Rabbi Salkin urges a return to sanity and sanctity for this age-old rite of passage. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin has served as the senior rabbi of Temple Solel since August, 2015. Prior to that, he had served congregations in New Jersey, Georgia, and New York. Rabbi Salkin is blessed with a national and international reputation as one of America’s most quoted rabbis and thought leaders. His words have been cited in The New York Times, The New Republic, and USA Today. He has appeared on many television ...
Oct 25, 2017•22 min
Are Jews white? Join Rachel Laser in a challenging discussion on white privilege and being a minority in America. Rachel Laser is currently working as a consultant on bridging racial and cultural divides. She advises, runs workshops, gives speeches, facilitates conversations and guest lectures about implicit bias, and also racism and privilege at nonprofits, law firms, government entities, universities, public and parochial schools, houses of worship, and community centers. She has also written ...
Oct 13, 2017•35 min
What is the relationship between science and Judaism? Rabbi Mitelman argues that you can value science and religion without rejecting either. Rabbi Geoffrey A. Mitelman is the Founding Director of Sinai and Synapses, an organization that bridges the scientific and religious worlds, and is being incubated at Clal – The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. His work has been supported by the John Templeton Foundation, Emanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies, and the Lucius N. Littauer Fou...
Sep 14, 2017•28 min
Here are the voices of HUC-JIR scholars and students, reflecting on Charlottesville - giving context to our shared experience. Included are: Rabbi Rachel Adler, Ph.D. Rabbi Adam Allenberg Meir Bargeron Dr. Sharon Gillerman Rabbi Richard Levy Rabbi Michael Marmur. Ph.D. Rabbi Aaron Panken, Ph.D. Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Ph.D. Sheryl Stahl Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D. Dr. Yaffa Weisman Henry Wudl Dr. Sivan Zakai
Aug 21, 2017•33 min
Rabbi Jonah Pesner discusses the history and work of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the pressing social issues they address. Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner serves as the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He has led the Religious Action Center since 2015. Rabbi Pesner also serves as Senior Vice President of the Union for Reform Judaism, a position to which he was appointed to in 2011. Named one of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek magazine, he ...
Aug 17, 2017•31 min
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are Alice Greenwald's most moving and challenging projects. Join us for a probing discussion on the complexities of memorializing tragic events. As the chief executive, Alice Greenwald is responsible for the overall vision, financial well-being, management, and long-term sustainability and relevance of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. From 2006-2016, Ms. Greenwald served as Executive Vice President for Exh...
Aug 03, 2017•34 min
Rabbi Scheinerman draws from a wide range of interests as she discusses the needs of the dying, interfaith work and her love of halakha. Rabbi Amy Scheinerman received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, has studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Princeton Theological Seminary, and was ordained in 1984 at HUC-JIR/New York. She has served Conservative, Reform, and unaffiliated congregations, and has taught in a wide variety of venues. Rabbi Scheinerman has been involved in Je...
Jul 20, 2017•33 min
Professor Walton discusses the challenges of interfaith worship, feminist theology's long journey and hierarchies in religious institutions. Professor Janet Walton graduated from Catholic University with the B.M. in 1967, received the M.M. from Indiana University in 1971 and the Ed.D. from Columbia University in 1979. She is a Past President of the North American Academy of Liturgy(1995-97), a Henry Luce Fellow in Theology and the Arts (1998), the recipient of a Henry Luce Travel/Research grant ...
Jul 05, 2017•24 min
As a poet and translator, Dr. Back, discusses how her own poetic sensibility enables her to inhabit and translate the work of Israeli poet, Tuvia Ruebner. Rachel Tzvia Back is a poet, a translator of Hebrew poetry, a scholar and an educator. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a PEN Translation grant, a Dora Maar Brown Foundation Fellowship, and a Hadassah-Brandeis Research grant. In addition to five volumes of her own poetry (English) and a study of the poetics of...
Jun 22, 2017•25 min
In a probing exploration, Matan Koch, disability expert, leads us through a thoughtful discussion on how we language disability and the inadvertent benefits of privilege. Matan A. Koch is a speaker, educator, and consultant, sharing ideas and strategies to promote the universal inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of society, using strategies that benefit everyone. His lifelong history of disability advocacy began at age four with a presentation to several hundred young people, c...
