Rabbi Yoel Kahn, 2/19/2026 · Is Purim just a simple story of "they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat"? In this session, Rabbi Yoel Kahn, Ph.D., takes us beyond the masks and noisemakers for a closer reading of the Book of Esther, moving past the classic narrative of good and evil to explore a text that is actually a bawdy, sometimes slapstick, and sometimes serious work of fiction. Rabbi Kahn examines how the Megillah simultaneously conceals and reveals its purpose while giving us insights into the fantasies and realities of the ancient Jewish world, using selections from the biblical text alongside classical and contemporary rabbinic commentaries.

Steven J. Zipperstein, 2/18/2026 · A discussion of Zipperstein's groundbreaking literary biography of Philip Roth, one of America's most celebrated writers. Drawing on extensive archival materials and over one hundred interviews, including conversations with the novelist himself, Zipperstein explores the great range of Roth's work. From Goodbye, Columbus to the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Pastoral, he places Roth’s writing in the essential contexts of American Jewishness, freedom, and sexuality.

Jehon Grist, 2/18/2026 · This video introduces a richly illustrated exploration of ancient Israelite civilization, from the Age of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs through the early rabbinic era. Viewers are guided through key places, lifeways, and historical developments across the region, spanning roughly 1500 BCE to 500 CE. The six-part course examines daily life in antiquity, including food, worship, political power, warfare, and the figures who shaped Israelite history. This material provides essential context for understanding Jewish history and the broader historical background of the region.

Rabbi David Kasher, 2/17/2026 · Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1524-1609)—the Maharal of Prague—is famous for the Golem legend, but his actual philosophical and theological system is far more complex and daring than the myth suggests. Here, Rabbi Kasher explores selections from the Maharal’s prolific writings, examining his ideas about language, Torah study, the nature of time, and the relationship between the divine and the material world.

Ariel Mayse, 2/12/2026 · Explore the elusive life and legacy of Rabbi Yisra’el ben Eli‘ezer (the Baal Shem Tov), the legendary founder of Hasidism whose religious personality defies easy categories. Drawing on research for the Jewish Lives biography series, Mayse examines the "afterlife" and teachings of this creative mind, who ignited an explosive revivalist movement that transformed modern Jewish life. This session delves into the mystery of an electrifying leader whose vision planted the seeds for the most influential movement of Jewish mystical renewal in history.

Jehon Grist, 2/10/2026 · This video introduces a richly illustrated exploration of ancient Israelite civilization, from the Age of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs through the early rabbinic era. Viewers are guided through key places, lifeways, and historical developments across the region, spanning roughly 1500 BCE to 500 CE. The six-part course examines daily life in antiquity, including food, worship, political power, warfare, and the figures who shaped Israelite history. This material provides essential context for understanding Jewish history and the broader historical background of the region.

Rabbi David Kasher, 2/9/2026 · Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel (1524-1609)—the Maharal of Prague—is famous for the Golem legend, but his actual philosophical and theological system is far more complex and daring than the myth suggests. Here, Rabbi Kasher explores selections from the Maharal’s prolific writings, examining his ideas about language, Torah study, the nature of time, and the relationship between the divine and the material world.

Aïda Touma-Sliman, 2/1/2026 · Critical Perspectives on Israel & Palestine invites participants into serious, pluralistic engagement with competing analyses and visions for the region’s future. We examine the moral and political frameworks that shape those visions. In this session, Knesset Member Aïda Touma-Sliman discusses the political landscape for Palestinian citizens of Israel. Drawing on her decades of experience as a feminist organizer and veteran legislator, she examines how policymaking impacts democracy and human rights. Touma-Sliman offers a unique look at the legislative pressures and possibilities involved in the pursuit of equality and peace in the region.

Jehon Grist, 2/4/2026 · This video introduces a richly illustrated exploration of ancient Israelite civilization, from the Age of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs through the early rabbinic era. Viewers are guided through key places, lifeways, and historical developments across the region, spanning roughly 1500 BCE to 500 CE. The six-part course examines daily life in antiquity, including food, worship, political power, warfare, and the figures who shaped Israelite history. This material provides essential context for understanding Jewish history and the broader historical background of the region.

Reda Mansour, 2/1/2026 · Critical Perspectives on Israel & Palestine invites participants into serious, pluralistic engagement with sharply different analyses and visions for the future of the region. We examine the moral and political frameworks that shape those visions. In this session, Reda Mansour—an Israeli Druze diplomat, poet, and historian who served in senior roles in Israel’s foreign service—brings a dual lens to Israel/Palestine and the wider region: how diplomacy constructs interests and legitimacy, and how minority communities, particularly Druze communities with deep cross-border ties, experience conflict, instability, and the search for safety in the wake of the seismic events of October 7, 2023, and the tragic anti-Druze attacks in Syria this past July.

Jehon Grist, 1/28/2026 · This video introduces a richly illustrated exploration of ancient Israelite civilization, from the Age of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs through the early rabbinic era. Viewers are guided through key places, lifeways, and historical developments across the region, spanning roughly 1500 BCE to 500 CE. The six-part course examines daily life in antiquity, including food, worship, political power, warfare, and the figures who shaped Israelite history. This material provides essential context for understanding Jewish history and the broader historical background of the region.

Hadar Susskind, 1/26/2026 · Critical Perspectives on Israel & Palestine invites participants into serious, pluralistic engagement with sharply different analyses and visions for the future of Israel/Palestine. We examine the moral and political frameworks that shape those visions. This session features Hadar Susskind, president and CEO of New Jewish Narrative, a national Jewish organization working to build a values-driven story about Israel/Palestine in American Jewish life. He brings a diaspora-grounded political lens to questions of peace, security, and justice today—how narratives shape policy, how coalitions are built, and what concrete choices communities can make when “business as usual” no longer feels tenable.