Trauma and Testimony in an Oversharing Society
Dec 7, 2020 By Edna Friedberg | Public Event video | Video Lecture
The pandemic has forced us to live much of our lives online. But what happens when experiences that used to be private and intimate are exposed to the glare of public scrutiny? How is the impact of experience changed by retelling it, and does sharing our experiences make them more meaningful? This is a discussion of how refugees from war-torn Europe were recast as 鈥淗olocaust survivors鈥� and how trauma morphs when repackaged for broader consumption. The session will include pioneering early audio and film recordings of survivors as young people in the 1940s and 50s.聽
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The Certainty of Uncertainty
Nov 30, 2020 By Alan Cooper | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Psalm聽84,聽quoted in the聽Havdalah聽service,聽assures us that human felicity arises out of trust in God.聽But trust is hard to come by, and felicity seems remote in times of duress.聽In this session we will examine biblical texts that acknowledge the challenges of doubt and uncertainty and offer ways of meeting those trials with hope,聽faith,聽and trust.聽
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The Wholeness of a Broken Heart
Nov 23, 2020 By Mychal Springer | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Life鈥檚 challenges raise up the reality of human vulnerability. Too often, people experience the heartbreak of suffering. In this session we will explore the paradoxical teaching of the聽Kotzker聽Rebbe that 鈥渢here is nothing more whole than a broken heart.鈥澛犅犅�
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Nurturing Character, Community, and Meaning-Making Through Jewish Education
Nov 9, 2020 By Jeffrey Kress | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Even as we are zooming forward into a new, Covid-altered educational landscape, there are goals of Jewish education鈥攚hether in schools, camps, home, or other settings鈥攖hat are enduring. In this session we will look at Jewish education through the lenses of character, community, and聽meaning-making聽to provide context for current discussions of online and hybrid聽learning, and聽to expand our thinking聽about the goals and processes of Jewish learning.
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The Torah鈥檚 Take on Happiness
Nov 2, 2020 By Jan Uhrbach | Public Event video | Video Lecture
Moses鈥� final speech concludes with a declaration of the happiness of being a Jew: 鈥淗appy are you, O Israel!鈥澛燘ut does the Torah describe any individual as happy?聽While聽the pursuit of聽happiness, as expressed in the Torah and its interpretations? Is the American ideal of happiness a Jewish concept at all?聽
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Spiritual Meaning and Inspiration in Hasidic Teaching
Oct 26, 2020 By Eitan Fishbane | Public Event video | Video Lecture
In this session we explore several powerful examples in which聽hasidic聽spiritual masters read the Hebrew Bible figuratively in order to often playfully and brilliantly convey deep spiritual insights about the nature of life, of the world, and of God鈥榮 immanent presence in our lives.聽
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Gifts of Wisdom: The Historical Traditions and Values of the Ethical Will
Oct 19, 2020 By Stefanie B. Siegmund | Public Event video | Video Lecture
At pivotal moments that make us think about death鈥攅ncounters聽with serious illness,聽the loss of loved ones,聽advancing age,聽or聽even聽bringing聽children into our lives鈥攚e聽turn聽to lawyers to write or revise our wills.聽Writing a聽will is an opportunity to聽consider our priorities as聽we plan to distribute our estates to the people, organizations, and causes that we care about.聽What if you also tried to write a letter that would be read聽by your descendants,聽perhaps even at your funeral,聽about your values? What would you say? How does Judaism inform these values?
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Generosity, Gratitude, and Faith: Rav Eliyahu Dessler鈥檚 Integrative Approach to Creating a Meaningful Life
Oct 12, 2020 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Public Event video | Video Lecture
What is the relationship between our level of generosity and our beliefs, our attitudes, and our actions? For聽Rav聽Eliyahu Dessler (1892-1953, England/Israel),聽love,聽faith,聽empathy,聽and social bonding聽are聽consequences聽of generosity鈥攏ot its causes.聽In this session, we will discuss聽Rav聽Dessler鈥檚 insights and his vision for living meaningfully.聽
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