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

Muhammad and the Jews

Come hear about Muhammad's encounters with the Jews of Medina, and how these interactions influenced the formation of Islam. Together we will review the Israelite reaction to Muhammad’s teachings and Muhammad's responses; and how these encounters in Arabia shape contemporary Islamic attitudes towards Jews. We will review Arabic language media and source sheets of Jewish and Islamic primary documents, and have a group discussion regarding the future of Muslim-Jewish relations.

Presenters

J.R. Rothstein

J.R. Rothstein serves as a Steering Committee and Board Member of ACCESS at the American Jewish Committee. Rothstein is the former Chair of the Muslim-Jewish Relations Committee and a current Board member of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council. Rothstein lectures on the history of... Read More →

Saturday February 16, 2019 8:30pm - 9:30pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Global Jewish Culture

9:40pm EST

Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue

A look at the California Juvenile Justice system, and how the Advot project uses Jewish values and the arts to heal, empower, and take action.

Note: This session will be repeated on Sunday morning.

Naomi Ackerman's participation was made possible with generous support from The Covenant Foundation.

Presenters

Naomi Ackerman

Naomi Ackerman, the founder and executive director of The Advot Project is an experienced actress, consultant and facilitator creating curricula that use drama techniques to deal with social, gender, and educational issues as well as exploring identity and promoting tolerance and... Read More →

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

Textual Perspectives, Text Study

8:45am EST

Judapest and the Largest Synagogue in Europe: Virtual Tour of My Jewish Budapest

In the heart of Budapest, in the so called Jewish Quarter, the Great Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second most visited sight in Hungary, attracting over 480,000 tourists each year. After sunset, the Jewish Quarter, which features over 400 bars, transforms into a jungle of international party animals. How can these two different worlds exist together?

Join my virtual tour -- we will see the sights and discuss who comes to visit Jewish Budapest and why.

Presenters

Borcsa Lakos

Borcsa is a tour guide, a female Jewish activist and a Limmudnik from Hungary. She studied Jewish Studies in Stockholm at Paideia. Currently, she is working towards an M.A. in cultural history from the Jewish Theological Seminary in Budapest. As a professional tour guide, Borcsa has... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 8:45am - 9:45am EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Global Jewish Culture

10:00am EST

Listen, Act, Change

“Justice, justice you shall pursue.” This session will take a look at the California Juvenile Justice system, and how the Advot project uses Jewish values arts to heal, empower, and take action.

Note: Naomi also presented this session on Saturday evening.

Naomi Ackerman's participation was made possible with generous support from The Covenant Foundation.

Presenters

Naomi Ackerman

Sunday February 17, 2019 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Social Justice

11:15am EST

Is Spirituality Jewish?

This panel will discuss the concept of spirituality and its relationship with Jewish practices and traditions. It will work to outline the boundaries of Jewish praxis and observance.

Presenters

Nahum Twersky

Nahum Twersky is a marketing executive for Fortune 100 companies. He is a board member and advisor to many Jewish non profits in America and Israel. His education includes an MBA, MS in Jewish philosophy, and Rabbinical Ordination from Rav Soloveitchik at Yeshiva University.

Leon Morris

Leon Morris is the President of Pardes and is the first alumnus to head the institution (Year Program alumnus ’94-’95; Summer Program alumnus ’93 and ’94). Leon made aliyah with his wife Dasee Berkowitz and their three children in June 2014, after serving as the rabbi of Temple... Read More →

Devora Steinmetz

Devora Steinmetz, PhD, serves on the faculty of Drisha Institute in the United States and Israel and on the leadership team of Drisha’s new yeshiva in Israel. She is the founder of Beit Rabban, a Jewish day school profiled in Daniel Pekarsky’s Vision at Work: The Theory and Practice... Read More →

Ethan Tucker

Ethan Tucker is President and Rosh Yeshiva at Hadar. Ethan was ordained by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and earned a doctorate in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, he was a co-founder of Kehilat Hadar and serves on the board of the H... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 11:15am - 12:15pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Spirituality and Theology

12:45pm EST

New York Jewish History, Culture, and Community

An overview of the historical and cultural legacy of "the world's greatest Jewish city," exploring the extraordinary nexus between age-old traditions of Jewish group life and the modern urbanism of New York City.

Presenters

David Kaufman

David Kaufman is a scholar and teacher of American Jewish history, having been on the faculties of the Hebrew Union College (LA) and Hofstra University. His publications include: Shul with a Pool: The "Synagogue-Center" in American Jewish History (Brandeis, 1999) and Jewhooing the... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 12:45pm - 1:45pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

American Jewish History

1:50pm EST

Orthodox Mincha

This service features separate seating for men and women and leadership by men, as well as traditional Hebrew liturgy.

