A virtual event presentation by Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon

The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ

About The Event: 

Composed and sung in different lands from the 3rd or 4th century CE on, piyut is the sung sacred poetry that has accompanied individuals, families, and entire communities in the spiritual journey of life throughout Jewish history and which represents the core of the Jewish people’s spiritual world.

Piyutim are the sacred songs that have made the experience of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays beautiful and holy, both at the synagogue and around the table at home, as well as lifecycle celebrations: the birth of a child, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and marriage.

*Sources: https://www.nli.org.il/en/discover/music/jewish-music/piyut/piyut

About The Speaker: 

Roly Matalon is the Senior Rabbi and Rosh Kehillah (Head of the Congregation) of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was educated in Buenos Aires, Montreal, Jerusalem, and New York City. After his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1986, Rabbi Matalon came to BJ and helped revitalize the congregation and turn its focus to prayer, learning, service, social justice, and interfaith cooperation.

Rabbi Matalon’s visionary leadership has had a profound impact on revitalizing Jewish synagogue life in the US and Israel. His involvement in the New York, Jewish, and Israeli communities is broad and deep.

Rabbi Matalon is a founding co-director of the Global Piyut Music project, a partnership with Invitation to Piyut in Israel, which is dedicated to the dissemination of liturgical music from Jewish communities around the world. A student of Arabic and Turkish music, Rabbi Matalon plays the oud (Arabic lute).

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with author Maggie Anton. 

Maggie Anton is an award-winning author of historical fiction, a Talmud scholar, and an expert in Jewish women's history. Her novels include the Rashi's Daughters trilogy; Rav Hisda's Daughter: Apprentice (a National Jewish Book Award finalist) and its sequel, Enchantress; and The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud, which is a cross between midrash and fan fiction inspired by Chaim Potok's early novels. She also won a Gold Ben Franklin Award in the religion category for Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say about You-Know What, a lighthearted in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Batya Hefter

About The Event: 

Avraham is the father of faith for all monotheistic religions. What was so unique about Avraham that God should choose him? To answer this question, we’ll consider the Torah’s narrative, then learn a classic midrash and finally delve into an innovative and surprising Hasidic insight. Learning about Avraham’s spiritual journey may open the door to learning about our own.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hMqF7wECfUuQGvtZfbI3WhGEnRFgN_s4/edit

About The Speaker: 

Rabbanit Batya Hefter is the founder of Lev Nachon – Center for Transformative Torah, transmitting the Hasidic masters teachings into a vital ethical and spiritual path for the modern seeking Jew. Batya is completing the manuscript of her first forthcoming book, Opening the Window: Hasidic Readings for Life – The Teachings of Rabbi Ya’akov Leiner of Ishbitz-Radzyn, and she just released her for song, entitled L’David Hashem Ori.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Mark Washofsky

The event was co-sponsored by Temple Solel

About The Event: 

Reform Judaism has long taught and preached that our tradition permits us to participate fully in the life of the surrounding culture. But the sources of that tradition seem to communicate a very different message. In our session, we’ll read how two responsa—one Reform and one Orthodox—translate those sources into decisions that draw a (hopefully) proper balance between Jewish distinctiveness and citizenship in the wider world. In doing so, we’ll consider how responsa work to make contemporary meaning out of some very old sacred texts.

About The Speaker: 

Mark Washofsky, emeritus professor of Rabbinics at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, is chair of the Solomon B. Freehof Institute of Progressive Halakhah. His academic publications focus upon the literature of Jewish law (halakhah) and the application of legal theory to the understanding of the Jewish legal process. He served as chair of the Responsa Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1996-2017. He is the author of Reading Reform Responsa: Jewish Tradition, Reform Rabbis, and Today’s Issues and of Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice.

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Jack Moline

The event was co-hosted by Congregation Beth Israel 

About The Event: 

We live in a time in which the acquisition and deployment of political power has overshadowed the values of civic engagement and public service. What is the essential message of the defining document of the United States, and how can it help us to restore a sense of authenticity to both the left and the right? Rabbi Jack Moline will draw on his years as a successful congregational rabbi, prominent interfaith activist, and advisor to presidents, governors, and senators to look, as a Jew, into the Constitution and highlight its central message: empathy. On the way he will offer perspective on the role of faith in society and even what the concept of eruv teaches us about the National Mall!

About The Speaker: 

Jack Moline is President Emeritus of Interfaith Alliance and also Rabbi Emeritus of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, where he served in the pulpit for 27 years. Rabbi Moline is the author of two collections of contemporary Torah commentary, Different Chapter, Same Verse (Amazon), Volume 1 (September 2024), and Volume 2 (January 2025), in addition to earlier books on leadership, mourning, and Jewish humor. Rabbi Moline also contributes to many publications, both print and web-based, and is the host of the webcasts “The American Purpose” and “Stay Home, Stay Focused.” He is a popular speaker, featured on radio, television, and web broadcasts and in synagogues, churches, and organizations. He has been named one of the top rabbis in the United States and has advised Presidents, Senators, Members of Congress, and a lot of just good people. He lives in Alexandria with his wife Ann, and they are the parents of three happily married children and the grandparents of five.

