Leading diverse progressive Judaism around the globe. Born in Buenos Aires in 1962, Rabbi Bergman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Pharmaceutics from the University of Buenos Aires, and three Master’s degrees: in Education from The Hebrew University, in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Jerusalem, and in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Jerusalem. He was ordained at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary of Buenos Aires in 1...
Oct 11, 2021•22 min
The Jewish Labor Committee’s rescue of European Jews and labor leaders in World War II. Catherine Collomp is Emerita professor at Université de Paris (formerly Université Paris-Diderot), France. A specialist of American history, she has taught at Université Paris XII Créteil (1985-1998) and Université Paris-Diderot ( 1998- 2008) where she specialized in American social and political history, with a special interest in labor and immigration history. Currently involved in projects to study Jewish-...
Sep 28, 2021•23 min
The history of coercive persuasion, from Pavlov to social media. Dr. Joel E. Dimsdale, M.D attended Carleton College and then Stanford University, where he obtained a MA in Sociology and an MD degree. He obtained psychiatric training at MGH and was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School from 1976-1985, when he moved to University of California, San Diego, where he is now Regent Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor and Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus. His clinical subspecialty is...
Sep 13, 2021•35 min
A modern-day Yiddish folktale in an alternative Jewish world, with much to consider for our own. The Lost Shtetl, winner of The Jewish Book Council's Miller Family Book Club Award. A remarkable debut novel—written with the fearless imagination of Michael Chabon and the piercing humor of Gary Shteyngart—about a small Jewish village in the Polish forest that is so secluded no one knows it exists . . . until now. What if there was a town that history missed? For decades, the tiny Jewish shtetl of...
Aug 31, 2021•25 min
The unique power of children's books in presenting diverse stories. "Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail," winner of the National Jewish Book Award in Children's Picture Book. Welcoming Elijah by celebrated author Lesléa Newman, unites a young boy and a stray kitten in a warm, lyrical story about Passover, family, and friendship. Lesléa (pronounced “Lez-LEE-uh”) Newman is the author of 75 books for readers of all ages, including A Letter to Harvey Milk; October Mourning: A Song for Mat...
Aug 17, 2021•19 min
Reconstructing the tragic story of a medieval noblewoman who leaves her home and family for the love of a Jewish boy. The Convert, Finalist (Sephardic Culture), The National Jewish Book Award (2020) In this dazzling work of historical fiction, the Man Booker International–long-listed author of War and Turpentine reconstructs the tragic story of a medieval noblewoman who leaves her home and family for the love of a Jewish boy. In eleventh-century France, Vigdis Adelaïs, a young woman from a prosp...
Jul 29, 2021•21 min
Remarkable stories of Jewish women through the objects of their lives. The Art of the Jewish Family: A History of Women in Early New York in Five Objects (Bard Graduate Center), winner of The National Jewish Book Award in three different categories: the Gerrard and Ella Berman Memorial Award for History, the American Jewish Studies Celebrate 350 Award, and the Women Studies Barbara Dobkin Award. In The Art of the Jewish Family, Laura Arnold Leibman examines five object...
Jul 21, 2021•24 min
Piecing together family secrets & stories of bravery in Nazi Germany. "When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains," winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in Autobiography and Memoir. In this remarkably moving memoir Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father’s past: years spent hiding in plain sight in war-torn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew. Ariana Neumann was born and grew ...
Jul 06, 2021•34 min
What can Hebrew's usage in Jewish summer camps teach us about the American Jewish experience? "Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps" Winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in Education and Jewish Identity Each summer, tens of thousands of American Jews attend residential camps, where they may see Hebrew signs, sing and dance to Hebrew songs, and hear a camp-specific hybrid language register called Camp Hebraized English, as in: “Let’s hear some ruach (sp...
Jun 22, 2021•35 min
Surprising statistics and lively analysis of the 2020 Pew Study results. Sarah Bunin Benor is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (Los Angeles) and Adjunct Professor in the University of Southern California Linguistics Department. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Linguistics in 2004. Her books include Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism (Rutgers University Press, 2012) and He...
