ELI Talks

"I had begun my marriage under a chuppah, I had begun it in a Jewish way. I needed to end my marriage in a Jewish way too." A rabbi shares her intentional journey towards the creation of a ritual to transition from marriage to divorce, and why you might consider doing the same. Rabbi Lisa Greene is a rabbi and a mother of three. Both roles challenge, inspire, teach and make her laugh. For 19 years, Rabbi Greene has served North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois where she partners with phenomenal colleagues and members of her community to learn, teach, create experiential learning opportunities, and make sacred time and space happen in new and traditional ways. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in 1995 and has a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Rabbi Greene is a long-time summer camp faculty member at the URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute and brings her finance background to serve the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She's written for the Huffington Post, Wisdom Daily, Reform Judaism blog and her personal blog, Intersections (ordinaryandsacred.com), which reflects on the intersection of sacred and ordinary in daily life.

The perfect recipe for Torah must involve food. No sarcasm intended. Intrigued? When it comes to food and Torah how could you not be? Jonathan Posner is a Chef, a Shochet (a Kosher animal slaughterer/butcher), and currently studies in the Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Jonathan grew up in Chicagoland, and is proud to call the city his home. In 2015, Jonathan founded the culinary events company Wandering Foods Productions as project to challenge himself as a cook, an entrepreneur, and a Jew. Wandering Foods was founded to breathe some youth and life back into Jewish cuisine, but its mission has grown to focus ever-more on using food and cooking to open doors into a life of meaningful Jewish culture and practice for those who have yet to find their way in. He hopes that the productions Wandering Foods puts on will inspire you, make you feel proud of who you are, and that you leave full and fulfilled.

His kippah is no afterthought. How Dr. Phil's invitation to Paramount Studios led a Hollywood Director towards a life-changing wardrobe decision. Daniel Kaufman is a multiple award-winning Director and Creative Director. With more than 400 commercials with clients like Budweiser, McDonalds, Nestle, Walmart and Comcast, he and his work have garnered numerous accolades and have been profiled in magazines like Creativity, Communication Arts, Ad Age, Shoot and others. Recently he has directed commercials for eHarmony, X-Box, the NFL, Boston Market, ABC, Comedy Central, Toyota, Bayer and Ikea. As an actor, Daniel trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has more than fifty professional stage credits as well as numerous film and television appearances. Recently, Danny started a podcast on dating and relationships called: WHY AM I NOT MARRIED. The Podcast can be found as part of the award-winning Jewish Journal podcasts. Danny is a Ba’al Teshuva. He is on the Board of Directors of Manhattan Jewish Experience and he gives inspirational speeches all over the world about being observant in Hollywood."

Judaism's texts are full of hidden figures--people hiding in plain sight. But what do these figures teach us about the lessons of our lives and our struggles and our closets--those both self-made and societally imposed? Melanie Fine is an invested Hazzan, having received her training from the Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She has served congregations in New York, Rhode Island, Indiana and California, training thousands in chanting Torah, Haftarah, the Megillot and in davening. She earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Cornell University, teaches high school chemistry, advocates for women in science through her website RocketGirls.com and is the author of The Shuttle Story about the Columbia shuttle disaster which took the life of Ilan Ramon and his crewmates, and Fission Girl, about the life of physicist Lise Meitner. Melanie is the single mother of Max.

For a community of faith, we tend to avoid THE major tenet of our faith, God. What should we be saying about God? How should we be relating to God? Abi Taylor-Abt wants to talk to you about the God you could believe in. Abi Taylor-Abt is an outstanding Jewish Educator and Curriculum Developer who has worked in the field of Jewish Primary and Secondary Educational Curriculum Development for over twenty years. She is the author of Lessons in Jewish Learning - a grab and go curriculum for communities and Jewish schools. Originally from London, Abi spent time living in Israel, South Africa, England and the United States. After working in Boise, Idaho, Abi spent another 5 years in Israel whilst her children served in the army. She is currently Director of Education for Yachad a combined educational endeavour between the conservative congregation of Beth Shalom and the reform community of Temple Emanu-El in Michigan, USA. A 2018 recipient of the Klein/Grinspoon Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.

