Lectures & Conversations

Join us for a special event to hear from Brigadier General (Res) Roy Riftin, Colonel (Res) Joab Rosenberg, and Colonel (Res) Ophir Bear, who will discuss the upcoming judicial reform and its impact on Israeli democracy. The suggested reform, which many are calling a judicial revolt, will change the balance of powers in Israel by giving the coalition and executive branch superiority over the judicial branch.

This event is co-sponsored by Ansche Chesed, Romemu, LabShul, Congregation Rodeph Sholom and the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan.

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As the dust settles following the most recent Israeli election, we are eager to understand the new political reality that faces Israelis and Jews in the Diaspora. Professor Moshe Halbertal shares his point of view on Israeli politics and society.

Moshe Halbertal, Ph.D., is a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University and the Gruss Professor of Law at NYU. His latest book, Nahmanides: Law and Mysticism, was published by Yale University Press in 2020.

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The liturgy of Yamim Nora’im (High Holy Days) is both our deepest guide and a profound challenge during this season of transformation. In the first session of this three-part series, Rabbi Roly Matalon led an exploration of Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot sections of Rosh Hashanah Musaf in all their complexity.

This three-part experience occurs on Wednesdays, September 7, 14, 21 at 7:15PM.

This session is from Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

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How do we hold the balance and tensions of our shared communal values? With Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, we explore this theme found in the third chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz has twice been named one of America’s Top Rabbis by Newsweek and has been named by The Forward as one of the 50 most influential Jews and one of The Most Inspiring Rabbis in America. Rabbi Yanklowitz is the author of twenty books on Jewish ethics and his writings have appeared in outlets as prominent as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Guardian, and the Atlantic, as well as in many other secular and religious publications. He has served as speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and a Rothschild Fellow in Cambridge, UK.

This was the third session of a six session series. This conversation is from May 10, 2022.

Explore the other sessions on our website: https://www.bj.org/programs/sinai-bound/

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What are the spiritual qualities and practices that help us to live the Torah of our community? With Dena Weiss, we explored this theme from the sixth and final chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Dena Weiss is Rosh Beit Midrash and Senior Faculty at Hadar, where she teaches Talmud, Midrash and Hasidut. Dena earned a BA in Religious Studies from New York University and an MA in Theology from Harvard Divinity School. She has studied and taught in a variety of Jewish educational settings including Drisha, Midreshet Lindenbaum, and Pardes. She currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the Mima’amakim journal of Jewish religious art.

This was the sixth session of a six session series. Explore the other sessions on our website: https://www.bj.org/programs/sinai-bound/

This conversation is from May 31, 2022.

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How do we hold sacred disagreement? With Dr. Marjorie Lehman, we explored this theme from the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Dr. Marjorie Lehman is professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the Area Coordinator of Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures. She teaches a wide range of courses in Rabbinics, including courses on gender in Talmudic literature, aggadah, halakhah, the history of the Jewish book, and pedagogy. Her scholarly journey reflects a commitment to balancing the historical and intellectual aspects of Jewish texts while also focusing on the ways they speak to and help us to understand our place in the contemporary moment. Dr. Lehman has published articles in the Jewish Studies Quarterly, Nashim, AJS Review, the Journal of Teaching Theology and Religion and the Journal of Textual Reasoning, and she has lectured and presented scholarly papers at many conferences throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel. She has been awarded fellowships and served as a visiting scholar at several institutions. Currently, she serves on the advisory boards of the Center for Jewish Studies, the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan and the board of trustees at the Ramaz School in NYC.

This was the fifth session of a six session series.

Explore the other sessions on our website: https://www.bj.org/programs/sinai-bound/

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How do we honor Torah in our relationships and in community? With Rabbi Joshua Feigelson, we explore this theme from the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Rabbi Josh Feigelson, PhD is Executive Director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. He received ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in 2005, and served for six years as the Hillel Rabbi at Northwestern University, where he also earned a PhD in Religious Studies. In 2011, Josh helped found and served as Executive Director of Ask Big Questions, an initiative of Hillel International, which won the inaugural Lippman-Kanfer Prize for Applied Jewish Wisdom. Josh has also been a consultant and Senior Fellow at The iCenter for Israel Education. Most recently he served as Dean of Students at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Josh is a Wexner Graduate Fellow and was the founding co-chair of the Wexner Fellowship Alumni Committee. Josh graduated with a BA in Music from Yale University and lives with his wife Natalie and their three sons in Skokie, IL.

This was the fourth session of a six session series.

Explore the other sessions on our website: https://www.bj.org/programs/sinai-bound/

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The Leak, the Law, and Post-Roe America with Dahlia Lithwick was a conversation about what's at stake, should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

Dahlia Lithwick is a lawyer and senior editor at Slate.

Thank you to our co-sponsors:

Beacon Hebrew Alliance, NY
Beth Meyer, NC
Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, NY
Dor Hadash, San Diego, CA
Hunter Hillel
Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan
Or Shalom Jewish Community, San Francisco, CA
Romemu
Shir Tikvah, MN
Temple Beth El of Great Neck
Temple Isaiah, Los Angeles, CA
Tifereth Israel, Columbus, OH

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How do we understand the meaning of community and our responsibility to show up for one another? With Rabbi Noa Kushner, we explored this theme from the second chapter of Pirkei Avot.

Rabbi Noa Kushner founded The Kitchen in 2011 in response to friends who were looking for an informal, transformative shabbat experience that they couldn’t find. The Kitchen quickly grew from a local shabbat experiment into an active doorway for San Francisco’s gen x and millenials looking for serious Jewish life. Through an emphasis on first-hand experience and “doing Jewish” over pedigree, The Kitchen has become an international resource, growing to serve thousands of modern families annually in seven years. After graduating with a degree in Religious Studies at Brown, Kushner was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1998. She then served as a Hillel rabbi for both Sarah Lawrence College and Stanford University.

This was the second session of a six session series. This conversation is from May 3, 2022.

Explore the other sessions on our website: https://www.bj.org/programs/sinai-bound/

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