genocide, has been a powerful ally to the Jewish community. ★ Support this podcast ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Steven Windmueller The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  This session will examine the history of Jewish political engagement, explore the types of Jewish political actors, and analyze why American politics has such significant meaning and impact on the Jewish community. As we approach one of this nation’s most critical elections, what should we know about this election and its specific importance to Jewish Americans? About The Speaker:  Dr. Steven Windmueller is an Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About the Event:  A Journey from Peshat to Derash Follow the story of Serach, the daughter of Asher. There is a mountain of Midrashim written about her, yet only six words are written in the Torah! We will follow the breadcrumbs and piece together the story of her life as imagined by our sages while finding a textual basis for each piece. About the Speaker:  Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe serves as the Associate Rabba at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Bronx, NY. She is grateful for the opportu ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer  The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion.  About The Event: We all know that way back when the Torah was given to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. But was it only given to the Israelites? Was it an event that already happened, or is it an event constantly in the making? Learning from texts spanning across geographies and historical periods, we come to rediscover Mt. Sinai.  About The Speaker: Jonnie Schnytzer is probably the only PhD in Jewish Philosophy focusing on medieval kabbalah, who can say that he once beat the ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Steven Windmueller  The Event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ.  About The Event: The Gaza Conflict has no doubt changed the landscape of the Middle East, redefined Israeli society and culture, and impacted American Jewry. In this presentation, we will be examining these key transformative factors, evaluating the long-term implications of this moment on Zionism, Jewish history, and the Jewish people.  About The Speaker Dr. Steven Windmueller is an Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of Hebrew Union College-Je ..read more

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Jacob Siegel Temple Solel co-hosted the event About the event:  “Business as usual” is leading us to rising economic suffering, societal division, and climate crisis. A new approach promises socially responsible investing by looking at “environmental, social, and governance (ESG)” concerns. Amid the new buzzwords and their ensuing controversy, the question remains: Where should you invest your retirement savings, pension plan, or organization’s endowment? This class will explore Jewish guidance, helping the modern Jewish investor harness ancient wis ..read more

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Jonah Pesner The event was co-hosted by Temple Chai and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix  About The Event:  Kol Kolot – Every Voice, Every Vote – Why the American Jewish Community and our society more broadly needs to work for an Inclusive Democracy, in which all voices are heard and every vote is counted – and what you can do to make it happen. About The Speaker:  Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner serves as the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the Senior Vice President of the Union for ..read more

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner serves as the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the Senior Vice President of the Union for Reform Judaism.  Named one of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek magazine, he is dedicated to building bridges to collectively confront anti-Semitism, racism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate and bigotry. Rabbi Pesner organizes Jewish communities to reach across lines of race, class, and faith in campaigns for s ..read more