A virtual event presentation with Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer

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EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: BMH-BJ

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Throughout Jewish history, there have been a series of individual attempts to organize Jewish communities towards conquering the Land of Israel and reinstalling Jewish sovereignty. Time and again, these attempts were turned down and declined by the masses. Why? Learning about the fascinating stories of a few individuals we learn a valuable lesson about freedom and the slippery slope from redemption to messianism.  

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 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer

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EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Ner Tamid

ABOUT THE EVENT:

As Jews we spend a lot of time praying, but not a lot of time looking at the texts of our prayers for meaning and understanding. In this session we will explore a method that will aim to deepen your own engagement with prayer through rigorous interpretation. We will examine questions such as: Are traditional prayer formulas able to express my own values/ideas of prayer? What do you do when you "disagree" with the prayer's content? How can I interpret the siddur in a grounded and traditional yet creative manner?

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is President and CEO of the Hadar Institute. Elie has previously worked as a journalist, banker, and corporate fraud investigator. A graduate of Harvard College, he completed his doctorate in liturgy at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was also ordained. He also received semikhah from his long-time teacher, Rav Daniel Landes. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and Dorot Fellow, Elie has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the top 50 rabbis in America. He is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us About Building Vibrant Jewish Communities and is completing a book on the Amidah.

A virtual event presentation by Noam Zion

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ABOUT THE EVENT:

While standing in the communal oven, Ms Ukba and Mar Ukba had a dispute about how best to give tzedakah. They represent Masculine and Feminine Tzedakah, or the Ethics of Dignity versus the Ethics of Care.  Whose approach takes priority?

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Noam is now emeritus at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem where since 1978 he has been a senior research fellow and educator. He earned a graduate degree in general philosophy at Columbia University and the Hebrew University, while studying Bible and Rabbinics at JTSA and the Hartman Beit Midrash.

His popular publications and worldwide lecturing have promoted Homemade Judaism – empowering families to create their own pluralistic Judaism during home holidays – Pesach, Hanukkah and Shabbat. His most popular publications include: A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah; A Different Light: The Big Book of Hanukkah; A Day Apart: Shabbat at Home; The Israeli Haggadah: Halaila Hazeh; and A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices (published together with his son). But his most recent book written with his son came out March 17, 2024, Haggadah Yisraelit to reflect on the latest events of October 7, 2023.

His most recent academic research encompasses a trilogy on the intellectual history of philanthropy entitled Jewish Giving in Comparative Perspectives (2013) and a nine-part series on Talmudic Marital Dramas (2018). In 2021 Jewish Publication Society published Sanctified Sex: The 2000 Year Jewish Debate on Marital Intimacy.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Yitz Greenberg

Please note event times are listed in MT. 

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Ner Tamid

ABOUT THE EVENT:

TBD

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

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 Ysoscher Katz

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EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Temple Emanuel

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Are observant Jews today in need of a new theology—one that makes sense of our simultaneous devotion to Torah and commitment to modern moral values? This lecture explores the contours of such a theology and considers what might be gained, and what might be lost, in reimagining our religious categories.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Ysoscher Katz is the Chair of the Department of Talmud at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Rabbi Katz received ordination in 1986 from Rabbi Yechezkel Roth, dayan of UTA Satmer, and studied at Yeshivat Beit Yosef, Navaradok for over ten years. A graduate of the HaSha’ar Program for Jewish Educators, Rabbi Katz has taught at the Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls and SAR High School.

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Kristine Henriksen Garroway

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ABOUT THE EVENT:

Deuteronomy 18 makes it clear that magic is a "no-no" for the Israelites. Yet, the archaeological and textual records of biblical times and late antiquity tell a different tale, one that is full of divination, exorcisms, amulets, and demon traps. Join Dr. Kristine Garroway for an overview of the fascinating history of ancient Jewish magic.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Kristine Henriksen Garroway is Professor of Bible at the Hebrew Union College's Skirball Campus in Los Angeles. Joining the faculty in 2011, her research bridges ancient Near Eastern texts and archaeology to shed light on the Hebrew Bible and the history of families, children, and gender in ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Dr. Garroway holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Cognate Studies, is an active editor and author of multiple books, and frequently contributes to TheTorah.com and scholarly journals.

A virtual event presentation by Marina Zilbergerts

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ABOUT THE EVENT:

What distinguishes human consciousness from artificial intelligence? In this talk, Marina Zilbergerts discusses her new book, Genesis in the Age of AI: A New Story of Consciousness, which reads Genesis as a story of the birth and development of human consciousness and explores how the Bible portrays the inner lives of God and human beings. She argues that its emphasis on subjectivity, agency, and inner life offers a powerful way to rethink what defines humanity in the age of AI.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Marina Zilbergerts is the author of Genesis in the Age of AI: A New Story of Consciousness (Routledge). She is a philosopher and scholar of religion whose work explores consciousness, artificial intelligence, and Jewish thought. She is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, an advisor with AI & Faith, and writes The Inner Light, a Substack exploring faith, technology, and inner life.