You thought bridging the gap between Israelis and Americans was difficult? "I thought I was being friendly. It turns out I was being a nudnick. I thought I was building bridges--turns out I was just putting up walls, things got super uncomfortable." Rabbi Amitai Fraiman proposes a way of understanding and reorienting the American-Israeli relationship. What do you think, Achi? Rabbi Amitai Fraiman, born and raised in Jerusalem, currently lives in NYC with his wife, Michal, and two daughters- Mia and Yahli. Spending time with family and friends, hiking, and music are his favorite activities. Before moving to the US, Amitai studied at Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa, served as an IDF Tank Commander and completed with honors his BA in Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at the IDC Herzliya. While at Herzliya, Amitai and Michal were sponsored to live in an underserved community and volunteer with local youth and their families. Since moving to NYC, Amitai received his rabbinic ordination from YCT Rabbinical School as well as his dual Masters in Public Administration and Hebrew and Judaic studies from NYU. Amitai has designed and executed innovative educational curricula, spirituality retreats, ceremonies as well as a unique baby-girl naming ritual. Currently, Amitai is developing שָׁזוּר/Interwoven, a “reverse-Birthright-like” organization aiming to introduce Israelis and Americans to the building blocks and specific contexts of Jewish life in America. שָׁזוּר/Interwoven is an independent initiative fiscally sponsored by the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, with the ultimate goal of creating the conditions for a more productive relationship between the two epicenters of world Jewry.

So many parents believe that if they were simply consistent with their children that everything would be perfect. But parenting coach Dana Hirt wants us to contemplate a different idea--one founded in a Judaism that builds compassionate, resilient, good human beings. Dana Hirt is the founder of Dana Hirt Parenting, a parenting education and coaching service that offers parents, both new and experienced, concrete skills and personalized guidance and support. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education in Human Development and Learning from DePaul University and The Institute for Psychoanalysis, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Psychology from Brown University. She brings 28 years of experience in the field of educational psychology in clinical, school and private practice settings, and the wisdom of 24 years of parenting to her parent coaching work. Dana has taught in the classroom, consulted with parents, worked one on one with students in private practice, partnered with therapists and other allied professionals, advocated in schools, and led parent workshops. She writes a parenting blog which you can find on her website, http://danahirtparenting.com, and contributes to Huffington Post online. Dana is actively involved in the Jewish community in Chicago serving as the Partnership Together Chair for The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, as a trustee of The Jewish Women’s Foundation, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School. She is the grateful and proud mother of three adult children, ages 24, 21 and 19.

Sarah Michal Waxman is on a mission to get women--all women--to join together in Rosh Chodesh circles. This anciently sanctioned time together creates community, connection, and lifelong impact for participants. On the next new moon, find yourself in circle! Sarah is the passionate Founder of At The Well. She has been a student of sociology and holistic medicine, a national champion athlete, an instructor of yoga and mindfulness, and a passionate member of the Jewish community. All these experiences gave her a deep understanding of the power that comes from being in a supportive community, feeling connected to your spirituality, and have a real understanding of your cycle. At The Well was created out of love; it is a place to be witnessed, and to witness others, to share, to learn, and a place to connect Jewish heritage to everyday life.

So many of us today have learned the skills and the distress tolerance to struggle with the classics of literature--yet, when we approach the texts of our tradition, our approaches to text are no more sophisticated than when we were in 7th grade. How can we cultivate both freedom and sacredness when adults read Torah? Jeremy is the Executive Director of Lehrhaus Judaica, an organization that builds community through learning and ritual, throughout the Bay Area. Following his ordination in 2001 from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, Jeremy served as Associate Rabbi of Temple Israel of Boston for 15 years. Among other leadership roles at Temple Israel, Jeremy was the founding director of the Riverway Project, a nationally recognized outreach and engagement initiative for adults in their 20s and 30s, and was the synagogue’s Director of Education. He earned a doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, in 2017. Jeremy lives in Berkeley, CA.

Home sweet home. Home is safety. Home is comfort. Home is familiar. What happens when you need to flee your home? It's not just the stories of our grandparents that inform a Jewish sensibility about how to treat the refugees and immigrants--our texts and laws have an opinion, too. Melanie Nezer is Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at HIAS, the global Jewish organization for refugees. She has spent her career as an attorney and advocate representing people who are seeking a chance at a productive future for themselves and their children, in a place where they can be safe and free.

Sex education has been historically delegated to the state for American Jewry, but Judaism has a very rich tradition of teaching about sex, consent, and pleasure that we need today. Merissa Nathan Gerson leads us on an exploration of what it means for all Jewish bodies--cisgender and otherwise--to respect, to honor, and to teach one another about consent and to communally atone for our sins. Filmed at Repair the World: Detroit. Merissa Nathan Gerson is a trained rape prevention worker and sex educator. Her writing on sexuality and Judaism appears in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New York Observer, Tablet, Playboy, Elle and beyond. She holds an MA in Jewish Studies from The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California with a focus on sex and gender as well as inherited trauma. Merissa has studied at the PARDES Institute for Jewish Studies, The Jewish Theological Seminary, The Academy for Jewish Religion, Hebrew College, Naropa University, Middlebury's Hebrew Language School, The Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute and with many rabbis across the country including the great Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Her work focuses on the inheritance of trauma and memory and how this impacts tradition.

