Wednesday, September 11, 2024 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET
Open Judaism: Finding Your Place in the Jewniverse
With Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz, JPS Director Emeritus
Presented by Wisdom Without Walls in partnership with JPS
In our post 9-11 and post Oct. 7 world, what does it mean to be a pluralistic Jew? What are the possibilities and what are the parameters? In the eternal debate of Athens vs. Jerusalem, why do we need both? Jewish theology has never been more challenging….and more relevant!
Special 25% discount for JPS readers using our registration link below:
- Program registration: $18 (instead of $25)
Thursdays | September 5-19, 2024 | 1:00 PM ET
Profiles in Courage: How Jews Have Combated Antisemitism From the 17th Century to Today
With Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz, JPS Director Emeritus
A 3-part online course presented by My Jewish Learning in partnership with JPS
To advocate we must first educate. To fight for our future we must first know our past. The late master educator Norman H. Finkelstein’s compelling new book, Saying No to Hate: Overcoming Antisemitism in America, takes us on a lightning tour of 370 years of American Jewish history.
In a new three-part course, Rabbi Barry Schwartz will illuminate the history and lessons from the book. From New Amsterdam to Oct. 7, flashpoints became turning points when American Jews raised their voices. With the help of Finkelstein and Schwartz, we will hear those voices. Tuition is $54. Learn more and register here.
May 20, 2024
Gender, the Bible, and the Art of Translation
Presented in partnership with The Jewish Theological Seminary as part of their Timely Insights, Timeless Wisdom series.
A conversation with Elias Sacks, former Director of The Jewish Publication Society, exploring the following questions: How should English translators of the Hebrew Bible approach questions relating to gender? When should gender-inclusive language (such as “God” or “person”) be used for references to God and human beings, and when is gendered terminology (such as “King” and “man”) called for historically and linguistically? What does it mean to faithfully render biblical Hebrew into contemporary English, and how can translators share their methodologies and choices with readers and communities? The session examined these topics, focusing on the newest Bible translation released by The Jewish Publication Society, THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition. The source sheet for this session is available here.
Watch the program recording here.
March 17, 2024
Turning Points in Jewish History: A Polish Translation
Presented by the Friends of Jewish Renewal in Poland as part of their series, Freighted Legacies (Dziedzictwa obarczone): The Culture and History of Jewish Interactions in Poland.
A roundtable discussion with Rabbis Marc Rosenstein, Barry Schwartz, Menachem Mirski, Mati Kirschenbaum, Drs. Miroslaw Patalon, and Dominika Zakrzewska, exploring the Polish translation of this historical volume, which makes accessible over thirty pivotal moments from biblical times to the near present to provide the reader with “the big picture.” Its teachers will augment and embellish the Polish version using text and online sources as a core.
Watch the program recording here.
February 7, 2024
The Jewish Catalog Turns 50: Revolutionary Manifesto of DIY Judaism
Produced by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in partnership with the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Brandeis Library, Brandeis University, Penn’s Jewish Studies Program, and The Jewish Publication Society.
A conversation with Rabbi Michael Strassfeld, Joshua Teplitsky, and Beth Wenger, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Jewish Catalog – a bestseller whose success led to second and third Jewish Catalog editions – a groundbreaking publication that revolutionized Judaism.
Watch the program recording here.
February 6, 2024
AJS Conversation Series: God, Gender, and Bible Translation
With David E.S. Stein; Beth Lieberman, HUC-JIR (Los Angeles); Everett Fox, Clark University; Hanne Loeland Levinson, University of Minnesota; Elias Sacks, The Jewish Publication Society. Presented by the Association for Jewish Studies.
January 21, 2024
Who Are the Jews—And Who Can We Become?
Presented as part of the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Ideas for Today series, in partnership with The Jewish Publication Society.
In his new JPS book, Who Are the Jews—And Who Can We Become?, Donniel Hartman posits that we need a new shared story to replace the one that is currently putting our collective identity at risk. In this session, Donniel was joined by author and journalist Abigail Pogrebin for a conversation about the impact of the October 7 attacks on the possibilities for a new Jewish story built on collective Jewish meaning, moral rigor, and a courageous commitment to each other, one that gives us a language for understanding and addressing today’s core Jewish challenges in Israel and in the Diaspora.
Watch the webinar recording here.
December 10, 2023
Judaism as a Civilization: The Hanukkah Gift to the Jewish People and World that Keeps on Giving
Presented in partnership with The Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood, Reconstructing Judaism, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association.
Lecture by Dr. Deborah Waxman of Reconstructing Judaism and response from Dr. Elias Sacks of The Jewish Publication Society marking the 90th anniversary of Mordecai Kaplan’s JPS classic, Judaism as a Civilization. Moderated by Dr. Jeffrey Schein.
Watch the webinar recording here.
February 1, 2021
The Jews Should Keep Quiet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust by Rafael Medoff
Watch the webinar recording here.
January 25, 2021
Stolen Words: The Nazi Plunder of Jewish Books by Rabbi Mark Glickman
Watch the webinar recording here.
October 21, 2020
Abraham’s Astonishing Legacy with JPS authors Rabbis Amy Scheinerman, Jeffrey Salkin, and Barry Schwartz (JPS Director Emeritus).
Watch the webinar recording here.
