Shows
Jewish Ideas to Change the WorldGreen Burial and Jewish LawA virtual event presentation by Rabbi Adina LewittesEvent Co-Sponsored by Temple EmanuelAbout the Event:Cultural and environmental trends of the 21st century are raising important challenges to long-accepted notions of Kevod Hamet (“respect for the deceased”) in the way we handle bodies after death. Are our assumptions around the requirements for burial grounded in our sacred texts? Is burial really a mitzvah? Is cremation absolutely prohibited? Can alternatives to traditional practices live within a halakhic (Jewish legal) framework?*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fRFOJ32L_f7...2023-03-301h 00
GROUNDWAVESMay 17, 2022 Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman of YidLife CrisisOn Comedy and Jewish Identity with Eli Batalion and Jamie Elman of YidLife Crisis2022-07-131h 03GROUNDWAVESJune 2022 GroundWaves Pride EditionAllyship with Rabbi Mike Moskowitz2022-07-131h 05
GROUNDWAVESMarch 15, 2022 - GroundWaves Special Edition: The War in UkraineAriel Zwang, CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee talks with Dini about the American Jewish response to the crisis, how the nature of Jewish solidarity evolves over time and space, and what we need to learn from this moment about Jewish responsibility to one another and to the world around us. Then, Michaela Slutsky of the Jewish Education Project, a first generation Russian speaking American Jew of Ukrainian descent, reflects on the complexities of identity and belonging and how they are being challenged in this terrifying moment.2022-03-171h 04GROUNDWAVESFebruary 15, 2022. Dan SenorAn author, investor, former political advisor, and cultural commentator, Dan Senor talks with Dini about post-pandemic Judaism, how to talk to our kids about rising antisemitism, and the politics of Covid.2022-02-231h 01
Jewish Ideas to Change the WorldRequiring Brit Mikvah for female trans converts?A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Adina Lewittes
ABOUT THE EVENT:
How does Jewish law, a system based on such binaries as muttar (permitted) and assur (prohibited) and hayav (obligated) and patur (exempt), inform our contemporary understanding of gender which is increasingly shaped by fluidity and in some cases hybridity? In this particular case, would a trans woman who has not had gender confirmation surgery be required to undergo a ritual circumcision as part of her conversion process? Does the mitzvah of brit milah apply only to those whose gender is male or to all those whose anatomy is male...2022-01-211h 12
Divorce etc... hosted by the exEXPERTS (T.H. and Jessica)How Religion and Spirituality Affect Divorce | S1, Ep. 53It's a sad fact that many people who get divorced often feel more shame and judgement about their divorce, based on their religious and cultural beliefs. Divorce doesn't just affect you and your partner and children...it affects all of your loved ones in some way - siblings, parents and friends. How do you navigate the feelings of letting other people down? Of feeling like you're doing something that your religion or culture frowns upon? Of feeling like you're doing something wrong by getting divorced and will be judged or shunned because of it? This is a powerful and...2021-12-1440 minGROUNDWAVESApril 26 - Dr. Brynn LevyPersonalized Medicine: The Future is Now - Are We Ready?2021-04-281h 01GROUNDWAVESApril 19 - Raffi Schieir, Bantam MaterialsPlastics Recycling and the Art of Climate Justice (in honor of Earth Day 4/22)2021-04-2859 minGROUNDWAVESApril 12 - Steven Klein (Yom Ha’Atzmaut)Minority Faces of Israel2021-04-281h 01GROUNDWAVESApril 5 - Melissa Hacker (Yom Hashoah)Kindertransports: Remembering the Future2021-04-2759 minGROUNDWAVESMarch 22 - Zion OzeriImages as Sacred Texts2021-04-271h 00GROUNDWAVESMarch 15 - Yad B’Yad Lee Gordon & AlumniStudying our Way to Peace2021-04-271h 02GROUNDWAVESMarch 8 - Vanessa WrubleCo-Founder of the Women’s March and Executive Director of www.marchon.org2021-04-2758 minGROUNDWAVESMarch 1st - Sue Roy, EsqImmigration Reform and Caring for the Stranger2021-04-271h 00GROUNDWAVESFeb 22 - Jonathan Hausmann, OTPPGreening the Markets2021-02-2556 minGROUNDWAVESFeb 15th - Allie CanningtonJewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month2021-02-251h 00GROUNDWAVESFeb 8th - Dr. Shuly Rubin SchwartzThe Future of Convervative Judaism2021-02-251h 00GROUNDWAVESFeb 1st - Marques HollieMarques Hollie2021-02-251h 04
EvolveHuman Composting: Good for the Environment, But Is It Kosher?Natural Organic Reduction — or, more colloquially, human composting — is not only legal in Washington State, but also happening, right now. People are choosing to have their remains rapidly converted into soil. How will Jewish leaders and communities respond to a practice that, on some level, is challenging to Jewish law, to centuries of burial practices, and, maybe, to people’s sensibilities?
