Filter by Category
Virtual Events
The American Jewish Miracle
A hybrid event presentation (in-person & virtual) by Rabbi Ed Feinstein
EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: Congregation Ner Tamid
Please note event times are listed in the local time zone (PST).
ABOUT THE EVENT:
In the 2000 years of Jewish diaspora, no place has welcomed us and offered us more opportunity and freedom than America. And in turn, we offered America the gifts of our cultural genius. As we prepare to celebrate the 250th year of America, let’s look back to the wonders of American Jewish life.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rabbi Feinstein serves the Valley Beth Shalom community as a teacher, pastor and visionary leader. He also serves on the faculty of the Ziegler Rabbinical School of the American Jewish University, the Wexner Heritage Program, the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and lectures widely across the United States. He is the author of several books, including: Tough Questions Jews Ask – A Young Adult’s Guide to Building a Jewish Life, (Jewish Lights, 2003), Jews and Judaism in the Twenty-First Century: Human Responsibility, the Presence of God and the Future of the Covenant (Jewish Lights, 2007), Capturing the Moon (Behrman House, 2008) and most recently, Chutzpah Imperative! - Empowering Today's Jews for a Life that Matters (Jewish Lights, 2014).
Rabbi Feinstein was raised in the back of his parents’ bakery on the frontiers of the West San Fernando Valley. He graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Judaism, Columbia University Teachers College, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he was ordained a rabbi in 1981. Most recently, he received his Doctorate in Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York for his dissertation: Rabbi Harold Schulweis and the Reinvention of the American Rabbinate.
An engaging lecturer and storyteller, Rabbi Feinstein unites the ancient Jewish love of ideas with the warmth of Jewish humor.
The Audacity of the Rabbis - and How It Saved Judaism
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Moishe Steigmann
Please note event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
The rabbis once made a bold, audacious choice that changed the course of Jewish history and saved Judaism. In this class, we’ll trace that pivotal moment and discover how their courage and ingenuity can still guide and inspire us today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, is the founder and director of Own Your Judaism and is the director of Ohel Ayalah. He seamlessly blends ancient Jewish wisdom with contemporary mindfulness practices. Through his teachings, writings, and workshops, he continues to influence and lead the conversation on mindful living within and beyond the Jewish community. He also speaks, hosts livestream conversations, and offers Jewish Life Coaching and organizational consultation. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Rabbi Steigmann is a proud father of two children, loves sports, is passionate about living gratefully, and enjoys almost all puzzles and games.
Cream City Beit Midrash: Love Is a Verb: Jewish Wisdom for Building Meaningful Relationships
with Moishe Steigmann
A hybrid event presentation (in-person & virtual) by Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, and Rabbi Noah Chertkoff
EVENT CO-HOSTED BY: Congregation Shalom
Please note event times are listed in the local time zone (CST).
ABOUT THE EVENT:
In celebration of Lag Ba'Omer, a day of celebration, music, and weddings, an engaging learning session co-facilitated by Moishe Steigmann – The Mindful Rabbi, and Rabbi Noah Chertkoff, Senior Rabbi of Congregation Shalom.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Moishe Steigmann, The Mindful Rabbi, is the founder and director of Own Your Judaism and is the director of Ohel Ayalah. He seamlessly blends ancient Jewish wisdom with contemporary mindfulness practices. Through his teachings, writings, and workshops, he continues to influence and lead the conversation on mindful living within and beyond the Jewish community. He also speaks, hosts livestream conversations, and offers Jewish Life Coaching and organizational consultation. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Rabbi Steigmann is a proud father of two children, loves sports, is passionate about living gratefully, and enjoys almost all puzzles and games.
Rabbi Noah Chertkoff joined Congregation Shalom after three years as the Assistant, then Associate Rabbi of Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation Florida. A native of Toronto, Canada, he graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies. He received his Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on May 31, 2008 from the Cincinnati campus. Before entering rabbinical school, Rabbi Chertkoff worked at Seeds of Peace International Camp which is dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence, served as a Special Assistant to a Federal Cabinet Minister in the Canadian Government and worked as the National Social Action Coordinator for the Canadian Council for Reform Judaism.
