POSTPONED: Emergent Judaism: How an Ancient Tradition Gets New Ideas

ABOUT THIS LECTURE: The paradox within any tradition is that it is supposed to be old, venerable and stable and yet, in order to stay alive and relevant, it needs to change. Judaism is a strong tradition that has survived for thousands of years. How do we do that? In this interactive session we’ll explore three principles which have been key to Judaism’s survival, and which will be essential to its thriving in the future: wholeness, personal involvement, and creativity.

ABOUT THIS SPEAKER: Rabbi Dr. Natan Margalit  was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a young adult lived for twelve years in Israel and received rabbinic ordination at The Jerusalem Seminary in 1990. He earned a Ph.D. in Talmud from U.C. Berkeley in 2001. Natan has taught at Bard College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He is currently a member of the Va’ad (steering committee and core faculty) of the Aleph Ordination Program, and serves as Chair of their Rabbinic Texts department. He is also the Director of the AOP’s new Earth Based Judaism Track. Natan is Founder of Organic Torah, a non-profit which fosters holistic thinking about Judaism, environment and society. He writes a monthly blog for Organic Torah and teaches and speaks in synagogues, campuses and other venues across the country. He lives in Newton, MA with his wife Ilana and their two sons.