Jun 08, 2021•43 min
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award, author Colum McCann discusses the power of storytelling as a bridge of humanity across seemingly intractable conflict. Colum McCann is the author of seven novels and three collections of stories. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honours, including the National Book Award, the International Dublin Impac Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, ...
May 25, 2021•24 min
Meet one of the protagonists of Colum McCann’s NY Times best-selling non-fiction novel, "Apeirogon," who transformed his daughter’s tragic death into a quest for peace in Israel and Palestine. Rami Elhanan is a peace activist and 7th generation Jerusalemite on his mother's side. His father was an Auschwitz survivor. He is a Graphic designer and fought 3 wars as an IDF soldier. He identifies himself as a Jew, an Israeli, and before everything else a human being. On the first day of the school yea...
May 12, 2021•23 min
Unexpected dimensions of historical Jewish culture and civilization. Alison L. Joseph is Senior Editor of The Posen Library of Jewish Civilization and Culture. She brings her academic expertise in Hebrew Bible and ancient Judaism to the management of the ancient volumes of The Posen Library. Drawing from years of university teaching, research and publication in Jewish Studies, and her own public-facing digital scholarship, Dr. Joseph works on the Posen Digital Library to bring the content of the...
Mar 16, 2021•23 min
HUC-JIR alumnus Keith Thomas discusses his debut feature film—Hasidic horror flick, "The Vigil." Writer/Director Keith Thomas worked in clinical research at several western teaching hospitals before embarking on a career as a novelist and screenwriter. He has published The Clarity (2018) and Dahlia Black (2019), both with Simon & Schuster, and developed numerous book, film, and TV projects with creators like James Patterson. He lives in Colorado. The Vigil is his feature debut.
Mar 02, 2021•22 min
A deep dive into structural racism and inequality in South Africa and Brazil—with lessons for and from the United States. Ignacio Cano got his joint Ph.D. in sociology and social psychology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) in 1991. From 1991 to 1993 he worked with UNHCR, focussing on refugees and war-stricken populations in El Salvador. He was also a member of the United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador. Cano later developed post-doctoral research at the universities of S...
Feb 16, 2021•27 min
Engaging community members, artists and youth to create civic beauty. Tamara Harkavy is the founder and former CEO and Artistic Director of ArtWorks where for 25 years she oversaw its growth from a small non-profit to Cincinnati’s largest public art program, creating a model for transforming people and places through investments in creativity. Under Harkavy’s direction, ArtWorks has employed more than 3,600 youth and 3,200 creative professionals, and the organization has completed more than 12,5...
Jan 18, 2021•17 min
Reactivity to press & social media exacerbating and distorting Jewish community conflicts on campus. Tilly Shames is the Executive Director of University of Michigan Hillel. Tilly has worked with Hillels in Toronto and Michigan for 16 years in various positions, including Director of Israel Affairs and Associate Director, before becoming Executive Director at the University of Michigan in 2012. Tilly is passionate about youth engagement, community-building, pluralism, women’s advancement, an...
Dec 21, 2020•19 min
The challenge of growth, spurred by what we’re missing. Author, Joseph A. Edelheit served as a rabbi in Reform synagogues for thirty years, earned a doctorate in Christian theology, and retired as an Emeritus Professor of Religious and Jewish Studies. He has served as a prison chaplain, on a Presidential Advisory Council for HIV/AIDS, created a multi-faith orphanage in rural India for children with HIV/AIDS, and removed five swastikas constructed into the original 1931 facade of a Catholic cathe...
Dec 08, 2020•29 min
European and American Jews struggle to find their place as the 20th century matures. Todd M. Endelman is professor emeritus of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. He was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University. He is the author of many books, most recently, Leaving the Jewish Fold: Conversion and Radical Assimilation in Modern Jewish History (2015), which was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Prize. Zvi Gitelman is professor emeritus...
Nov 24, 2020•30 min
Varieties of Jewish Culture at the Dawn of a New Millennium. Deborah Dash Moore is the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. An American Jewish historian, her work focuses on urban Jews. She is the editor in chief of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization. She also served as co-editor of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 10: Late Twentieth Century, 1973-2005.
