A virtual class series hosted by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

ABOUT THE CLASS:

Discover the depth, drama, and enduring wisdom of the Talmud in this inspiring new Valley Beit Midrash 40-part Zoom series with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz: “40 Talmudic Stories Every Jew Should Know.” Each class brings to life a powerful narrative from the Talmud—stories of courage, curiosity, compassion, conflict, and transformation. Rabbi Yanklowitz will guide participants through the historical context, spiritual meaning, and ethical challenges embedded in each tale, revealing how these ancient narratives still speak urgently to the modern Jewish experience. Whether you’re a seasoned learner or brand new to Talmud study, you’ll find yourself captivated by the richness and relevance of these stories.

More than just storytelling, this series is an invitation to think, question, and grow. Each session will open space for thoughtful discussion, personal reflection, and practical takeaways that can elevate daily life, relationships, and spiritual practice. Come connect with a vibrant community of learners, deepen your understanding of Jewish tradition, and be energized by Rabbi Yanklowitz’s uniquely passionate, inclusive, and justice-centered approach to Torah. These are stories that shape who we are—and who we can become. Join us and let them inspire you.

All are held over Zoom every Tuesday at 10am PT (1pm ET).

Cost: $360 for the whole series, free for VBM members

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz is the President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash.

A virtual event presentation with Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer

Please note event times are listed in PT

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

Please note event times are listed in PT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Ner Tamid

Funded in part by a grant from the - National Center to Encourage Judaism

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 Dr. Joshua Holo

Please note event times are listed in PT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Temple Beth Sholom, Temple Har Shalom

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Abba Eban, Israel’s great spokesman and diplomat, famously wrote: “Nobody does Israel any service by proclaiming its ‘right to exist’… Israel's right to exist… is axiomatic and unreserved.” We may grasp Eban’s principle, but in practice it no longer applies. Today, we face a generation of fellow Jews who question that right, so it is time to explain it – the how, when, where and why of our destiny in that small stretch of land on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. This story amounts to proto-Zionism, that is, the story that undergirds the modern movement: the history of our people’s consistent, millennial connection to the Land of Israel, not only religiously but also economically, intellectually, literarily, and demographically.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Joshua Holo, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Jewish History and formerly served as Vice President of Academic Resources, Dean of the Hebrew Union College Jack H. Skirball Campus, and Director of the Louchheim School of Judaic Studies. He co-founded Hebrew Union College’s digital learning platform called the College Commons, and hosts a regular podcast called the College Commons Podcast. He was the editor of the Brill Series on Jewish Studies and a regular contributor of Torah commentary to the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. His publications range from the social and intellectual history of the Jews of the Middle Ages to contemporary liberal Zionism.

A virtual event presentation by Noam Zion

Please note event times are listed in MT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Temple Emanuel

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, Own Your Judaism, Temple Beth Sholom & Temple Har Shalom

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Judaism envisions a messianic future in which our world is transformed into a paradise for humanity and all forms of life, overcoming poverty, hunger, oppression, inequality, war, and sickness. This vision rests on a covenant — a brit, or partnership, between God and humanity to repair and renew both nature and society.

This class explores three eras in the evolution of that covenant. In Biblical Judaism, God plays a dominant and visible role. In Rabbinic Judaism, God recedes from the foreground, calling humans to assume greater responsibility. In our present era, God is hidden yet fully present, working through human beings and the laws of nature. The future depends on our choices: humanity has the power both to advance redemption and to endanger the world. What is the role of God in this new era, and what responsibilities does this place on us? We will explore the Jewish people's calling to serve as a model and partner in the ongoing work of world repair and redemption.

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 hybrid event presentation by Yehuda Stolov & Abier Abd Al-Daim

Please note event times are listed in MT

ABOUT THE EVENT:

What does peacebuilding look like when it begins not in political negotiations, but in encounters between ordinary people? Celebrating its 25th anniversary, IEA offers an answer through Yehuda and Abier’s shared story. They show how faith-centered encounter and personal connection can overcome suspicion, build trust and sustain hope, while raising support for IEA’s next 25 years.

This work has received recognition from President Isaac Herzog, who praised the Interfaith Encounter Association for its efforts to “reach beyond the divides, and heal rifts,” describing them as “very much necessary for our society.” In recognition of this work, the organization received the Presidential Award for Voluntarism.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Yehuda Stolov, a Jewish Israeli, is founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Encounter Association, a leader in grassroots interfaith encounter across the Middle East. For 25 years, he has brought Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and others into face-to-face encounter, advancing peacebuilding through faith and human connection.

Abier Abd Al-Daim, a Palestinian Muslim peace activist, manages IEA operations and helped found initiatives including Hebrew-Arabic language exchange. She connects people from across the Abrahamic faiths in Jerusalem and the Holy Land to learn each other’s languages, challenge stereotypes and build relationships of trust and dignity.

A virtual event presentation by Professor Amy-Jill Levine

Please note event times are listed in MT

EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: BMH-BJ

Funded in part by a grant from the - National Center to Encourage Judaism

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.