The event was present in loving memory of Dr. Sherman Minkoff. 

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz interviews Rabbi Jack Moline about hope. 

Jack Moline is President Emeritus of Interfaith Alliance and also Rabbi Emeritus of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, where he served in the pulpit for 27 years. Rabbi Moline is the author of two collections of contemporary Torah commentary, Different Chapter, Same Verse (Amazon), Volume 1 (September 2024), and Volume 2 (January 2025), in addition to earlier books on leadership, mourning, and Jewish humor. Rabbi Moline also contributes to many publications, both print and web-based, and is the host of the webcasts “The American Purpose” and “Stay Home, Stay Focused.” He is a popular speaker, featured on radio, television, and web broadcasts and in synagogues, churches, and organizations. He has been named one of the top rabbis in the United States and has advised Presidents, Senators, Members of Congress, and a lot of just good people. He lives in Alexandria with his wife Ann, and they are the parents of three happily married children and the grandparents of five.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Dalia Marx

The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel 

About The Event: 

Time is crucial for our self-perception, cultural orientation, and social structure: whoever controls time controls the conversation. We will examine ancient and more recent debates regarding the Jewish calendar and will ponder why there are few such controversies today—with one notable exception.

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph.D., is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR’s Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem and teaches in various academic institutions in Israel and Europe. 

Marx, a tenth-generation Jerusalemite, earned her doctorate at the Hebrew University and her rabbinic ordination at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem and Cincinnati in 2002. She is involved in various research projects and is active in promoting liberal Judaism in Israel. Marx writes for academic and popular journals and publications.

Marx is the lead editor of the Israeli Reform siddur, Tfillat HaAdam (2020). Her book From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar (Yeditos Sfarim 2018), was translated into several languages and is available in English from the CCAR Press. She is the author of When I Sleep and When I Wake: On Prayers between Dusk and Dawn (Yediot Sfarim, 2010, in Hebrew),  A Feminist Commentary of the Babylonian Talmud (Mohr Siebeck, 2013, in English), About Time: Journeys in the Jewish-Israeli Calendar (Yediot Sfarim, 2018, in Hebrew) and the co-editor of a few books.

Her new book, From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar (CCAR 2023) presents a fascinating exploration of the treasures of the Jewish year and artfully blends traditional and contemporary perspectives on each Hebrew month and its holidays. See Marx’s website for more information.

Marx lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Roly Zyblersztein, Ph.D. They have three children.

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Chaim Tureff

The event was co-hosted by Temple Chai

About The Event: 

A book talk with Rabbi Chaim Tureff. A groundbreaking book that explores one aspect of each Torah portion to help readers find personal meaning and practical application in the realm of recovery from addiction.

Recovery in the Torah offers guidance to those who have struggled with addictive behavior, their acquaintances, and anyone who seeks spiritual clarity in a chaotic and uncertain world.

About The Speaker: 

Rabbi Dr. Chaim Tureff endeavors to build human connections and help all people relate to one another. He is the founder of STARS, which guides people struggling with addiction by focusing on the spiritual component through seminars, groups, and one-on-one coaching. He is also the Rav Beit Sefer at Pressman Academy in Los Angeles, a spiritual advisor at Soberman’s Estate in Arizona, a member of the Teachers on Fire Kollel, and a regular contributor to the Jewish Press. He is a producer on an upcoming documentary about African-Americans and Jewish Americans and recently wrote a book Recovery in the Torah: Models of Spirituality and Healing, which deals with the intersection of Torah and addiction recovery.

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz has a sit-down conversation with Marko Gasparovic. 

Marko Gasparovic is an educator dedicated to advancing social justice through the lens of Jewish values. With over 10 years of experience teaching piano and a background in Musicology and Music Management from the Sorbonne University in Paris, Marko has redirected his focus towards a career in the rabbinate. Currently studying at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, he is passionate about integrating Torah learning with activism, fostering inclusivity, and uplifting marginalized voices. Marko is committed to aligning Jewish tradition with the pursuit of justice, making a meaningful impact within and beyond the Jewish community.

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer

The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel, The Denver Kehillah, BMH-BJ

About the event: 

Orthodox Rabbi Dov Linzer and Reform Journalist Abigail Pogrebin will be in conversation with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz about their unlikely journey together through the Five Books of Moses during two of the most turbulent years in American history.

About the Speakers: 

Abigail Pogrebin is the author of the National Jewish Book Award finalist My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew” and “Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish.” She’s written for The Atlantic, the Forward, and Tablet and moderates public conversations for The Streicker Center and the Jewish Broadcasting Service. 

Rabbi Dov Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva (Rabbinic Head) of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, an Orthodox rabbinical school and Torah center, which promotes a more open and inclusive Orthodoxy. He has written for the Forward, Tablet, and The New York Times and hosted highly popular Torah podcasts.