A virtual class series hosted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

ABOUT THE CLASS:

Discover the depth, drama, and enduring wisdom of the Talmud in this inspiring new Valley Beit Midrash 40-part Zoom series with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz: “40 Talmudic Stories Every Jew Should Know.” Each class brings to life a powerful narrative from the Talmud—stories of courage, curiosity, compassion, conflict, and transformation. Rabbi Yanklowitz will guide participants through the historical context, spiritual meaning, and ethical challenges embedded in each tale, revealing how these ancient narratives still speak urgently to the modern Jewish experience. Whether you’re a seasoned learner or brand new to Talmud study, you’ll find yourself captivated by the richness and relevance of these stories.

More than just storytelling, this series is an invitation to think, question, and grow. Each session will open space for thoughtful discussion, personal reflection, and practical takeaways that can elevate daily life, relationships, and spiritual practice. Come connect with a vibrant community of learners, deepen your understanding of Jewish tradition, and be energized by Rabbi Yanklowitz’s uniquely passionate, inclusive, and justice-centered approach to Torah. These are stories that shape who we are—and who we can become. Join us and let them inspire you.

All are held over Zoom every Tuesday at 10am PT (1pm ET).

Cost: $360 for the whole series, free for VBM members

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg

Please note event times are listed in MT. 

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Ner Tamid, Own Your Judaism, Temple Beth Sholom & Temple Har Shalom

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Judaism envisions a messianic future in which our world is transformed into a paradise for humanity and all forms of life, overcoming poverty, hunger, oppression, inequality, war, and sickness. This vision rests on a covenant — a brit, or partnership, between God and humanity to repair and renew both nature and society.

This class explores three eras in the evolution of that covenant. In Biblical Judaism, God plays a dominant and visible role. In Rabbinic Judaism, God recedes from the foreground, calling humans to assume greater responsibility. In our present era, God is hidden yet fully present, working through human beings and the laws of nature. The future depends on our choices: humanity has the power both to advance redemption and to endanger the world. What is the role of God in this new era, and what responsibilities does this place on us? We will explore the Jewish people's calling to serve as a model and partner in the ongoing work of world repair and redemption.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

In the words of Professor Steven T Katz, chair of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University, “No Jewish thinker has had a greater impact on the American Jewish community in the last two decades than Rabbi Yitz Greenberg.”

Rabbi Dr. Irving Greenberg (known affectionately as “Rav Yitz”) is perhaps our time’s leading Jewish scholar and theologian. An author of many influential books on Jewish thought, ethics, and philosophy, Rav Yitz is the Past President of CLAL: The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership and Past President of Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation. Before these positions, he served as Rabbi of the Riverdale Jewish Center, was an Associate Professor of History at Yeshiva University, and was the founder, chairman, and Professor in the Department of Jewish Studies of City College of the City University of New York. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard and received ordination from Yeshiva Beis Yosef.

Rabbi Greenberg is a singular leader of contemporary American Judaism, having shown leadership on many vital Jewish communal initiatives from the 1960s to the present. He served as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and has written extensively on the complexity of post-Holocaust theology as well as Jewish pluralism about the theology of Jewish-Christian relations and beyond.

A virtual event presentation by Professor Amy-Jill Levine

Please note event times are listed in MT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: BMH-BJ

Funded in part by a grant from the - National Center to Encourage Judaism

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The famous “Parable of the Good Samaritan” has been interpreted in multiple ways –  as a condemnation of racism, as promoting concern for the marginalized, and as justification for taking aid from people of differing political views. Perhaps most often, it is presented by Christians through an ahistorical, antisemitic lens as a condemnation of Jewish religious practice, xenophobia, and elitism. What did it mean to the Jews to whom it was first told, how did antisemitic interpretations develop, and how might interpretations informed by correct understandings of Jewish practice and belief be relevant today?  

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Amy-Jill Levine is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies, Hartford International University for Religion and Peace;  University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita, Vanderbilt University.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Igal Harmelin

Please note event times are listed in MT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Temple Chai

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Jewish history carries centuries of persecution and displacement. That history doesn't stay in the past: it shows up in how we argue with each other, who we trust, what frightens us, and what we defend reflexively without asking why.

Since October 7th, these patterns have sharpened. The attack itself, and the wave of antisemitic violence that has followed, have not created this trauma — they've activated what was already there, often at a scale and intensity we haven't had to face directly in generations.

We will examine these patterns of collective trauma through two lenses: Jewish sources and current scientific understanding. We will explore whether healing is possible and what it would require.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Igal Harmelin is a spiritual director, a meditation teacher, and a certified master practitioner of NARM, an advanced modality for healing attachment trauma. He is also certified as a Collective Trauma Facilitator by Thomas Hübl's Academy of Inner Science.

Rabbi Harmelin is spearheading the Trauma-Informed Spiritual Leadership Training for Jewish clergy and educators. The program equips Jewish spiritual leaders with greater ability to regulate themselves and their communities. Hosted by the ALEPH Ordination Program, this interdenominational program has gained the support of the Rabbinic Assembly and the Covenant Foundation.

He lives in New York City with his wife, Rabbi Lisa Goldstein.

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Richard Hidary

Please note event times are listed in MT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Temple Beth Sholom

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The celebration of Hanukah by lighting lamps in front of Jewish homes derives from rabbinic literature, appearing nowhere in Second Temple sources. Indeed, while the Second Temple stood, it would have made the most sense to celebrate the anniversary of its reconsecration in the Temple itself with song and added sacrificial offerings. It would make little sense as a home-based ritual. When and why, then, did the home lamp lighting come into practice? This lecture will trace the development of Hanukah fire rituals arguing that the rabbis shifted the focus of the commemoration from the altar to the menorah after the Temple’s destruction as part of an effort to transfer the holiness of the Temple to the Jewish home. A contextual and literary analysis of the locus classicus of the Hanukah laws at Bavli Shabbat 21a-24a reveals themes connecting Hanukah lamps both to the Temple menorah and to household Shabbat lamps. The Talmud communicates this new centrality of home holiness through details of ritual law as well as by recontextualizing and retelling the miracle of the oil.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary is a rabbi at Sephardic Synagogue in Brooklyn and professor of Judaic Studies at Yeshiva University. He is the author of Discovering the Jewish Holidays: Eight Talmudic Readings (Maggid Press, 2026); Rabbis and Classical Rhetoric: Sophistic Education and Oratory in the Talmud and Midrash (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and Dispute for the Sake of Heaven: Legal Pluralism in the Talmud (Brown University Press, 2010). His Daf Yomi classes are accessible at YouTube.com/rhidary and he also runs the websites teachtorah.org, pizmonim.org, and rabbinics.org.