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Join Alan Smason, the current president of the American Jewish Press Association, former president Marshall Weiss from Dayton, Ohio and Sue Fishkoff from San Francisco as they discuss the current state of Jewish journalism in an uncertain future as well as its ethical challenges.

Dr Sasha Senderovich, author of “How the Soviet Jew Was Made”, explains how critical events prior to, during and after the breakup of the Soviet Union, including the Holocaust, Soviet anti-Semitism, and the Ukraine War, have all shaped Soviet Jews.

Joe Rosenstein, author of “Reflections on Pirkei Avot,” will review teachings in Pirkei Avot that deal with issues of reward and punishment. He will discuss how the sages tried to deal with these issues- who will be rewarded or punished and how.

Sarah Birnbach discusses why she committed to say Kaddish for her father twice a day for 11 months, and the many obstacles – spiritual, emotional and logistical - she overcame, including finding a synagogue in every city and town she visited for her work.

Our annual Max Ticktin Memorial Latke-Hamentashen Debate is always a very popular event! Watch our humorous moderator and distinguished panelists conduct a scholarly, but absurdist symposium that addresses the eternal conundrum: “Which are better, latkes or hamentashen?”

How should Jews pray? The ancient sages struggled with some of the same concerns about prayer that we have today. David Sieradzki will lead us in studying juicy passages (in translation) from Mishnah Berachot ("blessings") and other sources that focus on how, when, and why we pray.

A 3-session class about the lives and music of celebrated Jewish songwriters George & Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen, and more. The ever-popular instructor and musician Seth Kibel will include recordings and live performances. Recordings of each session will be available if you miss a session.