Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Valley Beit Midrash
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Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Jewish Ideas to Change the World delivers thought-provoking content by leading Jewish thinkers with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. It is produced by Valley Beit Midrash. Valley Beit Midrash (VBM) is dedicated to social justice as driven by Torah ethics. VBM's mission is to improve lives through Jewish learning, direct action, and leadership development. Listen to VBM's other podcasts: • Social Justice in the Parsha (weekly divrei Torah by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz) • Pearls of Jewish Wisdom on Living with Kindness (Rabbi Shmuly's class series) Stay Connected: • Website: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org Attended virtual programs live by becoming a member for just $18 per month: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/become-a-member

  1. Shimon & Levi and the Massacre of Shechem

    3 DAYS AGO

    Shimon & Levi and the Massacre of Shechem

    A virtual event presentation by Ethan Davidson About The Event:  Inspired by his own experiences and the tragic events of October 7, 2023, And They Arose Early To Do Sexual Violence: My Personal Mirror of Torah by Ethan Daniel Davidson challenges readers to consider how ancient narratives parallel humanity’s ongoing struggle with violence and the responses to such violence; be they measured and justified, or disproportionate and unjustifiable. We will explore the story of Dinah using excerpts from Davidson’s latest book and discuss parallels to the Israel/Gaza war. *Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GpZ4gCZ5LIsbYUpNtTCuDOvxEONc-Bra/view About The Speaker:  Author, musician, and philanthropist Ethan Daniel Davidson has authored two books, recorded 15 albums, and toured throughout North America and Europe. In 2005, he left his touring life and returned to his Detroit roots, where he helped run the William Davidson Foundation established by his late father, Bill Davidson. The private family foundation strives to fulfill its founder’s legacy by advancing the economic, cultural, and civic vitality of Southeast Michigan, the State of Israel, and the Jewish community for future generations. ★ Support this podcast ★

    56 min
  2. Breaking Out of Personal and Family Patterns of Behavior: Esther as a Model of Growth and Courage

    17 MAR

    Breaking Out of Personal and Family Patterns of Behavior: Esther as a Model of Growth and Courage

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi David Jaffe The event was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel  About The Event:  According to 20th Century Mussar master, Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, much of our behavior is determined by past choices, habits, education, and family culture. Patterns of behavior can be passed down from generation to generation, for better or for worse. The Purim and Pesach season offers us Jewish spiritual technologies for seeing and breaking out of these patterns. This session will explore Esther as a model of facing and overcoming limiting behaviors that offer us a model for the movement towards freedom that begins during these days of Purim to Pesach. *Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Jv87xTA2jAdWZ6_ABDn_J-T0CZB6uwH/view?usp=sharing About The Speaker:  Rabbi David Jaffe is the Founder and Executive Director of Kirva, a national education and training organization that integrates Mussar and Chassidic wisdom and practice with the work of social change.  He is the author of Changing the World from the Inside Out, and the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. ★ Support this podcast ★

    48 min
  3. Behind the Veil: Esther’s Subtle Genius in the Purim Story

    17 MAR

    Behind the Veil: Esther’s Subtle Genius in the Purim Story

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Shalhevet Cahana The event was co-hosted by Beth El Phoenix About The Event:  Often celebrated as the one who saved the Jewish people from certain downfall, how exactly did Esther do it? A close reading of the text indicates that Esther’s true brilliance lies not only in her bravery to even attempt it on the pain of death but also in her deft and magnificently subtle manipulation of events. This class will analyze the layers of Esther’s calculated, cunning, and clever strategy. Far from relying on chance alone, she masterfully cast doubt on Haman, transforming him from a trusted advisor into a suspect in the eyes of King Achashverosh. We will explore how her subtle moves and reliance on Divine providence turned an otherwise “innocent” Haman into the architect of his downfall, revealing Esther’s genius as a leader and tactician. About The Speaker:  Rabbanit Shalhevet Cahana teaches Judaic Studies at the Jewish Leadership Academy, a groundbreaking Jewish Day School in Miami.  She serves as the Community Scholar at Beth Jacob Congregation in Oakland, CA – a position she has held for seven years. She has delivered shiurim (classes) and drashot (sermons) to more than 75 synagogues and campuses in North America, France, and Israel. Additionally, she is a Kallah Teacher, trained by Merkaz Eden in Yerushalayim, guiding couples in Mikvah and Shalom Bayit (marital harmony) in the months preceding their wedding. Rabbanit Cahana previously studied at Maimonides School, Migdal Oz, and Stern College for Women and their advanced Gemara program called the Graduate Program for Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS). ★ Support this podcast ★

    49 min
  4. God is in the Details: Jewish Law in Search of the Ideal

    7 MAR

    God is in the Details: Jewish Law in Search of the Ideal

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About The Event:  Why is Jewish Law important and relevant for us today? Written and oral Torah has been an ongoing adaptive legal system for over 3500 years. Its central institutions have been Justice and Loving Kindness, the Sabbath, and the Temple system. This talk will explore the ideals that have guided and still guide Jewish law in its search to fulfill the Divine will. About The Speaker:  Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph.D teaches at the Law Faculty of Humboldt University in Berlin and is an adjunct at Fordham Law School in New York. He also taught and consulted with Jewish leadership groups across North America for many years. Rabbi Blanchard is the co-author of Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care, as well as academic articles, parables, and stories. ★ Support this podcast ★