In this live episode, recorded as part of the 2021 Big Bold Jewish Climate Festival, we speak with Rabbi Seth Goldstein and Rabbi Adina Lewittes, two religious leaders who’ve thought deeply about human composting, the green burial m...2021-02-161h 06GROUNDWAVESJanuary 25th - David Marks & Kathy Peck MarksReflections for International Holocaust Remembrance Day2021-02-011h 01GROUNDWAVESJanuary 18 Rabbi Sandra LawsonRacial Diversity and the Jewish Community2021-02-011h 00GROUNDWAVESJanuary 11 - Selaedin MaksutExecutive Director of CAIR-New Jersey (the Council on American-Islamic Relations New Jersey chapter), America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group2021-02-011h 05GROUNDWAVESJanuary 4 - Dr. Jennifer AshtonTaming the Pandemic and the Ethics of Rolling Out Covid-19 Vaccines2021-01-311h 01GROUNDWAVESDecember 21 - Jodi Bromberg, 18Doors (formerly Interfaithfamily.com)Multifaith/Multiheritage families and the Growing Diversity of the Jewish Community2021-01-311h 03GROUNDWAVESDecember 14 - Nessa Rapoport, AuthorGrief, Memory and Identity2021-01-311h 01GROUNDWAVESDecember 7 - Miriam Hartman, Israel Philharmonic OrchestraMusic as a Cultural Unifier and a Catalyst for Social Change2021-01-121h 02GROUNDWAVESNovember 30 - Anita Diamant, authorWriting The Red Tent and Making Jewish Ritual Accessible2021-01-1257 minGROUNDWAVESNovember 23 - Julie Garreau, Cheyenne River Youth ProjectJewish-Indiginous Solidarity on the Eve of Thanksgiving2021-01-121h 02GROUNDWAVESNovember 16 - Dr. Robert Pollack, Columbia UniversityScience and Religion, Genes and Jews: The Full Picture2021-01-1257 minGROUNDWAVESNovember 9 - Phil Weiser, Attorney General of ColoradoWhat Now: The Future of American Democracy2021-01-1258 minGROUNDWAVESNovember 2 - Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, Shalom Hartman Institute of North AmericaThe 2020 US Presidential Election and the Jewish Community2021-01-1259 minGROUNDWAVESOctober 26th - Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate ActionA New Jewish Movement for the Environment2021-01-121h 02GROUNDWAVESOctober 19th - Nadav Greenberg, North Miznon, NYCThe Global Appetite for Israeli Food2021-01-121h 07GROUNDWAVESOctober 12th - Dan NadelDan Nadel’s Musical Journey2021-01-121h 09GROUNDWAVESOctober 5th - Idit Klein, KeshetCovid-19 and LGBTQ Jewish Youth2021-01-121h 02GROUNDWAVESSept 21 - Rabbi Daniel Siegel, Aleph CanadaJewish Renewal: A Mandate and a Movement2021-01-1257 minGROUNDWAVESSept 14 - Ruth MessingerA New Year’s Social Justice Resolution2021-01-1258 minGROUNDWAVESAugust 31 - Juan SanchezMaterial Art as Social Protest2021-01-081h 00GROUNDWAVESAugust 24 - Leslie RockitterImages of Covid-19 in NYC2021-01-0859 minGROUNDWAVESAugust 17 - Rabbi Menachem Creditor/Neshama CarlebachMusic as a Source of Spiritual Resistance2021-01-081h 00GROUNDWAVESAugust 10 - Ron GoldLiving and Loving Beyond Trauma2021-01-081h 02GROUNDWAVESAugust 3 - Dr. Ken Prager, Columbia University Medical CenterThe Ethics of Covid-192021-01-081h 05GROUNDWAVESJuly 27 - Aziz Abu Sarah, Mejdi ToursTravel as Peacemaking2021-01-0858 minGROUNDWAVESJuly 20 - Lecia Brooks, Southern Poverty Law CenterBlack Anti-Semitism and Jewish Racial Justice Work2021-01-0859 minGROUNDWAVESJuly 13 - Yoav Peck, SulhaBringing Israeli Jews and Arabs Face to Face2021-01-061h 02GROUNDWAVESJuly 6 - Rabbi Jenny SolomonMikvah and the Power of Embodied Spirituality2021-01-0659 minGROUNDWAVESJune 30 - Ezra Oliff-Lieberman, Sunrise MovementThe Kids Who are Saving the Planet2021-01-061h 00GROUNDWAVESJune 23 Lily Hughes-RobinsonA Trans Coming Out Story 2021-01-061h 01GROUNDWAVESJune 16 - Khary Lazarre-WhiteExecutive Director of Bro/Sis Harlem2021-01-0658 minGROUNDWAVESJune 9 - Rabbi Arielle Lekach-RosenbergBlack Lives Matter, Jews and bridges of change2020-12-281h 01GROUNDWAVESJune 2 - Rav Haim OvadiaHalakha and the Covid crisis2020-12-2858 minGROUNDWAVESMay 26 - Rabbi Sharon BrousContemplating Silence and Stillness: the world as it was and the world as it could be2020-12-281h 19GROUNDWAVESMay 19 - Rabbi Amichai Lau LavieFrom ritual counting of the Omer to making every day count2020-12-281h 08GROUNDWAVESMay 12 - Yakir EnglanderThe Journey from the ultra-orthodox world to Hassidic understandings of the pandemic2020-12-281h 08GROUNDWAVESMay 5 - Rabbi Eric SolomonWalking the wilderness of the pandemic.2020-12-281h 11
Daily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 127
