Past Webinars
-
From Dr. Jeffrey Schein 90th Anniversary Celebration of Judaism As a Civilization Dr. Deborah Waxman and Elias Sacks on “Judaism as a Civilization: the 90th Anniversary of this Hanukkah Gift that Keeps Giving”. We’d like to help our Institutional Friends utilize this both as a webinar in their own community and as useful public relations…
-
with Aaron Dorfman, Amy Spitalnick, Rabbis Amy Klein and Bill Plevan, and moderated by Rabbi Elyse Wechterman March 20, 2024 Over 50 years ago, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, posited that Democracy was essential for a vibrant and thriving Jewish people/community. Our question is: was he right? Do Jews and Judaism need democracy? …
-
with Rabbi Elizabeth BoltonMarch 23, 2025 The story of Dr. Judith K. Eisenstein, Mordecai Kaplan’s eldest daughter, is undertold and deserving of attention. She was an educator and an ethonomusicologist, and her accomplishments not only established her as an innovator in her own right, but also as a concrete expression of her father’s views on…
-
with Dr. Nadav S. Berman and Dr. Rabbi Vered Sakal How does Mordecai Kaplan arrive at his understandings of truth and religious experience? Join Drs. Berman and Sakal as they explore Kaplan through the lens of the non-Jewish theologian Jon Hick. Dialogue with them as they extrapolate from Kaplan’s philosophical commitments to the critical issues…
-
with Rabbis Amy Bernstein, Ed Feinstein and Jeffrey Schein on the successes and challenges of implementing the Judaism as a Civilization program. January 7, 2024 Our third and final session of a three part series in honor of the 40th Yahzeit of Mordecai Kaplan and the 90th anniversary of Judaism as a Civilization! Rabbi Amy Bernstein…
-
Lecture by Dr. Deborah Waxman of Reconstructing Judaism and response from Dr. Elias Sacks of Jewish Publication Society. Moderated by Dr. Jeffrey Schein. December 10, 2023 Our second of a three part series in honor of the 40th Yahzeit of Mordecai Kaplan and the 90th anniversary of Judaism as a Civilization! Dr. Elias Sacks is the…
-
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…
-
with Rabbis Daria Jacobs-Velde, Helen Plotkin, Professor Vardit Ringvalt, and Earl SchwartzFebruary 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 Swarthmore…
-
with Rabbi Adina Allen, Joanne Fink, Elizheva Hurvich, and Rabbi Margie Jacobs January 29, 2023 “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…