    58 min
  5. The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom

    28 FEB

    The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Adina Allen The event was co-sponsored by:  About The Event:  Join us for an inspiring book talk with artist and educator Rabbi Adina Allen, author of The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom. Creativity offers us a portal to transformation, spiritual connection, and revelation. It is there for us when we feel stuck, divided, or disconnected. When we bring our creativity to the Torah, we can surface new and potent insights that can support us in times of challenge. In her highly anticipated first book, Rabbi Adina Allen delivers a paradigm-shifting and powerfully accessible reading of the Torah as a contemporary guidebook for creativity and invites us to rethink and transform ourselves, our lives, and the world around us. About The Speaker:  Rabbi Adina Allen is a spiritual leader, writer, and educator who grew up in an art studio where she learned firsthand the power of creativity for connecting to self and the Sacred. She is co-founder and creative director of Jewish Studio Project (JSP), an organization that is seeding a future in which every person is connected to their creativity as a force for healing, liberation, and social transformation. Based on the work of her mother, renowned art therapist Pat B. Allen, Adina developed the Jewish Studio Process, a methodology for unlocking creativity, which she has brought to thousands of activists, educators, artists, and clergy across the country. A national media contributor, popular speaker, and workshop leader, Adina’s writing can be found in scholarly as well as mainstream publications and on her website at www.adina-allen.com. *This podcast is sponsored by the Jewish Tuition Organization, known as the JTO. For more information about the Jewish Tuition Organization or to donate* ★ Support this podcast ★

    57 min
  6. Sacred Soundtrack: The Poetry and Music of Piyut from Jewish Communities Around the World

    25 FEB

    Sacred Soundtrack: The Poetry and Music of Piyut from Jewish Communities Around the World

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event:  Composed and sung in different lands from the 3rd or 4th century CE on, piyut is the sung sacred poetry that has accompanied individuals, families, and entire communities in the spiritual journey of life throughout Jewish history and which represents the core of the Jewish people’s spiritual world. Piyutim are the sacred songs that have made the experience of Shabbat and the Jewish holidays beautiful and holy, both at the synagogue and around the table at home, as well as lifecycle celebrations: the birth of a child, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and marriage. *Sources: https://www.nli.org.il/en/discover/music/jewish-music/piyut/piyut About The Speaker:  Roly Matalon is the Senior Rabbi and Rosh Kehillah (Head of the Congregation) of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was educated in Buenos Aires, Montreal, Jerusalem, and New York City. After his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1986, Rabbi Matalon came to BJ and helped revitalize the congregation and turn its focus to prayer, learning, service, social justice, and interfaith cooperation. Rabbi Matalon’s visionary leadership has had a profound impact on revitalizing Jewish synagogue life in the US and Israel. His involvement in the New York, Jewish, and Israeli communities is broad and deep. Rabbi Matalon is a founding co-director of the Global Piyut Music project, a partnership with Invitation to Piyut in Israel, which is dedicated to the dissemination of liturgical music from Jewish communities around the world. A student of Arabic and Turkish music, Rabbi Matalon plays the oud (Arabic lute). ★ Support this podcast ★

    50 min
  7. The Midwives' Escape: From Egypt to Jericho - An Interview with Maggie Anton

    19 FEB

    The Midwives' Escape: From Egypt to Jericho - An Interview with Maggie Anton

    Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with author Maggie Anton.  Maggie Anton is an award-winning author of historical fiction, a Talmud scholar, and an expert in Jewish women's history. Her novels include the Rashi's Daughters trilogy; Rav Hisda's Daughter: Apprentice (a National Jewish Book Award finalist) and its sequel, Enchantress; and The Choice: A Novel of Love, Faith, and the Talmud, which is a cross between midrash and fan fiction inspired by Chaim Potok's early novels. She also won a Gold Ben Franklin Award in the religion category for Fifty Shades of Talmud: What the First Rabbis Had to Say about You-Know What, a lighthearted in-depth tour of sexuality within the Talmud. ★ Support this podcast ★

    24 min
  8. Avraham: What is the Source of His Faith?

    14 FEB

    Avraham: What is the Source of His Faith?

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbanit Batya Hefter About The Event:  Avraham is the father of faith for all monotheistic religions. What was so unique about Avraham that God should choose him? To answer this question, we’ll consider the Torah’s narrative, then learn a classic midrash and finally delve into an innovative and surprising Hasidic insight. Learning about Avraham’s spiritual journey may open the door to learning about our own. *Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hMqF7wECfUuQGvtZfbI3WhGEnRFgN_s4/edit About The Speaker:  Rabbanit Batya Hefter is the founder of Lev Nachon – Center for Transformative Torah, transmitting the Hasidic masters teachings into a vital ethical and spiritual path for the modern seeking Jew. Batya is completing the manuscript of her first forthcoming book, Opening the Window: Hasidic Readings for Life – The Teachings of Rabbi Ya’akov Leiner of Ishbitz-Radzyn, and she just released her for song, entitled L’David Hashem Ori. ★ Support this podcast ★

    47 min
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    About

    Jewish Ideas to Change the World delivers thought-provoking content by leading Jewish thinkers with diverse perspectives and backgrounds. It is produced by Valley Beit Midrash. Valley Beit Midrash (VBM) is dedicated to social justice as driven by Torah ethics. VBM's mission is to improve lives through Jewish learning, direct action, and leadership development. Listen to VBM's other podcasts: • Social Justice in the Parsha (weekly divrei Torah by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz) • Pearls of Jewish Wisdom on Living with Kindness (Rabbi Shmuly's class series) Stay Connected: • Website: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org Attended virtual programs live by becoming a member for just $18 per month: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/become-a-member

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