A virtual event presentation by Dr. Richard Hidary

Please note event times are listed in MT

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.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Ysoscher Katz

Please note event times are listed in MT. 

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

Please note event times are listed in MT

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 Dr. Daniel Rynhold

ABOUT THE EVENT:

One of the most potent critiques of religion in the modern age came from the fascinating, if controversial German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The obvious response to Nietzsche is to ignore his critique as the rantings of a rabid atheist. But a more sophisticated response can be gleaned from the writings of certain modern Jewish thinkers with - maybe surprisingly - the Modern Orthodox thinker Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik as the most prominent example. In this session, we will explore the extent to Judaism has the resources to deal with Nietzsche’s critique of religion by partially absorbing it rather than rejecting it.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Born in London, England, and educated at the universities of Cambridge and London, Daniel Rynhold is Dean and Professor of Jewish philosophy at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. He arrived in the US in August 2007, following 6 years in the department of theology and religious studies at King’s College, London. He has also served as the Shoshana Shier Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto. Daniel has written extensively on Jewish philosophy, both medieval and modern, and is the author of Two Models of Jewish Philosophy: Justifying One’s Practices (Oxford University Press, 2005), An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Philosophy (I.B. Tauris, 2009), and co-author with Michael J. Harris of Nietzsche, Soloveitchik, and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2018), with whom he also, together with Tamra Wright, co-edited Radical Responsibility: Essays in Ethics, Religion, and Leadership Presented to Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Maggid Books, 2012). Most recently, he was co-editor with Tyron Goldschmidt of The Routledge Companion to Jewish Philosophy (Routledge, 2025).

A virtual event presentation by Marina Zilbergerts

Please note event times are listed in MT

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.

A virtual event presentation by Rick Sopher and Abdulla Galadari

ABOUT THE EVENT:

A Jewish and a Muslim co-author will dive into the connections, similarities and differences between the Qur’an and the Torah to bring out points of Jewish interest.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Rick Sopher is a key figure in interfaith scriptural dialogue, especially known for fostering relations between Jewish and Muslim communities. He is a fellow of the Woolf Institute, an academic institute in Cambridge, England, dedicated to the study of interfaith relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In 2007 French President Jacques Chirac awarded him with the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur for his work in religious education.

Abdulla Galadari is an associate professor of Islamic studies at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. He is the author of Qur’anic Hermeneutics: Between Science, History, and the Bible, Metaphors of Death and Resurrection in the Qur’an: An Intertextual Approach with Biblical and Rabbinic Literature, and Spiritual Meanings of the Ḥajj Rituals: A Philological Approach.

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer

ABOUT THE EVENT:

TBA

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. Amy Kalmanofsky

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

This class explores the central role of movement in the young lovers’ courtship in the Song of Songs. It begins with a brief introduction to the Song and then turns to a close reading of selected passages, drawing on dance theory and the instructor’s perspective as a dancer to consider how movement, gesture, and physicality shape the lovers’ encounter.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky is dean of the Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies and the Gershon Kekst Graduate School, as well as the Blanche and Romie Shapiro Professor of Bible. As professor of Bible, she teaches courses on biblical literature, religion, and feminist interpretation of the Bible. In her writing and teaching, Dr. Kalmanofsky combines contemporary ideas and critical methods with traditional text study, teaching students to be careful, creative interpreters of Torah. 

Dr. Kalmanofsky is the author of several books exploring topics including horror, gender, sisterhood, and biblical interpretation in the Hebrew Bible. She has also written numerous articles examining the biblical representation of women and the roles women play in the Bible, as well as articles that consider the biblical rhetoric of violence.