If possible, please bring your own siddur (prayerbook).

Sunday February 17, 2019 1:50pm - 2:05pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

2:15pm EST

The JSwipe Story and Jewish Love

The story of JSwipe: from startup idea to a global Jewish household brand with over 1,000,000 millennial Jewish users -- in a world where millennial Jews are the least engaged and least affiliated they've ever been! David shares how it happened and what he learned from the process.

Presenters

David Yarus

DavidYarus is the founder of mllnnl, a social and creative agency that helps global brands and Jewish non-profits like Taglit-Birthright Israel, Hillel International, Schusterman Foundation, and The Israeli Consulate understand and engage the millennial consumer. David is also the... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Jewish Identity

3:30pm EST

Expanding the Canon: Transforming Judaism in the 21st Century

Jewish learning has long focused on texts by an elite group of men with particular ideas about Judaism. Two core values — celebrating debate and multivocality, and privileging male voices — live in tension in our texts. What would it mean to radically expand the canon, incorporating voices of women and others on the margins? If we complicate our conception of what voices are authoritative and what values define Judaism, would we see Judaism differently? We will explore these growing pains of reorientation, and what’s at stake for the Jewish community.

Moderators

Michal Raucher

Michal Raucher is a JTS fellow and assistant professor of Jewish studies at Rutgers. Her research lies at the intersection of Israel studies, Jewish ethics, and the anthropology of women in Judaism. Michal’s book, entitled Birthing Ethics: Reproductive Ethics among Haredi Women... Read More →

Presenters

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 →

Elana Stein Hain

Elana is Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she serves as lead faculty, oversees the content of leadership programs, and leads the Created Equal research team. Elana holds a PhD in Religion from Columbia, where she wrote a dissertation on legal loopholes in rabbinic law. She previously served as clergy at Lincoln Square Synagogue and The Jewish Center in Manhattan. Elana lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her... Read More →

Sarit Kattan Gribetz

Sarit Kattan Gribetz is on faculty at Drisha and teaches Jewish Studies at Fordham University. She received her B.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University, studied Talmud and archaeology as a Fulbright Fellow at the Hebrew University, was a post-doc at Harvard University and JTS, taught... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Jewish Identity, Text Study

4:45pm EST

Reflections on the Woman's March

Presenters

Mira Rivera

Mira Rivera is the first Filipina-American woman to be ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2015 with an M.A. in Jewish Studies. Currently she serves at Romemu in Manhattan as their Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellow and Board Certified Chaplain. With Renee Hill, she... Read More →

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 →

Abby Stein

Abby Stein is a Jewish educator, speaker, and trans activist. She was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent. In that world Abby attended Yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011. In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore different world views. In 2015... Read More →

Sunday February 17, 2019 4:45pm - 5:45pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

10:10am EST

Helping Teens Navigate a #MeToo World with Jewish Wisdom and Values

How do we help our Jewish teens learn about consent, sexuality and harassment without fear? How do we understand our own concerns? How are Jewish wisdom, tradition and values a resource and frame in this sacred work? Moving Traditions helps parents and teens to have important conversations and develop tools to navigate this increasingly complicated landscape, all through a Jewish lens. Bring your questions to this experiential learning session.

Presenters

Nicole Nevarez

Nicole Nevarez, New York Director of Moving Traditions, oversees all of the New York metro area program partners and serves on the Moving Traditions training faculty. As an educator and facilitator, Nicole combines her experience in theater with her years of teaching adolescents... Read More →

Monday February 18, 2019 10:10am - 11:15am EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Parenting

11:25am EST

Achieving Wholeness: The Dao of Judaism

Parallels between Daoist philosophy and Judaism will be explored and discussed with reference to: The Torah (Creation, Akedah, Kedushah); mystical symbols (sefirot, menorah, mogan david) and sounds (Sh’ma); and movements (priestly blessing, blessing over Shabbat candles). The concepts will be further illustrated through a participatory workshop that includes breathing/qigong and taichi based movements.

Presenters

Joel Friedman

Joel Friedman is a scientist, professor (Albert Einstein College of Medicine), student of Jewish mysticism and theology, and teacher and student of Chinese martial arts. He is a husband to Susan and father to Adam and Ben.

Monday February 18, 2019 11:25am - 12:30pm EST
Room 9 & 10 (5th Floor)

Movement