Nov 10, 2020•15 min
Building meaningful dialogue and deliberation across political divides. Rabbi Melissa Weintraub is the founding co-Executive Director of Resetting the Table, an organization dedicated to building meaningful dialogue and deliberation across political divides. Melissa was also the founding director of Encounter, an organization that grows the capacity of the Jewish people to contribute to solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Melissa was awarded the Grinnell Young Innovator Prize, which h...
Oct 27, 2020•26 min
Michelle Obama’s speechwriter takes us on her journey back to Judaism's deepest lessons. Sarah Hurwitz was a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, starting out as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and then serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. Sarah worked with Mrs. Obama to craft widely-acclaimed addresses and traveled with her across America and to five continents. Before working at the White House, Sarah was a senior speechwriter for President Obama’...
Oct 13, 2020•28 min
Human stories of Judaism’s seismic shift, told from the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization. Elisheva Carlebach, editor of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 6: Confronting Modernity, 1750–1880, is Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture, and Society and director, Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, Columbia University. She is the author of several books, including Palaces of Time: Jewish Calendar and Culture in Early Modern Europe.
Sep 29, 2020•26 min
Geek out on Israel geopolitics with Rand Corporation Middle East expert Jordan Reimer on Israel, UAE, and more. Jordan Reimer is currently a policy analyst at RAND in the defense and political sciences department. He has an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and studied in Egypt and Yemen. He served as a policymaker at the Department of Defense under two administrations, focusing on Iraq, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Before RAND, Jordan was an intelligence analyst at ...
Sep 14, 2020•31 min
Managing workplace harassment through organizational awareness. Ms. Sepler is best known for her pioneering work in harassment prevention and workplace investigations. She has developed techniques and protocols used by organizations throughout the United States to investigate complaints of workplace misconduct. Ms. Sepler also wrote Finding the Facts: What Every Workplace Investigator Needs to Know, published in 2008. She has conducted over 1,000 workplace investigations, served as an expert wit...
Sep 01, 2020•22 min
Rabbi Seth M. Limmer on social justice, Israel, immigration (and more) at Chicago’s historic Sinai Temple. Rabbi Seth M. Limmer, DHL, serves as senior rabbi of Chicago Sinai Congregation. During his rabbinate he has served as chair of the Justice, Peace & Civil Liberties of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, as vice-chair of the URJ’s Commission on Social Action, as dean of faculty for Eisner and Crane Lake Camps, and at the time of publication serves on the Board of Trustees of the ...
Aug 13, 2020•21 min
Creating safe spaces on campuses for free expression and intellectual candor. Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., is the 10th President in the 144-year history of Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion. A distinguished academic, President Rehfeld brings distinctive intellectual, spiritual, and professional qualities to lead the College-Institute’s mission to transform the Jewish community and the broader world. His passion for teaching and scholarship, as well as exemplary leadership skills, hav...
Jul 30, 2020•23 min
Coalition building and grass-roots programs for gun violence prevention. Kathryn Fleisher is the founding Executive Director of Not My Generation, a nonprofit dedicated to localized, intersectional young-adult gun violence prevention organizing. She is a former NFTY North American President and current RAC Commission on Social Action (CSA) Member. She also previously served on the Executive Planning Committee of the WRJ's inaugural social justice conference. Kathryn is a student at the Universit...
Jul 21, 2020•18 min
Lessons and challenges from Black church leadership for Jewish and other allies. Pastor John Cager is an Ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He has shepherded four congregations in his ministry: St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Baldwin Hills as a visiting pastor; First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Santa Monica, CA as a supply pastor; St. Stephens African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, CA; Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Fontana, Californ...
Jul 07, 2020•33 min
Fighting for gay and civil rights, and Jewish pluralism. Rabbi Noa Sattath is the Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the social justice arm of the Israel Movement for Reform Judaism. She is charged with leading the staff of the organization, developing social change strategies in the fields of separation of religion and state, women’s rights, and the struggle against racism. Prior to her work in IRAC, Noa was the Executive Director of the Jerusalem Open House, the LGBT commun...
Jun 23, 2020•26 min