Jun 07, 2017•36 min
Dr. Neil Levin discusses the history and the musical creativity and life of American Jewry. Artistic Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Milken Archive for Jewish Music since 1993, Neil W Levin has devoted his professional and academic life to the scholarly study of the music of Jewish experience from historical, musicological, ethnological, Judaic, and cross-cultural perspectives. While he has lectured, written, and taught courses on a diverse array of Jewish and Judaically related musical subj...
May 19, 2017•31 min
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, HIAS vice president for Community Engagement, provides an overview of the immigration crisis and HIAS' role in helping the stranger. Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Vice President for Community Engagement, is mobilizing the Jewish community to advance HIAS’ work with refugees in the United States and around the world. Prior to coming to HIAS, Jennie played a catalytic role in building the Jewish social justice movement and the field of Jewish service as the director of the Jewish Life ...
May 10, 2017•33 min
Alana Newhouse, founder and editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine, takes us on a thoughtful tour of Jewish journalism, identity and culture. Alana Newhouse is the editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine, which she founded in 2009. Before that, she spent five years as culture editor of the Forward, where she supervised coverage of books, films, dance, music, art, and ideas. She also started a line of Forward-branded books with W.W. Norton and edited its maiden publication, "A Living Lens: Photographs of ...
Apr 27, 2017•26 min
Erwin Chemerinsky, founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, at University of California, Irvine School of Law, discusses the immigration ban, states' rights issues, and the emoluments suit against the President. Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law, at University of California, Irvine School of Law, with a joint appointment in Political Science. Prior to assuming this position in 2008, he was the Al...
Mar 30, 2017•28 min
In this first Bully Pulpit podcast produced for a live audience, Rabbi Marmur discusses Heschel's legacy and the possibility for community leadership. Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Previously, he served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. In recent years he has taught courses in Theology, Homiletics, and Pluralistic Jewish...
Mar 09, 2017•51 min
Join Dr. Mann for a wide-ranging discussion on the influence of Jewish craftsmen in the Medieval period to how Jewish art engages with contemporary art. Professor Vivian Mann is Professor Emerita of Jewish Art and Visual Culture at The Jewish Theological Seminary. For many years Dr. Mann was Morris and Eva Feld Chair of Judaica at The Jewish Museum, where she created numerous exhibitions and their catalogs, among them Gardens and Ghettos: The Art of Jewish Life in Italy; Convivencia: Jews, Chris...
Mar 01, 2017•29 min
Rabbi Ellenson examines the tensions of Jews as they moved from seclusion in the pre-modern Jewish world to assimilation and the evolution of Reform Judaism. Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., is Chancellor Emeritus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies (Brandeis University), as well as Visiting Professor in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis. He served as President of HUC-JIR from 2001-2013. Ellenson i...
Feb 15, 2017•33 min
Rabbi Gottlieb discusses contemporary technologies for the transformation and extension of pathways for Jewish learning. Rabbi Owen Gottlieb, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Interactive Games and Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the founder and lead researcher of the Initiative in Religion, Culture, and Policy at the RIT MAGIC Center, the Institute’s state of the art research laboratory and game studio. In 2010, Rabbi Gottlieb founded ConverJent: Jewish Games for Learning. ...
Jan 24, 2017•34 min
Worship and prayer are at the center of Jewish life. Cantor Sacks explores how we can continue to create meaningful and transformative worship experiences through music and song. Cantor Sacks serves as the Senior Cantor of Temple Emanuel in Denver, Colorado. Raised in New York, Cantor Sacks was ordained as a cantor in 2007 from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). She was a recipient of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship in Jewish communal leadership and earned several aw...
Jan 18, 2017•23 min
Law professor and author, Eric Segall, investigates central myths about the Supreme Court and its judges. Eric J. Segall is Kathy and Lawrence Ashe Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law. Prior to his joining the College of Law faculty, he clerked for the Honorable Charles A. Moye, Jr. (1983-1985) and the Honorable Albert J. Henderson, Jr. (1985-1987), after which he engaged first in private practice with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (1986-1987) and subsequently in public ser...
