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Twice: A Book Talk With Mitch Albom *VIRTUAL*
A hybrid event presentation by New York Times Best Seller, Mitch Albom
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Mitch will give a book talk on his new book "TWICE" where he takes readers on an unforgettable emotional journey through love, second chances, and the choices that define our lives.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold 42 million copies worldwide; have been published in 51 territories and in 48 languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies. In 2006, he founded the nonprofit SAY Detroit, which provides pathways to success for Detroiters in need through major health, housing and education initiatives. He also founded a dessert shop and a gourmet popcorn line to help fund it. Albom operates Have Faith Haiti, a home and school for impoverished children and orphans in Port-au-Prince, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.
Why Jewish Knowledge Matters: Rethinking Jewish Literacy
A virtual event presentation by Prof. Jon Levisohn
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Jewish educators worry about Jewish literacy. Jewish leaders worry about it. Jewish parents definitely worry about it. And sometimes individual Jews worry about their own Jewish literacy too! “Jewish literacy” gets thrown around a lot, especially when people talk about American Jews being “Jewishly illiterate.” But what does that actually mean? Is there a Jewish pop quiz we all failed? In this thought-provoking session, Jon Levisohn will invite us to look beyond the anxious hand-wringing and ask deeper questions: Why does Jewish knowledge matter? What kinds of knowledge are we really talking about? And how can rethinking our assumptions reshape the way we educate the next generation? Join us for an exploration that challenges familiar narratives and opens up new possibilities for Jewish learning.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Jon A. Levisohn is a philosopher of education at Brandeis University, where he directs a research center that focuses on Jewish education. He has published widely on the teaching of Jewish texts, the teaching of Israel, the teaching of historical narratives, the concept of assimilation, the concept of Jewish identity, and more. Among his recent work is a book chapter titled, “Meeting the Challenges of the Moment: How to Think about the Purposes of Jewish Education after October 7.”
Yochanan's Gamble: Judaism's Pragmatic Approach to Life
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Marc Katz
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Some two thousand years ago, the story goes, a rabbi named Yochanan makes the epitome of pragmatic gambles—wagering the entire fate of the Jewish people. His quick thinking inspired generations of subsequent rabbis to navigate their own ethical challenges pragmatically—determining truth, upholding compromise, convincing others, keeping peace with neighbors, avoiding infighting, weighing sinning in hopes of promoting a greater good. In his talk, based on his book Yochanan's Gamble, Rabbi Katz lays out a new Jewish path forward for resolving moral conundrums in our day and breaking the deadlock that exists in our broken political discourse.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rabbi Marc Katz is the rabbi of Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is the author of two books: "The Heart of Loneliness: How Jewish Wisdom Can Help You Cope and Find Comfort" which was a finalist for the national book award and his most recent, "Yochanan’s Gamble: Judaism’s Pragmatic Approach to Life" which was chosen as a finalist for the PROSE award, one of chief awards in academic publishing.
Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy
A virtual event presentation by David M. Elcott, PhD
ABOUT THE EVENT:
At a moment when liberal democracy is so deeplythreatened and we search to understand how this can beoccurring at this point in history, a new prize-winninganalysis Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of LiberalDemocracy by David Elcott comes to offer a cogentexploration of the ways religious identity fuels illiberalnationalist and populist democracy across the globe, fromthe United States to Israel, from India to Indonesia. Elcott, a powerful analyst who has taught in Jewish communitiesacross North America and interfaith settings around the world,allows us to better understand the revolts against a political, socialand economic order that values democracy in a global andstrikingly diverse world, while encouraging people of faith topromote foundational support for the institutions and values of thedemocratic enterprise from within their own religious traditionsand to stand against the hostility and cruelty that historically haveresulted when religious zealotry and state power combine.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Born to a Holocaust refugee and growing up poor in semi-rural California, David went on to receive his doctorate from Columbia University, where he now serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Justice, teaching in a college degree program for men incarcerated at Green Haven maximum security prison. He was the VP of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Interfaith Director at AJC, and the EVP of Israel Policy Forum. He recently retired as the Tasub Professor at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Married to Rabbi Shira Milgrom with four married children and ten grandchildren, along with Faith, Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy, he authored A Sacred Journey and co-authored the upcoming Sevenfold Path: A Traveler's Guide to Jewish Wisdom with his wife Shira and On the Significance of Religion in Immigration Policy. David has been a frequent radio, TV, and podcast presenter as well as a popular op-ed columnist for a wide range of written media.
Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi's Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging (VIRTUAL)
A hybrid event presentation by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Dr. Jacqueline Schenkein & Dr. Michael Schwimmer, Temple Solel
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Angela Buchdahl was born in Korea and grew up in Tacoma, Washington, the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father. Profoundly spiritual from a young age, she felt a connection to God when only a child and felt the first stirrings to become a rabbi at age sixteen. Despite the naysayers and periods of self-doubt—would a mixed-race woman ever be seen as authentically Jewish and entitled to lead a congregation—she stayed the course, which took her first to Yale, then to rabbinical school, cantorial school, and finally to the pulpit of one of the largest, most influential congregations in the world, Central Synagogue in New York City.
Today, Angela Buchdahl is revered by Jews and non-Jews alike for her invigorating, joyful approach to worship, and her belief in the power of faith, gratitude, and responsibility for each other, regardless of religion. She does not shy away from challenging topics, be it racism within the Jewish community to sexism she confronted when she aspired to the top job. Buchdahl has also been a sought-after leader and voice through some of the most challenging moments in recent history, from the murder of George Floyd to the hostage standoff in Colleyville, Texas to the horrors of October 7th. Buchdahl's consistent message is that it is up to us to strive for a world of more humanity, especially in today’s challenging times.
Heart of a Stranger is a stirring account of one woman’s journey from feeling like an outsider to becoming one of the most admired religious leaders in the world.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead this flagship congregation in its 185 year history. Under her leadership, Central Synagogue has grown to become one of the largest synagogues in the world, including congregants attending via livestream in more than one hundred countries. Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, she is the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi in North America. Rabbi Buchdahl was invited by President Barack Obama in 2014 and President Joe Biden in 2023 to share blessings for the White House Hanukah Party. She has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, Wall Street Journal, PBS and Newsweek's Most Influential Rabbis. Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband, Jacob Buchdahl, live in New York City and have three children.
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.