HUC Connect Webinars: Season Two
02/01/2022 - 05/31/2022
About
Compelling Conversations at the Forefront of Jewish Learning
At the height of the pandemic, HUC Connect brought together those who love to learn. Over 30,000 participants from 55 countries joined us online to discover something new about Judaism and about themselves. We are thrilled to welcome you back for Season 2 of HUC Connect. Join us!
Join us for four stimulating lecture series with social and cultural influencers:
Arts and Culture: Experience the impact of Jewish material culture through the creativity of artists, composers, poets, architects, and writers who illuminate our Jewish heritage.
Civil Society: The Bamberger Lecture Series: Probe the pressing concerns of our civic life today, including race and identity, elections, prison reform, and religious voices on social justice issues.
(Re)Defining Allyship: Uncover the steps to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, women, and Jews of color, while confronting the hard work necessary we must face to move forward.
Religion: Explore the shared roots of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity and develop a deeper understanding that can foster interreligious relations today.
The schedule below is subject to change.
Registration
Agenda
01
Arts and Culture: Breathing the Air of Freedom
Arts and Culture: Breathing the Air of Freedom
Music and social justice unite in this program that focuses on rights and support of refugees in the United States and all over the world.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Lidiya Yankovskaya
22
Religion: Obligation, Social Justice, and Faith-Driven Reform
Religion: Obligation, Social Justice, and Faith-Driven Reform
Witness a preeminent voice in the prison reform sector discuss how religion inspires her work.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Rabbi Hilly Haber; moderator
Rev. George T. Chochos
Sister Helen Prejean CSJ
08
Religion: Natural Mystics
Religion: Natural Mystics
Discover how the lives and musical oeuvre of popular artists become synonymous with their respective faith practices, cultures, and countries.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Gordon Dale, Ph.D.
Joshua Holo, Ph.D.; moderator
Varun Soni, Ph.D.
15
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - Israel, American Jewry, and 45
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - Israel, American Jewry, and 45
HUC faculty and esteemed academics discuss the intricacies of American Jewish identity, Israel, and President Donald Trump.
Start
3:00 PM
End
4:00 PM
Speakers
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; moderator
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Saba Soomekh, Ph.D.
Steven Windmueller, Ph.D.
22
Arts and Culture: Finding Myself in Motel
Arts and Culture: Finding Myself in Motel
Join Adam Kantor in an exploration of his journey through Judaism as an American performer. Best known for the roles of Mark Cohen in the closing cast of Rent, Motel in the 2015 revival of Fiddler on the Roof, and as an original cast member in The Band's Visit, Kantor’s Jewish identity is closely connected to his voice and life on stage.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Adam Kantor
05
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - More than a Monolith
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - More than a Monolith
Experts meet at the nexus of diversity, faith, and American sociology to discuss how religious groups engage with identity and its intersection with race.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; moderator
Ilana Kaufman
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
12
Religion: Grief, Death, and Mortality: Honoring Tradition and Exploring New Perspectives
Religion: Grief, Death, and Mortality: Honoring Tradition and Exploring New Perspectives
What do religious traditions, including Judaism, have to say about the most pressing questions around mortality – both the eternal one and those unique to the world today.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Rabbi Elliott Dorff
Rabbi Melanie Levav
Reverend Dr. Marcos A. Miranda
26
(Re)Defining Allyship: LGBTQ+ Rights
(Re)Defining Allyship: LGBTQ+ Rights
The world of LGBTQ+ rights is changing before our very eyes. What challenges do we face, and how will we rise to the occasion?
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Joel Kushner, Ph.D.
Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener, D.Min, MAHL, M.Phil
03
Arts and Culture: Sacred Land: Israel Before and After Time
Arts and Culture: Sacred Land: Israel Before and After Time
Journey through Israel’s past and present by means of Torah text, historical context, and a camera with world-renowned, surrealist photographer, Ralph Gibson.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Jeremy Leigh
Joshua Holo, Ph.D.; moderator
Martin Cohen
Ralph Gibson
10
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - Reparations and Jewish Thought
Civil Society: The Dr. Fritz Bamberger Memorial Lecture Series - Reparations and Jewish Thought
There is no doubt America was built by enslaved people. Though many argue whether anything is owed to their descendants, Judaism strongly disagrees.
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; moderator
Rabbi Jonathan Crane, Ph.D.
31
(Re)Defining Allyship: Women in the Rabbinate
(Re)Defining Allyship: Women in the Rabbinate
50 years after HUC-JIR ordained the first woman rabbi in America, it’s time to assess progress. What have we achieved and what remains for us to accomplish?
Start
2:00 PM
End
3:00 PM
Speakers
Rabbi Denise L. Eger
Rabbi Sally Priesand
Speakers
Adam Kantor
Grammy and Emmy award-winning actor and singer
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; moderator
President, HUC-JIR
Gordon Dale, Ph.D.
Inaugural Dr. Jack Gottlieb Scholar in Jewish Music Studies at the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music; Assistant Professor of Jewish Musicology, HUC-JIR/New York
Jeremy Leigh
Coordinator of the Richard J. Scheuer Israel Seminar, HUC-JIR/Jerusalem
Joel Kushner, Ph.D.
Director, Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health; Director, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation; Director, Jeff Herman Virtual Resource Center for Sexual Orientation Issues in the Jewish Community, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles
Joshua Holo, Ph.D.; moderator
Dean, Jack H. Skirball Campus; Associate Professor of Jewish History, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles
Martin Cohen
Producer
Rabbi Denise L. Eger
Congregation Kol-Ami
Rabbi Elliott Dorff
Rector and Sol & Anne Dorff Distinguished Service Professor in Philosophy, American Jewish University
Rabbi Hilly Haber; moderator
Director of Social Justice Organizing and Education, Central Synagogue
Rabbi Jonathan Crane, Ph.D.
Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar of Bioethics and Jewish Thought at the Ethics Center, Emory University; Professor of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine; Professor of Religion, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Rabbi Melanie Levav
Shomer Collective, Founding Executive Director
Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener, D.Min, MAHL, M.Phil
Dr. Paul and Trudy Steinberg Chair in Human Relations; Founding Director, Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling, HUC-JIR/New York
Rabbi Sally Priesand
Rabbi Shirley Idelson, Ph.D.
Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program Director-designate
Ralph Gibson
American photographer
Rev. George T. Chochos
Senior Program Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice
Reverend Dr. Marcos A. Miranda
Founder and President of New York State Chaplain Task Force
Saba Soomekh, Ph.D.
Saba Soomekh, Ph.D., Associate Director, American Jewish Committee, Los Angeles
Steven Windmueller, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Jewish Communal Service, HUC-JIR/Los Angeles; The Impact of the Presidency of Donald Trump on American Jewry and Israel, Editor
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Speakers