Valley Beit Midrash

Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, , the founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute (elijah-interfaith.org/), presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Luther was an Anti-Semite – What Does That Mean For Us?" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Martin Luther shaped western culture. He also contributed to antisemitism, eventually inspiring the Third Reich. Is there another way of dealing with this issue than simply condemning Luther? I will suggest that what went wrong with Luther can go wrong with how any member of one religion sees another. Luther is a great teacher also in his failings. DONATE: www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/temple.chai twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, the founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute (http://elijah-interfaith.org/), presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Being Inspired by the Religious Geniuses of Other Faiths" before an audience at Congregation Beth Israel (www.cbiaz.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: Great personalities in religion are sources of inspiration. They allow us to see the best in religion. The category of Religious Genius has been developed in order to allow us to appreciate outstanding individuals across religions. Who is a religious genius? what are the qualities that make him or her special and how can these speak to everyone? DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit:
www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/
www.facebook.com/cbiaz 
twitter.com/VBMTorah
www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, interviews Rabbi Dr. Ethan Tucker, the Rosh Yeshiva of Hadar (https://www.hadar.org/) on the topic of "Halachic Process, Adaptation, & Relevance Today!" DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Professor Daniel Matt, translator of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, on the topic of "The Mystical Meaning of Torah." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Professor Daniel Matt, the translator of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Raising the Sparks: Finding God in the Material World" before an audience at The New Shul (thenewshul.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/2DdEamV For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/The-New-Shul-207398175969503/ twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "Good Starts," a free-use public domain song by Jingle Punks, courtesy of YouTube's Audio Library.

Professor Daniel Matt, the translator of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "How Kabbalah Reimagines God" before a VIP audience at The New Shul (thenewshul.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/The-New-Shul-207398175969503/ twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "Good Starts," a free-use public domain song by Jingle Punks, courtesy of YouTube's Audio Library.

Professor Daniel Matt, the translator of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Elijah the Prophet: The Jewish Superhero Who Never Died" before an audience at The New Shul (thenewshul.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/37sQLR5 For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/The-New-Shul-207398175969503/ twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "Good Starts," a free-use public domain song by Jingle Punks, courtesy of YouTube's Audio Library.

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, interviews Neshama Carlebach, a singer, songwriter, on the topic of "On Love & Healing Today!" DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, interviews Professor Noam Chomsky, linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist, on the topic of "Activism, Human Nature, & American Repentance." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Professor Zvi Zohar, Chauncey Stillman Professor of Sephardic Law and Ethics - Bar-Ilan University, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "We Were Strangers in Egypt: Our Attitude as Jews to non-Jewish Strangers" before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: The Torah only tells us how to relate to converts, leaving us with no instructions with regard to aliens/strangers. This lecture presents a textual analysis of Jewish approaches to understanding "the stranger" from ancient times until the current day. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP 
LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/2NYNJft For more info, please visit:
 www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/
 
twitter.com/VBMTorah
 www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Professor Zvi Zohar, Chauncey Stillman Professor of Sephardic Law and Ethics - Bar-Ilan University, presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "All Jews are Jews by Birth: Are Jews a Faith Community?" before an audience at Temple Solel (www.templesolel.org/) in Paradise Valley, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: A person born as a Jew remains a Jew, however s/he behaves. Surprisingly, this is stated in the Talmud only with regard to one kind of Jew: a former Gentile who became Jewish by the halakhic process of giyyur. Indeed, the Talmud says that such a person is like a newly-born (Jewish) child. We will read together sources that enable us to understand this view of giyyur as birth, and discuss the implications for our understanding of how the halakhic tradition understands Jewishness. DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP 
LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/33Tf4VM For more info, please visit:
 www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/
 
twitter.com/VBMTorah
 www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a publ

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, interviews Rabbi Menachem Creditor, the Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar-in-Residence at UJA-Federation New York, the founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence and a noted author, on the topic of "Eradicating Gun Violence in America." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash http://rabbicreditor.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/menachemcreditor

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Dr. Liz Shayne, a student at Yeshivat Maharat, on the topic of "Smart Assistants and Shabbat!" DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Dr. Liz Shayne, presents her Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Was The Golem Jewish? Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Jewish Identity" before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. DONATE: www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/2pkM4Yf For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/temple.chai twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Dr. Liz Shayne, presents her Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Rabbi Google: Jewish Law, the Internet, and the Power of Online Torah." before an audience at Temple Chai (www.templechai.com/) in Phoenix, AZ. DONATE: www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP LEARNING MATERIALS: https://bit.ly/36ZUJjP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/temple.chai twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Professor Jacob Ari Labendz, Clayman Assistant Professor of Judaic and Holocaust Studies and the director of the Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies at Youngstown State University (https://ysu.edu/) on the topic of "Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and New Directions." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP BUY THE BOOK: https://amzn.to/2qchtMH For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Professor Justin Cammy, director of Jewish studies at Smith College (www.smith.edu/academics/jewish-studies) presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Why Yiddish Matters" before an audience at Congregation Or Tzion (www.congregationortzion.org) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: What is the relationship between language and fate, homecomings and leave-takings, the commitment to art and a writer’s service to his community? We will explore these questions through the prism of Sutzkever, whom one scholar called “the last great Yiddish poet.” Justin Cammy, a leading world expert on Sutzkever, will introduce us to Sutzkever’s writings, from the beginning of his career in interwar Poland to his contributions to the cultural life of the Vilna Ghetto to his dedication to rebuilding Yiddish culture after the war in the first Hebrew city, Tel Aviv. Why does Sutzkever, and Yiddish, continue to matter, and what can we learn about ourselves by reading a great Jewish writer? DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info,

Professor Justin Cammy, director of the program in Jewish studies at Smith College (https://www.smith.edu/academics/jewish-studies) presents his Valley Beit Midrash lecture "Yiddishland: Then and Now" before an audience at the Jewish Worship Group in Surprise, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: How have Jews mapped the landscapes of Yiddish, both historically and into the present? What do various models of Yiddishland tell us about Jewish politics, culture, and self-identity, and how have they often functioned as utopian experiments or radical alternatives to existing realities? What do imaginings and experiments in Yiddishland tell us about Jewish power and powerlessness, diaspora politics, and the dynamism of Jewish cultural reinvention? DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ twitter.com/VBMTorah www.facebook.com/RabbiShmulyYanklowitz/ Music: "They Say" by WowaMusik, a public domain track from the YouTube Audio Library.

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash interviews Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT, ret.), on the topic of "Jewish Values & Public Service." DONATE: http://www.bit.ly/1NmpbsP For podcasts of VBM lectures, GO HERE: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash

Udi Goren, travel photographer, speaker, educator, and writer (www.israeltrailtalk.com/), presents his lecture "A Walk of the Land – A Photographic Journey of the Israel National Trail" before an audience at Congregation Beth Israel (www.cbiaz.org/) in Scottsdale, AZ. ABOUT THIS LECTURE: A personal crisis invoked by the 2014 war in Gaza motivated Udi to set out on a two and a half month journey through the Israel trail. The 700-mile long trek stretches Israel’s entire length. It is world-renowned as one of the world’s best and toughest long distance hikes. Udi will be taking you with him to experience Israel outside of the headlines and the friction and to hear first hand about his physical and mental journey from despair to a newly found hope. The people, the national monuments, the mountains, the creeks and the Israeli landscapes–you will encounter them all! DONATE: bit.ly/1NmpbsP UDI's PHOTOS: https://bit.ly/36IrAtn For more info, please visit: www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash/ www.facebook.com/cbiaz