Limmud NY 2019: Full Schedule

Online registration is now closed. You are invited to register at the door. Pricing is available here.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday: Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 W. 83rd Street, New York, NY 10024

Friday night: Romemu, 165 W. 105th Street, New York, NY 10025

8:30pm EST

Two Jews, Three Rings: Circus Arts and Biblical Studies, Part 1

In this workshop we will become sacred artists, modeling active, artistic, and just plain fun methods of studying Bible through circus arts. We will study a Biblical text from Genesis and will use the circus arts to process that text. We will engage in building human pyramids and in partner acrobatics to embody the relationships between characters from the text. This workshop is accessible to all skill and ability levels (we promise!).

NOTE: This session is scheduled for 2 hours. You are welcome to stay for both blocks, or to choose one.

Presenters

Ayal Prouser

Ayal Prouser completed his Master’s degree in Film and Media Studies at Columbia University, where he has focused on the new field of Circus Studies. He has performed and coached circus arts on the professional level spanning three continents. Ayal’s Jewish education includes... Read More →

Ora Horn Prouser

Ora Horn Prouser is the Executive Vice President and Academic Dean at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic rabbinical, cantorial, and graduate school. She has worked with educational institutions to develop curricula and approaches to Bible pedagogy for all levels and learning... Read More →

Saturday February 16, 2019 8:30pm - 9:30pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Movement, Text Study

9:40pm EST

Two Jews, Three Rings: Circus Arts and Biblical Studies, Part 2

In this workshop we will become sacred artists, modeling active, artistic, and just plain fun methods of studying Bible through circus arts. We will study a biblical text from Genesis and will use the circus arts to process that text. We will engage in building human pyramids and in partner acrobatics to embody the relationships between characters from the text. This workshop is accessible to all skill and ability levels (we promise!).

Note: This session is scheduled for 2 hours. You are welcome to stay for both blocks, or to choose one.

Presenters

Ayal Prouser

Ora Horn Prouser

Saturday February 16, 2019 9:40pm - 10:40pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Movement

10:00am EST

Midat Sodom and the Housing Affordability Crisis

Midrashim (Biblical commentaries) state that the city of Sodom was overthrown because of its hostility to hospitality. American cities limit new housing in a variety of ways; is this policy analogous to the ways of Sodom? If so, what are the ethical implications of this policy? What arguments justify these policies?

Presenters

Michael Lewyn

Michael Lewyn teaches property, land use and environmental law at Touro Law Center, where he is a professor and the Director of the Institute on Land Use and Sustainable Development. Most of his scholarship focuses on urban and suburban development, including urban walkability and... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Ethics, Text Study

11:15am EST

In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism

Religion can be both inspiring and distressing, and many critiques of it are simultaneously compelling and dubious. We will examine atheist arguments with a modern eye taking a refreshing look at the most fundamental questions of religion and faith. Using my most recent book, In Good Faith, as a guide, we will explore common atheist critiques of the Bible and religion incorporating Jewish, Christian, and Muslim voices.

Presenters

Scott Shay

Scott A. Shay, co-founder and Chairman of New York's Signature Bank, is a provocative commentator on financial issues and successful businessman, spanning Wall Street, private equity, venture capital and banking. Inspired by a lifelong pursuit of religion and its worldly impact, he... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 11:15am - 12:15pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Spirituality and Theology, Text Study

12:45pm EST

#dresscoded

Many schools — religious, private, and public — have dress codes. Yet dress codes can reinforce a culture of slut-shaming and lead to unwelcome attention to girls' bodies. Many dress codes suggest that girls’ bodies alone must be covered up and their sexuality policed. Should we try to rehabilitate dress codes, or should they be thrown out altogether?

Presenters

Miriam Lichtenberg

Miriam Lichtenberg is a graduating senior at Barnard College, studying American history and minoring in philosophy. She is currently writing a thesis about the history of Jewish students at Barnard. Miriam does not yet have plans for next year, and would love if you had any sugge... Read More →

Kayla Liss

Kayla Liss is a ninth grade student at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, and a writer for jGirls Magazine.

