Ben GreenfieldPassionate about building the next great wave of Jewish ideas and celebration, as a Wexner Fellowship awardee, is pursuing rabbinical ordination at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Ben is the author of From Freedom to Responsibility: A Shavuot Haggadah, Human for a Day: The Yom k’Purim Makhzor, and Burying the Past: A Yom HaShoah Funeral, three alternative guides to engaged holiday celebration. Committed to seekers and thinkers of all kinds, Ben has led Jewish community at the Brandeis Collegiate Institute, the Szarvas Fellowship, and the Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Ben lives in NYC’s Upper West Side Moishe House, and loves a good game of squash.

Sessionstitel: Must Prayer Be Directed At God?

Presentatör(er): Ben Greenfield

Sessionsbeskrivning: We explore three traditional Talmudic texts that offer unabashedly untraditional takes on the nature of Jewish prayer, and where (and if) God makes an appearance therein.  Ultimately, it is hoped that these Talmudic precedents serve as more than just objects of curiosity, but invitations to a more sincere and daring prayer life.

60 min

 

Sessionstitel: Can An Artist Be A Parshan?

Presentatör(er): Ben Greenfield

Sessionsbeskrivning: While Rashi and other rabbis were *writing* their respective Torah commentaries, some medieval Jews were *drawing* their own examples of Biblical interpretation. Uncover a colorful tradition of “visual Torah commentary” in illuminated Hebrew manuscripts, based on manuscripts housed at Oxford’s legendary Bodleian Library.

60 min

 

Sessionstitel: How The Jewish Tradition Deals With Dementia

Presentatör(er): Ben Greenfield

Sessionsbeskrivning: The painful reality of dementia in parents and teachers was as much a part of Talmudic life as it is for so many today. Drawing on Talmudic legend, modern journalism, and halacha (Jewish law), we will assess how Jewish tradition has responded to, portrayed, and even embraced dementia.

60 min

OBS: Denna session spelas in för tv-sändning på utbildningsradion