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Sixith episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 127. This page in Massechet Shabbat tries to understand some of the Sages concerns about exerting ourselves physically on Shabbat. It then shares some beautiful teachings about the importance of the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim, the welcoming of guests, and of judging one another favorably, giving people the benefit of the doubt.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar Communities in Bergen County, New Jersey, a groundbreaking suburban network of small, inclusive, an...2020-07-1111 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 126
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Fifth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 126. This page in Massechet Shabbat teaches us an important principle about the relative weight of proof-texts, showing that one which refers to the actual practice of the sages is more authoritative than one which resorts to legal theory. It also teaches us about the Rabbis’ emphasis upon the economy of words, seeing any repetition or superfluous word as an opportunity, no, an obligation, to interpret.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar C...2020-07-1007 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 125
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Fourth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 125. This page in Massechet Shabbat shows us the compassionate spirit of Jewish law in that it’s not based upon the lives and means of the majority of the community, but is informed by the lives and means, or lack thereof, of those who live at the margins of community. It also teaches us of the powerful role of mental intent in establishing halachah.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar Comm...2020-07-0909 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 124
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Third episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 124. This page in Massechet Shabbat illustrates once again how some sages considered such factors as financial loss when making decisions around Shabbat or Festival observance, reminding us of how halacha never operates in a vacuum. It also contains two fascinating stories: one that teaches us about the ethics of choosing a halachik authority, and one that offers a glimpse into the mundane realities of the life of a Talmudic sage.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes...2020-07-0811 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 123
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty Second episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 123. This page in Massechet Shabbat describes two fascinating aspects of the development and growth of Jewish law over the ages. One indicates the different priorities and values poskim, those who decide Jewish law, factor into their decisions; and another recounts the history of how Jewish law, in this case Shabbat law, evolved. The implications for our own times are noted.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar Communities in Bergen County, Ne...2020-07-0710 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 122
Welcome to the Hundred and Twenty First episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 122. This page in Massechet Shabbat deals with the permissibility of a Jew benefiting from work a non-Jew does for themselves on Shabbat. It then opens a new chapter of Massechet Shabbat that returns to the topic of muktzeh, things we are not permitted to move or use on Shabbat. The discussion concludes with a powerful insight into the spiritual, indeed existential, essence of Shabbat itself.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar...2020-07-0604 minDaily Daf Differently: Masechet ShabbatShabbat, Daf 121
Welcome to the Hundred and Twentieth episode of Daily Daf Differently. In this episode, Rabbi Adina Lewittes looks at Masechet Shabbat Daf 121. This page in Massechet Shabbat tackles the question of whether there are any circumstances in which we may direct a non-Jew to work on our behalf on Shabbat. The page continues with a discussion of the permissibility of killing dangerous and threatening animals on Shabbat. The slippery but fascinating issues of intention and appearances make their way into the ancient Rabbis deliberations.
Rabbi Adina Lewittes is the founder of Sha’ar Communities in Bergen Co...2020-07-0511 min