Dec 08, 2016•29 min
American and Israeli Jews diverge in ways fundamental to their native soil. Join Alan Cooperman in a discussion of the light it shines on the Jewish American experience. Alan Cooperman is director of religion research at Pew Research Center. He is an expert on religion’s role in U.S. politics and has reported on religion in Russia, the Middle East and Europe. He plays a central role in planning the project’s research agenda and writing its reports. Before joining Pew Research Center, he was a na...
Dec 07, 2016•25 min
America, Islam and American Muslims have been, and continue to be, important threads in the fabric of American life. In this podcast, Dr. Hussain examines how Muslims have shaped and transformed American identity. Dr. Amir Hussain is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where he teaches courses on world religions. His own particular speciality is the study of Islam, focusing on contemporary Muslim societies in North America. His academic degrees (BSc, M...
Nov 23, 2016•33 min
What defines American Jewish identity? Join Rabbi Goor in a searching discussion on politics and the pulpit. Rabbi Donald Goor, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Judea Tarzana, California, currently serves as Rabbinic Liaison at ARZA World Travel in Jerusalem and as Campus Rabbi at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. Rabbi Goor grew up in San Diego, California, as the son of a rabbi. He graduated the University of California at Berkeley with honors and distinction. In 19...
Nov 10, 2016•20 min
As America's first female rabbi, Sally Priesand reflects on the responsibility of being first and how it has shaped her life. Rabbi Sally Jane Priesand is America's first female rabbi ordained by a rabbinical seminary, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. Priesand was ordained in 1972 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio. After her ordination she served first as assistant and then as associate rabbi at Stephe...
Sep 15, 2016•14 min
"It’s all about relationships,” says Dr. Wolfson. From Chabad to Disney, Dr. Wolfson explores how synagogues can build stronger ties within their communities. Ron Wolfson, Ph.D. is the Fingerhut Professor of Education in the Graduate Center for Education. He joined the AJU faculty in 1975 as an Acting Professor. During his 40-plus year career at AJU, he has served as Director of the Education Department, founding Director of the Whizin Center for the Jewish Future, Director of the Ramah Academy,...
Aug 31, 2016•32 min
Without Jewish law, there would be no Jewish action says Rabbi Washofsky. Join this esteemed scholar as he discusses the impact of law on Jewish life and it's place within the Reform movement. Rabbi Mark Washofsky, Ph.D. is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. Dr. Washofsky has been a member of the HUC-JIR faculty since 1985, most recently serving as Professor of Rabbinics, and specializes in the literature of the Talmud and Jewish law. He receive...
Aug 25, 2016•25 min
Rabbi Goldstein encourages us to stretch beyond our comfort zone to become knowledgable and observant congregants. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University in 1978 and received her Masters in Hebrew Literature and Ordination in 1983, and her Doctor of Divinity, honoris causis, in 2008. She served for twenty years as the Director of Kolel in Toronto, an adult education institute which she founded in 1991, considered a leading institution in the f...
Aug 02, 2016•19 min
Rabbi Laura Geller discusses Next Stage: Temple Emanuel’s Boomers & Beyond Initiative designed to address the needs of community members fifty and above. Rabbi Geller was the first Reform woman rabbi to be selected as the Senior Rabbi of a major metropolitan congregation. She has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including being named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America for two years in a row, and receiving the California State Legislature’s Woman of the Ye...
Jul 21, 2016•34 min
Why should we care about Hebrew? Rabbi Weinberg examines Hebrew as the carrier of culture and a window into Judaism. Rabbi Josh Weinberg is the President of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. He was ordained from the HUC-JIR Israeli Rabbinic Program in Jerusalem, and is currently living in New York. Josh previously served as the Director of the Israel program for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and as a faculty member of NFTY-EIE High School in Israel teaching Jewish H...
Jul 01, 2016•25 min
From Liberal Zionism to American Judaism and the state of Israel, Rabbi Rick Jacobs discusses Reform Judaism's strengths and challenges in grappling with today's most pressing issues. Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life. A longtime and devoted creative change agent, Rabbi Jacobs spent 20 years as a dynamic, visionary spiritual leader at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) in Scarsdale, New York. During his tenure, he r...
May 25, 2016•28 min