Ahchoo! Judaism even has what to say about how to sneeze like a Jew. It certainly has what to say about today's headlines from refugee crises to mass incarceration and gay marriage. Most importantly: How do we break down the barriers that keep adults from self-selecting to participate in Jewish text study? There is only one way to find out. Rabbi Dan Horwitz is the founding director of The Well, a nationally recognized Jewish community-building, education and spirituality outreach initiative in Metro Detroit geared to the needs of young adults. Committed to lifelong learning, Dan holds a BA in Politics from Brandeis University, an MA in Jewish Studies from Gratz College, a JD and an MA in Sport Management from the University of Michigan, and an MA in Jewish Education from Hebrew College. Ordained by the non-denominational Mesifta Adas Wolkowisk, he worked for a number of years as the Rabbi and Director of Immersive Learning for Moishe House, has been designated one of America's Most Inspiring Rabbis by The Forward, is a graduate of the Clergy Leadership Incubator housed at Hazon, and is 1/4 of The Open Dor Project's inaugural cohort of spiritual entrepreneurs. A regular basketball player, Jewish jam session participant and hummus enthusiast, Dan makes his home in suburban Detroit with his spouse Miriam and their kiddos Jonah and Micah.

The case of Laquan McDonald, a black teen shot by police officer Jason Van Dyke who was still on the beat despite numerous citizen complaints and investigations, continues to rock Chicago and the country with similar examples. Activist and Torah scholar, Aryeh Bernstein, explores what the Torah has to say about accountability for law enforcement, how the existing police contract is antithetical to it, and why it's so vital according to our tradition that we get this right. Filmed at Repair the World: Detroit. Aryeh Bernstein is a fifth-generation Chicago South Sider with extensive experience in Torah education and organizing progressive Jewish communities. His primary employment is with Avodah, as Director of its Justice Fellowship and Yo'etz Ruach of its Service Corps in Chicago. He is also Educational Consultant for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, where he organizes on police accountability, Founding Director of the Hyde Park Teen Beit Midrash, Staff Educator for Farm Forward's Jewish Initiative for Animals, and Coordinator and Teacher of Mishkan Chicago's Social Justice Beit Midrash. He was previously Mechon Hadar's Director of Recruitment and Alumni Affairs and an Editor-Translator for Koren Publishers' English edition of the Steinsaltz Talmud. He has taught at Drisha, the TAKUM social justice beit midrash, and campuses, communities, and organizations around Israel and the U.S., especially Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, where he co-founded and co-directed the Beit Midrash Program and Northwoods Kollel. Aryeh is a Senior Editor of Jewschool.com.

Spoken from the mouth of a Relationship Expert: "Our relationship wasn't about the two of us. Our relationship was actually about the three of us...together, we could build our lives and navigate those ups and downs." Aleeza Ben Shalom is known as the Marriage Minded Mentor. She is a professional dating coach and the author of Get Real, Get Married, your guide to get over your hurdles and under the chuppah! Aleeza is a passionate speaker and regular contributor to Aish.com and Yated Ne’eman. She works with clients from around the world as well as trains future dating coaches. You may also recognize Aleeza from her appearance in the web series Soon By You. She has been interviewed by BBC World News, and NPR. Aleeza is committed to creating marriages that endure the test of time, starting with her own: she is a dedicated wife and loving mother of five children. To learn more about her and her coaching, which focuses on empowerment and developing successful support networks, visit www.marriagemindedmentor.com.

We all know that bubbies are brilliant, but this bubbie has universal wisdom that could change your approach to everyday life. Do you really need more of a clickbait? Whether or not you are a bubbie, have a bubbie, met a bubbie or adopted a bubbie, Jane's reflections can impact your perspective if you let them. Dr. Jane Shapiro is a founder of Orot: Center for New Jewish Learning where she teaches a variety of classes and workshops blending text study with other intentional practices. As Associate Director of the Florence Melton School she helped many communities build capacity to start local schools and ran professional development seminars for Melton faculty. Jane is a graduate of Princeton University and studied Jewish History at Columbia University. in 2016 she received her doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary researching the experiences of longterm adult learners. She is a graduate of the Mandel Teachers Institute and Vision Projects. She is passionate about all aspects of Jewish teaching and learning. This ELI talk is sponsored by The Covenant Foundation.