Jewish Ideas to Change the World

Valley Beit Midrash
  • 4.9 (29)
  • Judaism
  • Updated Daily

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. 2d ago

    What Does the Mishnah Teach Us About the People Who Wrote It?

    A virtual event presentation by Rabba Aliza Libman Baronofsky The class was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel. About The Event: The Mishnah was written during a time period that included the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kochba Revolt. The 63 tractates of the Mishnah include the rabbis’ origin story for rabbinic Judaism and many clues about the world it was written in. We’ll explore Mishnahs that give us explicit information about the early rabbinic period as well as hints about the groundbreaking changes happening in the Jewish world at the time. *Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-XZetmWV3B5xwdGqpuD_iMMCIn2N0BgmC4sLL0XsO4Y/edit?usp=sharing About The Speaker: Rabba Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a career educator who teaches Jewish text and mathematics at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. In the summer, she works as a teacher and Rabba at Camp Yavneh in Northwood, NH. She is the host of the podcast “Mishna Accomplished.” ★ Support this podcast ★

    What Does the Mishnah Teach Us About the People Who Wrote It?

  2. 3d ago

    Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Israelism

    A virtual presentation by Dr. Marc Dollinger The event is co-sponsored by Temple Solel About The Event: One of the thorniest questions in contemporary American Jewish life, the boundaries between anti-Israelism, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism are now the subject of university policy debates as well as proposed state and federal action. This presentation offers historical background on each category, outlining the points of debate in this highly contentious subject. About The Speaker: Dr. Marc Dollinger holds the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University. Dr. Dollinger currently serves on the executive board of the Union for Reform Judaism. He is also board president of URJ Camp Newman. Professor Dollinger has spoken about his research with the CEO of the NAACP on CNN as well as the CNN podcast “Silence Is Not an Option,” the PBS docu-series Black and Jews: An Interwoven Alliance, the NFL Network, ESPN, and Germany’s National Public Radio. Just for fun, Dr. Dollinger helped actress Helen Hunt learn about her Jewish roots on the prime-time NBC show, “Who Do You Think You Are?” ★ Support this podcast ★

    Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Israelism

  3. 4d ago

    Smashing Idols: From the Patriarchs to the Present

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Marc Gitler About The Event: From Abraham shattering his father’s idols to the challenges we face today, the Jewish tradition has always called us to question what our society holds sacred. Rabbi Gitler explores how the ancient practice of “smashing idols” speaks directly to our modern moment: the false certainties, distractions, and misplaced values that shape contemporary life. Together we’ll draw on Torah, commentary, and Jewish thought to ask what idols we might need to smash today. About The Speaker: Rabbi Marc Gitler serves as Senior Jewish Educator for Valley Beit Midrash and is the visiting Rabbi of Aish SanDiego. A recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, he was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He founded Fast for Feast and lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife Sarah and their four children. ★ Support this podcast ★

    Smashing Idols: From the Patriarchs to the Present

  4. 6d ago

    A Rashi on the Declaration of Independence

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Jack Riemer About The Event: In this class, we will compare and contrast the Declaration of Independence with Jewish statements that are similar to it and explore how Rashi might have interpreted some of the key phrases in the Declaration. About The Speaker: Rabbi Jack Riemer is now retired after serving as the spiritual leader of congregations in Ohio, California, and Florida. He is the author of six books of Jewish thought and of a three-volume commentary on the High Holy Day prayerbook. ★ Support this podcast ★

    A Rashi on the Declaration of Independence

  5. Aug 31

    The World is Informational: Kabbalah and AI

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill The event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ About The Event: The 21st-century Kabbalistic approaches to AI offer optimistic, utopian approaches based on the writings of Sefer Yetzirah and Rabbi Isaac Luria. Secular innovators of AI at MIT who see the world as informational and AI as creativity; authors in Jewish thought who see the world as the Lurianic network; and rabbis who treat the new informational era as the unfolding of the divine mind and even a messianic fulfillment. About The Speaker: Rabbi Prof. Alan Brill is the Cooperman/Ross Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University. Brill is an expert on Jewish thought and interfaith relations. He is the author of many books, including Judaism and World Religions: Christianity, Islam, and Eastern Religions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), Judaism and Other Religions: Models of Understanding (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). Brill received a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He was a keynote speaker at the R-20 conference held in Indonesia. This research produced his recent volume, Rabbi on the Ganges: A Jewish-Hindu Encounter (Lexington Books, 2019). His recently published book is A Jewish Trinity: Contemporary Christian Theology Through Jewish Eyes (Fortress Press, 2025). ★ Support this podcast ★