Siona Ely

Siona Ely is an eleventh grade student at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey.

Leora Tanenbaum

Leora Tanenbaum is a feminist author and slut-shaming expert. She is the author of I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet and four other books. On Instagram, she provides a platform for those who have been dress-coded or slut-shamed over their clothing @BeingD... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 12:45pm - 1:45pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Feminism

2:15pm EST

Navigating Race Issues in Spiritual Communities (Especially for Clergy)

What a bombshell it is to tackle racial issues in your spiritual community! How you can respond effectively without alienating or splintering your community? Led by a Jew of Color who is also a seminary graduate, this workshop, for all people, especially seeks the active participation of clergy and spiritual leaders. We will explore a range of scenarios, share solutions and resources, and begin to dismantle racism in ways that foster stronger community.

Presenters

Tamara Fish

Tamara Fish (Harvard U., AB; Union Theo. Sem., MA; Columbia U., MPhil, ABD) is the immediate past president of the Jewish Multiracial Network (JMN), the immediate past president of Congregation Tehillah, Riverdale, NY, and former Assistant Director of the Office of the University... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Jewish Identity

3:30pm EST

Lessons Learned in Starting and Scaling a Jewish Non Profit

Having a great idea is the first step in the long journey to building a national program. We will review step by step the process of going from an idea to a national program that has impacted over 4,000 people. It has been an incredible journey with lots of stresses along the wayQ Maybe I can save you from a few pitfalls... Let's explore together what it takes to go from dream to reality. We will have time to strategize about your vision as well.

Presenters

Audrey Lichter

Audrey Litcher was the founding Director of Yachad, the the award-winning Greater Hartford Jewish Community High School, for 16 years. In 2009, Audrey became the founding Director of Chai Mitzvah, a national Jewish engagement program for teens to adults. She has received many community... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Social Justice

4:45pm EST

Why Do We Find Prayer so Hard?

This session will focus on why so many modern Jews find prayer so difficult. We'll talk about attitudes towards prayer among thinkers including Rambam and Heschel, and we will contrast assumptions about what makes for a genuine and meaningful prayer in Jewish tradition and in American culture. Along the way, we will touch on Thomas Aquinas, Quakerism, Thomas Merton and yoga, and the light they shed on traditional Jewish conceptions of prayer.

Presenters

Benjamin Sommer

Benjamin D. Sommer is professor of Bible at The Jewish Theological Seminary. His most recent book, Revelation and Authority: Sinai in Jewish Scripture and Tradition, received the prestigious Goldstein‐Goren Prize in Jewish Thought from Ben Gurion University for the years 2014‐2016... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 4:45pm - 5:45pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Spirituality and Theology, Text Study

10:10am EST

Healing as Emulating the Divine

Are there elements of the divine in healing? How does holiness enter the work of helping to heal others? In this text-based study, we will explore together sources that point to the kedusha (holiness) and characteristics of imitiatio Dei (imitation of God) inherent in the work of the healer.

Presenters

Seth Aronson

Seth Aronson, Psy.D., is the Director of Curriculum, Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute. He also teaches in the doctoral program at Long Island University, supervising doctoral students there and at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is... Read More →

Monday February 18, 2019 10:10am - 11:15am EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Coping & Healing

11:25am EST

Living Fully After Tragedy: Lessons from the Jewish Experience

Nina Kampler draws on the personal experience -- the loss of her son Judah to suicide in 2015 -- to speak with audiences internationally about resilience. She connects her story with those of others who have lived through traumas of Jewish history, and shares the resources from Jewish values and practice that she has found most healing and helpful.

Presenters

Nina Kampler

Nina Kampler is a lawyer, real estate advisor, and business development expert. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and the NYU School of Law. Residents of Teaneck, NJ, she and her husband Zvi Marans are the parents of four children, and are active members of their... Read More →

Monday February 18, 2019 11:25am - 12:30pm EST
Room 8 (5th Floor)

Coping & Healing