Striving to Be Human
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Leah Cohen Tenenbaum and Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Please note the event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
In his clarion call for ethical behavior, Rabbi Hillel tells us, “In a place where there is no humanity, strive to be human.” But what exactly does it mean to be human, especially in an age of rapid transformation? Striving to Be Human: Jewish Perspectives on Twenty-First-Century Challenges confronts this question with boldness, hope, and a foundation of Jewish wisdom. The volume begins with “Challenges from Within Us,” addressing such topics as moral justice, belonging, queer theology, and good and evil. In part two, “Challenges from Beyond Us,” the authors delve into artificial intelligence, robotics, reproductive technologies, and the animal-human relationship. The result is a profound conversation about Jewish values and human dignity in our evolving landscape.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Rabbi Leah Cohen Tenenbaum, DMin, BCC-PCHAC (HUC-JIR 2000), serves as the inpatient palliative care chaplain and as a member of the Ethics Committee at Yale New Haven Hospital. She is a faculty member of FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics) and has served on the CCAR Board of Trustees, the CCAR National Ethics Taskforce, and currently the CCAR Press Council. She has written chapters for The Sacred Struggle: Jewish Responses to Trauma (CCAR Press, 2025) and Fragile Dialogue: New Voices of Liberal Zionism (CCAR Press, 2018) and is the coeditor with Rabbi Douglas Kohn of Striving to Be Human: Jewish Perspectives on Twenty First-Century Challenges. She frequently teaches and presents on spirituality, serious illness, and medical ethics.
Rabbi Douglas Kohn serves Temple Beth Jacob in Newburgh, New York, having previously served congregations in Buffalo, Baltimore, Chicago, and Southern California, and is happily busy in all aspects of congregational and community endeavors. In addition to coediting Striving to Be Human with Rabbi Leah Cohen Tenenbaum, he is the editor of two other volumes, Life, Faith, and Cancer: Jewish Journeys Through Diagnosis, Treatment, and Recovery (URJ Press, 2008) and Broken Fragments: Jewish Experiences of Alzheimer’s Disease Through Diagnosis, Adaptation, and Moving On (URJ Press, 2012), and has written and spoken widely on the themes of illness, medical ethics, and being human. Rabbi Kohn has served on numerous CCAR, URJ, and communal commissions, committees, and boards, while still savoring time to read, write, and paint, as well as exercise, cook, and travel with his wife, Cindy, and their children and grandchildren.
Primacies: Experience, Expression and the Jewish Imagination
A virtual event presentation by Michael Fishbane
Please note the event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Primacies begins with the assertion that our earliest preverbal experiences are accompanied by a primary language—tears, cries, and laughter—offered long before we learn our ordinary languages. In this virtual book talk, Michael Fishbane explores how ancient, medieval, and modern literature and poetry express and transform these primal sensations into powerful articulations of sorrow, joy, and fulfillment. Building on his theological work in Sacred Attunement and Fragile Finitude, Fishbane presents a radically new lived hermeneutics that reimagines the relationship between experience and language.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
TBA
Cain's Children: Mysticism and Monstrosity in the Jewish Tradition
A virtual event presentation by David Shyovitz
EVENT CO-SPONSORED BY: BMH-BJ
Please note event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Classical Jewish texts are chock full of demons, monsters, incantations, and other occult and fantastical contents. But these elements are often treated dismissively or deemed embarrassing or "superstitious" -- when they are even acknowledged at all. In this session, we will analyze a cryptic series of texts about the monstrous "Children of Cain," and explore the profound spiritual lessons Jewish authors have drawn from them -- lessons that remain relevant today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
David Shyovitz is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Northwestern University and Director of NU's Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies. He is the author of the award-winning A Remembrance of His Wonders: Nature and the Supernatural in Medieval Ashkenaz.
Building Intentional Spiritual Communities
A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Sid Schwarz
Please note event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
TBA
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rabbi Sid Schwarz is a social entrepreneur, author and teacher. He is currently a Senior Fellow at Adamah: People, Planet, Purpose (formerly, Hazon). Rabbi Sid directs the Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), a program that trains rabbis to be visionary spiritual leaders. He also created and directs the Kenissa: Communities of Meaning Network which is identifying, convening and building the capacity of emerging spiritual communities across the country. Rabbi Sid founded and led PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values for 21 years. Its work centeredon integrating Jewish learning, Jewish values and social responsibility. He is also the foundingrabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, MD where he continues toteach and lead services. Sid was awarded the prestigious Covenant Award for his pioneering work in the field of Jewish education and was named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in North America. Sid's most recent book is Jewish Megatrends: Charting the Course of the American Jewish Future (Jewish Lights, 2013). His book, Finding a Spiritual Home: How a New Generation of Jews can Transform the American Synagogue (2000) is one of the seminal works in the field of synagogue transformation.
Who's the Anomaly? American Jews and Israel/Israelis in Contemporary Novels
A virtual event presentation by Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman
Please note the event times are listed in PST.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
This class will draw on recent American and Israeli novels that portray what it's like to be a Jew in each country as well as changing relationships between Jews in America and Jews in Israel, as Jews in both countries feel threatened by unanticipated challenges.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Sylvia Barack Fishman, Ph.D., is the Joseph and Esther Foster Professor of Judaic Studies, Emerita, in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Dept. at Brandeis University, and was the Founding Co-Director of the Hadassah Brandeis Institute. She is the author of eight books and numerous articles and book chapters on contemporary Jewish life and culture, and received the Marshall Sklare award from the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry. Prof. Fishman served on the JOFA Board for many years and continues her active involvement.