A hybrid event presentation (in-person & virtual) by Neshama Carlebach & Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Please note event times are listed in MT

This event is presented in loving memory of Gloria & Herb Zeichick.

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Beth Israel

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Why does a melody sometimes move us in ways that words alone cannot? Why, when we’re choosing a synagogue, can the cantor’s voice carry as much weight as the rabbi’s sermon? And why do we call the Erev Yom Kippur service “Kol Nidre,” as if one haunting melody could define an entire evening of prayer? This engaging lecture explores the powerful role of music in Jewish worship and why liturgical music has always been so central to the Jewish spiritual experience—from the familiar melodies that instantly transport us to a particular time and place, to the wordless power of the niggun.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Neshama Carlebach is an award-winning singer, songwriter, writer, and educator who has performed and taught in cities around the world.  A winner and four-time nominee in the Independent Music Awards for her most current release, Believe, and winner of the Global Music Awards Silver Award for Outstanding Performance by a female vocalist, Neshama is one of today’s best-selling Jewish artists. As the first then-Orthodox woman of her generation to perform for a mixed-gender audience, Neshama has sparked public conversations with brave forays into the place of women in Judaism and today’s world. In the aftermath of the October 7th attacks, Neshama brought thousands of people together throughout the NY metro area for concerts that have raised over half a million dollars for Israel.  For more than two decades, Neshama has shared her insights on various topics as an essayist. Neshama's most current writings have been featured in various publications and widely shared on platforms worldwide. Neshama is featured in the award-winning 2026 documentary, The Darkest Light. Neshama is currently writing a memoir and pursuing rabbinic ordination at AJR.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor serves as the Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence at UJA Federation of New York and as Senior Lecturer at the Academy for Jewish Religion. An acclaimed author, educator, musician, and activist, he was named by Newsweek as one of the fifty most influential rabbis in America. With millions of views of his videos and essays, his leadership has helped shape national conversations on gun violence prevention, Zionism, interfaith organizing, LGBTQ inclusion, and Jewish diversity.

Rabbi Creditor has published more than forty books and six albums of original music, including the widely sung anthem Olam Chesed Yibaneh. He is the founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence and serves as a clergy coach with Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation, supporting rabbis as they navigate their careers and develop their voices. He inspires audiences internationally through presentations that unite Jewish tradition, spiritual imagination, and moral leadership.

A hybrid event presentation (in-person and virtual) by Dr. Andrew Porwancher

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Join Professor Andrew Porwancher as he uncovers the close-knit and often surprising relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and the Jewish community. This lecture traces Roosevelt’s deep connection with the Jewish people at every step of his dazzling ascent. But it also reveals a man of contradictions whose checkered approach to Jewish issues was no less conflicted than the nation he led. Drawing on fresh research from his newest book, American Maccabee, Porwancher explores the complicated relationship between the leader of a youthful nation and the people of an ancient faith.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Andrew Porwancher is the Chaplik Professor at the University of Texas. He previously held fellowships at Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton, and earned his PhD at Cambridge. His fifth book—American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews—won the 2025 Theodore Roosevelt Book Prize.