Filter by Category
Our Classes
A Jewish Trinity: Contemporary Christian Theology Through Jewish Eyes
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill
ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Christian affirmation of a triune God has always perplexed and confounded Jews. Can Jews get beyond understanding the Trinity as inherently tri-theistic This talk serves as an entrance into a range of issues in Jewish-Christian theological difference, presenting a Jewish understanding oftopics in contemporary Christian theology such as Trinity, original sin, and incarnation. Brill will discuss that Jews and Christians can engage in comparative discourse on theological issues with full clarity and understanding. We will seek to go beyond reconciliation toward a richer and deeper theological discussion of similarities and differences.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rabbi Prof. Alan Brill is the Cooperman/Ross Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University, Brill is an expert on Jewish thought and interfaith relations. He is the author of many books including Judaism and World Religions: Christianity, Islam, and Eastern Religions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), Judaism and Other Religions: Models of Understanding (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). Brill received a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India. He was a keynote speaker at the R-20 conference held in Indonesia, This research produced his recent volume Rabbi on the Ganges: A Jewish Hindu Encounter (Lexington Books, 2019). His recently published book is A Jewish Trinity: Contemporary Christian Theology Through Jewish Eyes (Fortress Press, 2025).
Animals as Kabbalistic Masters
A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Animals don’t receive much attention in kabbalistic texts and even less so scholarship on kabbalah. When they do, it is predominantly to teach humans to be better humans. However, there were some anonymous kabbalists that believed there was a deeper connection between humans and animals, to the point that stories were told about animals that shared kabbalistic secrets. What can they teach us today about animal, humans and a shared future?
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 magestic 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.
Lessons from the Olive Tree for Families, Jewish Unity, and the Social Security System.
A virtual event presentation by Dr. Jon Greenberg
EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY:
BMH-BJ
ABOUT THE EVENT:
This program will explore the symbolic and halachic significance of the olive tree. The questions we'll examine include:
- Neglected agricultural and political reasons that the olive-oil chanukiyah displaced an earlier symbol of Chanukah,
- Why the 15th of Av became a day for matchmaking,
- How the social and technological history of olive use mediates a five hundred year-old debate about how to read the Talmud, and
- The beautiful lesson about family relationships that the Psalms draw from the biology of the olive tree.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dr. Greenberg received his bachelor’s degree with honors in biology from Brown University and his Master’s and Doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. He has also studied with Rabbi Chaim Brovender at Israel’s Yeshivat Hamivtar and conducted research on corn, alfalfa, and soybeans at Cornell, the US Department of Agriculture, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cancer Research. Since 1989, he has been a science teacher and educational consultant. Dr. Greenberg was Senior Editor of science textbooks at Prentice Hall Publishing Co. Previously on the faculty of Yeshivas Ohr Yosef, the School of Education at Indiana University, and the University of Phoenix, he taught at the Heschel School from 2008 to 2024. In 2021, he published Fruits of Freedom, a Passover Hagadah with a commentary from the perspective of the history of Jewish food and agriculture. He is a frequent speaker at synagogues, schools, and botanical gardens. Dr. Greenberg can be contacted at jon@torahflora.org.
How are these Responsa different from all other Responsa?
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. David Golinkin
Ethics at the Center: Jewish Theory and Practice for Living a Moral Life
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Elliot Dorff
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Drawing from Chapter 3 of the book, Ethics at the Center: Jewish Theory and Practice for Living a Moral Life, this session will explore how Western, Christian, and Jewish traditions understand the nature of the human being, and how these differing perspectives shape a wide range of moral issues.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Elliot Dorff, Rabbi (Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1970), Ph.D. in philosophy (Columbia University, 1971), is Rector and Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University. From 1974 to 2020, he taught a course on Jewish law at UCLA School of Law. He has served on three United States federal government commissions -- on access to health care, on reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and on research on human subjects -- and he currently serves on the State of California's commission to govern stem cell research within the state. He has chaired four scholarly organization: the Academy of Jewish Philosophy, the Jewish Law Association, the Society of Jewish Ethics, and the Academy of Judaic, Christian, and Muslim Studies. He has served as a member of the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards since December 1984, as its Vice Chair from 1997 to 2007, and as its Chair from 2007 to 2022, writing 30 responsa approved by the committee and several concurring opinions. In Los Angeles, he is a Past President of Jewish Family Service and remains on its Board, and he is a former member of the Board of the Jewish Federation Council. He has been a member of the Priest-Rabbi Dialogue sponsored by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since its inception in 1973 and has co-chaired it since 1990. In addition to awards given by several communal organizations in Los Angeles, he has been awarded four honorary doctoral degrees, the Leve Award of the UCLA Center for Jewish Studies, and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Journal of Law and Religion. He has published over 200 articles on Jewish thought, law, and ethics, and he has written fifteen books on those topics and edited or co-edited fourteen more. Since 1966 he has been married to Marlynn, and they have four children and eight grandchildren, who, he thinks, are more important than anything listed above.
Judaism & Mental Health
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Tal Sessler
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Rabbi Dr. Tal Sessler recently published “Torah for Mental Health: Jewish Wisdom for Psychological Growth.” In this book, the rabbi discusses the depression and mental health epidemics in our families and communities from a uniquely Jewish lens. Please join us for this important and timely discussion.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
TBA
Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir
A virtual event presentation by Dr. Shulamit Reinharz
ABOUT THE EVENT:
In her book, Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir, Dr. Reinharz offers a unique narrative by collaborating with her father, Max Rothschild, to share personal stories of survival and resistance during the Holocaust. Her insights offer an enriched understanding of history's impact on contemporary Jewish identity.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Shulamit Reinharz was born in Amsterdam and grew up in New Jersey. She has also lived in Israel for numerous one year stays as well as in Utrecht and Oxford for research appointments. She earned her undergraduate degree at Barnard College and her graduate degrees at Brandeis University, followed by a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan from 1972-1982 when she returned to Brandeis as a professor of sociology. Hebrew College has conferred on her an honorary doctorate.
Dr. Reinharz has published widely. Among her 17 books are the prize-winning Feminist Methods in Social Research (1992); American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise (with Mark Raider, 2005); The JGirl's Guide (with Penina Adelman and Ali Feldman, 2005); Jewish Intermarriage around the World (with Sergio Della Pergola, 2009); One Hundred Years of Kibbutz Life (with Michal Palgi, 2011); Today I am a Woman: Stories of Bat Mitzvah around the World (with Barbara Vinick, 2011); One Hundred Jewish Brides (with Barbara Vinick, 2022); and Hiding in Holland: A Resistance Memoir (2024). The Jewish Review of Books invited her to write a piece about Hiding in Holland after it won the prize of finalist in the category of Holocaust Memoirs.
A sought-after lecturer, Shulamit Reinharz is currently working on a book about "gender and the holocaust," focusing on her mother's survival.
How Tu B’Shvat teaches us to reduce, reuse and recycle
A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Sharona Halickman
ABOUT THE EVENT:
You may think that reduce, reuse and recycle are modern concepts for saving the environment but when we delve into the Talmud's insights into the Seven Species of Israel, we will find that these ideas are intrinsic in these Biblical fruits.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Sharona holds a BA in Judaic Studies from Stern College and an MS in Jewish Education from Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University. Sharona was the first Orthodox woman to serve as a clergy member as the first Congregational Intern and first Madricha Ruchanit at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, NY. After making aliya in 2004, Sharona founded Torat Reva Yerushalayim, a nonprofit organization based in Jerusalem that provides Torah study groups for students of all ages and backgrounds.