    The World is Informational: Kabbalah and AI

  6. Aug 28

    Beyond Either/Or: Jewish Nestedness Can Heal a Fractured World

    A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Natan Margalit About The Event: Either/Or dilemmas such as Universal versus Tribal, Us versus Them, Culture versus Nature, and more only keep us stuck in conflict and confusion. But Judaism’s core mode of thought is not either/or; it’s nested, fractal, and leads us to the kinds of both/and solutions that we need today. We’ll explore the ways that Jewish wisdom of nestedness in our traditions, rituals, and texts can lead us to hold the complexity of Jewishness and universal values, of human progress and caring for the natural world, and of finding the balance between individual freedom and communal bonds. About The Speaker: Natan Margalit was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. As a young adult, he lived for twelve years in Israel and received rabbinic ordination at The Jerusalem Seminary in 1990. He earned a Ph.D. in Talmud from UC Berkeley in 2001. Natan has taught at Bard College, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College. He is currently the Dean of Faculty and a member of the Va’ad (steering committee and core faculty) of the Aleph Ordination Program, and serves as chair of its Rabbinic Texts department. Natan is the author of The Pearl and the Flame: A Journey into Jewish Wisdom and Ecological Thinking. He is the founder of Organic Torah, fostering holistic thinking about Judaism, the environment, and society, which is a program of Aleph: Alliance for Renewal. ★ Support this podcast ★

    Beyond Either/Or: Jewish Nestedness Can Heal a Fractured World

  7. Aug 17

    The Torah’s Ritual Response to an Unsolved Murder

    A virtual class presentation by Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Or Tzion About The Event: Exploring Deuteronomy 21:1–9 and its rich history of interpretation. This powerful passage appears in that week’s Torah reading, offering a timely opportunity to engage with it more deeply. About The Speaker: Martin Lockshin is a University Professor Emeritus at York University and lives in Jerusalem. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and his rabbinic ordination in Israel while studying in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook. Among Lockshin’s publications is his four-volume translation and annotation of Rashbam’s commentary on the Torah. ★ Support this podcast ★

    The Torah’s Ritual Response to an Unsolved Murder

  8. Aug 14

    Order in the Court! Cross-Examining Fate, Forgiveness, and Forever

    An event presentation by Rabbi Ian (Haim) Pear The event is co-sponsored by Temple Chai About The Event: What is life’s most important lesson? Is true forgiveness possible? Can humans really change? If God is kind, why terrorize humanity with the fear of death? Join us for a fascinating book talk on The Day the Devil Went on Trial by Rabbi Ian (Haim) Pear. Praised by Dr. Russ Roberts—President of Shalem College, Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, and host of the popular podcast EconTalk—as “a wise and entertaining exploration of the challenges of being human … profound and provocative,” the book offers fresh insights into these timeless questions. In this engaging talk, Rabbi Pear brings the book’s ideas to life with wisdom, humor, and insight. Covering a presentation in Jerusalem, the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) remarked that it was “amazing how the topic of death and dying could be presented with such humor and insight.” About The Speaker: Ian (or Haim) Pear is a Rabbi, Special Envoy for Jerusalem’s English-speaking community, and aspirational farmer.  He is the founder of Shir Hadash, a popular Jerusalem-based synagogue, Educational Institute, and Community Center, as well as a lecturer on Israeli and Jewish law, environmentalism in Israel, and Spiritual Diplomacy.  He previously worked for Laster and Goldman, an Israeli environmental law firm, as the Director of Hillel at Tel Aviv University, and as a Holocaust legal claims researcher for the JDC.  Rabbi Pear received his ordination from Yeshiva University and holds law degrees from Hebrew University (LLM, with a focus on Mishpat Ivri) and NYU School of Law (JD, with a concentration in international law), and a degree in International Law, Politics and Security from Georgetown University’s School for Foreign Service.  He has authored three books, including his most recent novel, The Day the Devil went on Trial, whose contents are the focus of this talk. ★ Support this podcast ★

    Order in the Court! Cross-Examining Fate, Forgiveness, and Forever
See All (1.1K)

4.9
out of 5
29 Ratings

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

Information

You Might Also Like