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 antifeminist archetype. Yet in each case, a careful rereading reveals that there is a lot more to the story than initially meets the eye, that the heroine is far more complex than she first seems, and that the rabbis had rather surprising – so as not to say proto-feminist – views of marriage, sex, childbirth, and what it means to be a woman in the world. In presenting us with archetypes that systematically break down, the Talmud imparts profound moral teachings about how to read the characters of a text and, ultimately, how to regard the people in our lives.”

*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hkPqg6xF8_N6IMGxZF9GFzlmRE9MirEy/view?usp=share_link

About The Speaker:

Gila Fine is a lecturer in rabbinic literature at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, she explores the tales of the Talmud through the lenses of philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and pop culture. She is the recipient of the Maimonides Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. She serves on the faculties of the Nachson Project, Amudim Seminary, the Tikvah Scholars Program, and the London School of Jewish Studies.

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. In this session, we will explore the history of Jewish anti-intellectualism, wrestling with diverse Jewish responses to questions such as: Do scientific and philosophical studies have a place in religious life? Do Jews have an obligation to pursue such forms of knowledge, or do these disciplines represent threats to religious practice and belief? And what resources—if any—does the Jewish tradition offer to individuals and communities troubled by anti-intellectual attitudes in the United States and worldwide?

About The Speaker:

Elias Sacks is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studies Jewish thought, philosophy of religion, Jewish-Christian relations, religious ethics, and religion and politics. He is the author of Moses Mendelssohn’s Living Script: Philosophy, Practice, History, Judaism (2017), as well as articles on medieval and modern thinkers, including Mendelssohn, Moses Maimonides, Baruch Spinoza, Nachman Krochmal, Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, and Jacob Taubes. Previously, Sacks served as Director of The Jewish Publication Society.

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.

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 the Jack H. Skirball Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Before coming to HUC, Dr. Windmueller had served on the staff of the American Jewish Committee (1969-1972), directed the Albany (NY) Jewish Federation (1973-1985), and the JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Committee) of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation (1985-1995).

During his tenure at the College, Dr. Windmueller served for ten years as the Director of its School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and, in 2005, was named to the deanship of the LA campus (2006-2010). In 2009, he was named to an endowed chair, and in 2014 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hebrew Union College.

The author of four books and numerous articles, Professor Windmueller holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. His research has been primarily focused on Jewish communal trends, Anti-Semitism, and Jewish political behavior. His articles have appeared in several secular and Jewish publications.

Currently, Dr. Windmueller is consulting with national agencies, federations, synagogues, and foundations in connection with his current studies on virtual and privatized Judaism, the impact of COVID, and the broader social, economic, and political trends reshaping American Jewish life.

In 2014, he had occasion to teach in China, offering lectures on American Jewry, Israel, and Zionism at various universities in the Peoples Republic.

He recently served as guest editor for USC’s Casden Institute, producing The Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on American Jews and Israel (2021)and is now focused on producing a volume analyzing 21st Century American Judaism and continues to write on Jewish political behavior for the Times of Israel and other publications in advance of the November 2024 elections.

Dr. Windmueller serves as a Fellow of the Jerusalem Institute of Public Affairs and as a Board Member of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State, Los Angeles. For the past eight years, he has been on the faculty of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, teaching across the globe.

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 opportunity to teach Torah classes, instruct the conversion program, answer Halachic questions, facilitate tefillot, offer pastoral guidance, craft lifecycle events, and connect with families and singles, young and old. She has taught many to learn, and her voice is featured on the JOFA website reading four Megillot and selected Torah portions. In HIR, the children know her as the rabbi who sings Israeli children’s songs and gives out stickers! Rabbanit Bracha is passionate about bringing mental illness out of the shadows and has spoken about it in different settings. She loves connecting people and encouraging them to be their best selves. Some of her favorite pastimes are kickboxing and reading books to her grandchildren. Rabbanit Bracha lives in Riverdale, NY, with her husband, Martin.

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 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 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 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-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Before coming to HUC, Dr. Windmueller had served on the staff of the American Jewish Committee (1969-1972), directed the Albany (NY) Jewish Federation (1973-1985), and the JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Committee) of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation (1985-1995).

During his tenure at the College, Dr. Windmueller served for ten years as the Director of its School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and, in 2005, was named to the deanship of the LA campus (2006-2010). In 2009, he was named to an endowed chair, and in 2014 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hebrew Union College.

The author of four books and numerous articles, Professor Windmueller holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. His research has been primarily focused on Jewish communal trends, Anti-Semitism, and Jewish political behavior. His articles have appeared in several secular and Jewish publications.

Currently, Dr. Windmueller is consulting with national agencies, federations, synagogues, and foundations in connection with his current studies on virtual and privatized Judaism, the impact of COVID, and the broader social, economic, and political trends reshaping American Jewish life. In 2014, he had to teach in China, offering lectures on American Jewry, Israel, and Zionism at various universities in the People's Republic.

He recently served as guest editor for USC’s Casden Institute, producing The Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on American Jews and Israel (2021) and is now focused on producing a volume analyzing 21st Century American Judaism and continues to write on Jewish political behavior for the Times of Israel and other publications in advance of the November 2024 elections.

Dr. Windmueller serves as a Fellow of the Jerusalem Institute of Public Affairs and as a Board Member of the Pat Brown Institute at Cal State, Los Angeles. For the past eight years, he has been on the faculty of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, teaching across the globe.

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 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 social justice. He has led efforts to expand healthcare access, restore voting rights, and for LGBTQ equality, among others. Rabbi Pesner is widely published, including “Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority: Our Jewish Obligation to Justice.” He teaches all over the world including at Harvard University where he has served as a visiting scholar. He sits on various boards including the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Faith-Based Security Advisory Council for the Department of Homeland Security, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Solidarity Council on Racial Equity, among others.