Learning Block 4
B’nai Mitzvah: The Tail That (Sometimes) Wags The Dog
Clarendon RoomLila Foldes, Jonathan Stein Join with colleagues to discuss how they are rethinking their own b'nai mitzvah work with an emphasis on shifting culture towards creating deeper relationships. Join us to think in real-time about your own congregation.
Preaching
Board RoomKirk Jones
Legal Issues for Rabbis and Congregations: An Examination of An Array of Changing Legal Issues Affecting Rabbis
Fairfax RoomDavid Saperstein Among these are the implications of the recent Supreme Court “Ministerial Exception” case; recent lawsuits on parsonage; “Do’s and Don’t’s” in the 2012 Election; sexual harassment abuse issues; new church-state issues. In addition to an overview of these changes, this session will address any issues that participants face directly or have questions about […]
The Best Practice of Mentors and Mentees
Beacon D RoomSam Joseph There are mainly four types of mentors: Career Guide — promotes development through career guidance, counseling and visibility; Information Source — provides information about formal and informal expectations; Friend — interacts with the mentee socially and provides information about people; and Intellectual Guide — promotes an equal relationship, collaborates on research projects and provides constructive feedback and […]
Revisioning Jewishness: Cosmopolitan Creativity and Jewish Peoplehood
Jefferson RoomDr. Sylvia Barack Fishman This talk is based on Professor Fishman's new research on younger American leaders, social entrepreneurs, and creators of cultural materials, and their relationship to Jews and Jewishness.
Sea Sick on the Love Boat: Liquid Modernity, Fluid Identity and Nautical Metaphors
Gardner RoomMichael Marmur In this session we will consider themes of liquidity, fluidity and water in Jewish and Western traditions. In particular, a tradition from Sifrei Deuteronomy concerning peoplehood will be studied. Zygmunt Bauman's concept of Liquid Modernity will also be considered. Our question is: how should we respond to a fluid reality? Go with the […]
The Child in the Halakhah (Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah)
Hampton RoomWalter Jacobs, Ruth Langer, Brian Stoller The program will discuss “The Child in the Halakhah,” an area rather neglected by the Traditions. Although the transition to being an adult was discussed in detail in rabbinic literature, this dealt almost exclusively with physical changes. The intellectual development of children was noted, but only in random comments […]
Music and the Interiority Complex
Dalton RoomJosh Jacobson Pre-registration is required. Session is capped at 40 participants. We will struggle with some of these questions: Can music create holiness? How? What musical experiences connect us to our community? What musical experiences connect us to our inner selves, to God? Is there a role for "classical music" in the synagogue? Do we […]
Teaching Hebrew: Raising the Bar
Liberty A , United StatesDr. Vardit Ringvald The impact of the Hebrew language on our children's sense of self is increasingly in the spotlight. What a different picture when they approach their Bar/Bat Mitzvah training with the organic connection to ancient texts and Israeli culture that Hebrew gives them! To maximize the level of our students’ Hebrew in Synagogue […]
Holy in the Whole
Exeter RoomJosh Nelson Exploring the spirituality of secular music and its place in worship: a conversation with Josh Nelson.
Bringing Shavat Vayinafash into the Everyday
Berkeley RoomLarry Dressler One of the paradoxes of the rabbinate is that we who are most devoted to repairing the world often find ourselves in a state of disrepair. Too often we and our institutions get caught up in a larger culture that values speed, multi-tasking and results. We learn to "cope" with or suppress our […]