Past Conferences

  • Jerusalem Post  Opinion Summer 2023 By Ilan Chaim ‘Man is not free to choose between having or not having ideals, but he is free to choose between different kinds of ideals….” – Erich Fromm In this summer of noisily clashing ideologies in the background, a group of rabbis met quietly in Jerusalem to honor the…

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  • with Rabbis Michael Cohen, Barbara Penzner, Gail Shuster-Bouskila, Dennis Sasso, and Dr. Shlomi Ravid April 23, 2023 Webinar Panelists Rabbi Michael Margaretten Cohen is a faculty member of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Bennington College. He teaches courses on conflict resolution, the Bible, and the environment. Rabbi Cohen has been a Policy Advisor…

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  • Kaplan and Hebrew

    with Rabbis Daria Jacobs-Velde, Helen Plotkin, Professor Vardit Ringvalt, and Earl SchwartzSunday, February 26, 2023 Webinar Panelists Rabbi Helen Plotkin is founder and director of Mekom Torah (pronounced McComb Toe-Rah), offering Jewish study opportunities for adults and teens that transcend the boundaries of the various Jewish movements. She is co-founder of the Beit Midrash at…

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  • “Every creative act… adds to the meaning of life and is a revelation of the Divine.” –Kaplan Diary, 1940 How is Judaism evolving in relationship to the (visual) arts?  Join a panel of artists, educators, and innovators to explore the role of art, artmaking, and creativity in our religious, communal and spiritual lives. CREATIVITY IN…

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  • with Rabbis James Greene, Jessica Lott, Jeffrey Schein, and Dr. Eric CaplanDecember 11, 2022 Rabbi James Greene is a 2008 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and currently serves as the President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. His career has included posts in synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, as well as in Jewish camping. James lives…

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  • 12:10 – 12:50 PM  Jewish Artist of the Week – Dvir Cahana:  Judaism was fabricated from an inclination of creative reads. Once we give ourselves permission to try things that have never been done, the porential is boundless. In my workshop, I will describe an innovative methodology of using the language of art and parshanut…

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  • Dr. Miriam Heller Stern is Vice Provost for Educational Strategy, National Director of the School of Education and Associate Professor at HUC-JIR.  She is passionate about empowering Jewish educational leaders and teachers to engage in their work intentionally, skillfully and creatively. She is the founder of Beit HaYotzer/the Creativity Braintrust, an initiative based at HUC-JIR…

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  • Entering the Heichal (sanctuary) of the Voting Booth: Reflections on Judaism and Democracy  with Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Sarah Hurwitz, Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Lauren Grabelle HerrmannOctober 30, 2022 Print Flyer Question: What do you get when you bring together…. One of the foremost Jewish philosopher thinkers on our contemporary scene (Rabbi Elliot Dorff) A practitioner-philosopher of a…

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  • Keynote/ Cedarbaum Prize Winners Innovation Garden Workshops

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  • This webinar with Dr. Jan Schwarz, “The Remarkable Renaissance of Yiddish in Sweden,” took place on April 23, 2022.    Webinar Documents: Chat Log In 1999, Yiddish was declared an official national minority language in Sweden. Yiddish speakers can now conduct government business in their native language. The Swedish government supports Yiddish-language courses in…

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