Limmud Bay Area Experience 2015: Full Schedule

3:00pm PDT

Twisted Tales From the Tanach

One of my favorite books as a teenager was Twisted Tales from Shakespeare (Richard Armour) in which the classic texts were filled with humorous 20th century additions, edits and storyline revisions. Similarly, our Jewish texts are filled with stories of heroes/heroines, who, depending on the narrator, challenge us to either "advocate" on their behalf, or legitimize "hugging and wrestling." Parashat Chukat is exemplary in its demonstration of the Torah’s fickleness in its portrayal of who is Jewish hero. We will look at a number of images from our texts and history where "the spin" serves agendas of both authors, interpreters and recipients.

Track Lead

Michal Morris Kamil

Educator, Student Rabbi, Adat Chaverim, AJRCA

An original of Limmud Bay Area, Michal is a rabbinic student at AJRCA in LA. She has served Jewish communities locally and internationally in the fields of education, organizational capacity building, and Jewish and Israel programming and events planning. Her areas of specializations... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2015 3:00pm - 4:10pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Texts and Ancient Wisdom

4:30pm PDT

One Breath at a Time - Practicing Jewish Mindfulness Meditation

This session is geared toward beginners in meditation and those new to Jewish mindfulness meditation. Yes, there is a meditation tradition within Judaism. We will learn what Jewish mindfulness meditation is as well as practice different meditation techniques. There will be a Jewish mindfulness teaching, instructions about how to meditate and we will have a short meditation sit. Experienced meditators are welcome to join us, but the session will be geared toward beginners. If you've always wondered what it would be like to meditate Jewishly, come join us!

Presenters

Judy Fisher

Judy Fisher loves sharing the gift of meditation. Professionally, she was a technical writer and teacher for more than 20 years in the high tech world. During that time, she also taught Hebrew to children and adults. Judy moved to the Bay Area with her family about 5 years ago and... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2015 4:30pm - 5:40pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Body - Mind - Spirit

9:20pm PDT

A Constitution for Israel

Is the State of Israel fulfilling its mission as declared in its Declaration of Independence, and why does Israel lack a constitution? This session will look at the democratic character of the State of Israel and the complex question surrounding a proposed Israeli constitution. It will examine how Israel can successfully balance its promise of maintaining a Jewish character, with its obligation to comply with democratic standards.

Presenters

Gilad Kariv

Rabbi Gilad Kariv is the Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). He founded the Young Adult Leadership Forum which he headed for three years. Rabbi Kariv previously served as the Associate Director of the Israel Religious Action Center... Read More →

Friday June 26, 2015 9:20pm - 10:30pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Israel

8:45am PDT

Traditional Services with Mechitzah

Presenters

Joel Landau

Rabbi, Education Advocate

Rabbi Joel Landau is the Rabbi of Adath Israel Congregation in San Francisco. He studied with both the Rabbi of Jerusalem’s Old City, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, and the former Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Shlomo Goren obm. Joel was ordained by the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem, has... Read More →

Saturday June 27, 2015 8:45am - 11:00am PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Services

2:00pm PDT

Mussar - A Spiritual Practice for Equanimity, and More!

Do you often feel unsettled and thrown off by the events and interactions around you? Come learn some new tools, as offered by the Mussar tradition, for gaining more equanimity in life. Mussar is a Jewish practice that creates an environment which brings unconscious impediments to light and replaces them with a consciousness of living a more mindful life. You will leave this session understanding yourself better and with specific tools to help you navigate the daily slippery slope of being in relation to others, and the feelings and actions that go along with those encounters. (If you studied Mussar with Rabbi Daria last year at Limmud, this year we will be looking at a different attribute/middah.) Please come learn about this revolutionary, yet simple, spiritual practice.

Presenters

Daria Jacobs-Velde

Rabbi Daria Jacobs-Velde is the Co-Founder and Co-Rabbi of ZMANIM, a new community in West Sonoma County that explores and celebrates connections between Judaism and the natural world. She engages Judaism’s potential through chant, teaching Hebrew, teaching the spiritual and ethical... Read More →

Saturday June 27, 2015 2:00pm - 3:10pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Body - Mind - Spirit, Social Justice - Ethics - Environment

3:30pm PDT

'A Rose By Any Other Name:' Sacred Texts in Translation

What happens when sacred texts are translated into new languages - or into new media? In this text-based session, we will study rabbinic texts that deal with the question of translating sacred texts, and then apply these ideas to the work of Sefaria and other organizations that attempt to "translate" Torah for a broader audience.

Presenters

Sara Wolkenfeld

Chief Learning Officer, Sefaria

Sara Wolkenfeld is the Chief Learning Officer at Sefaria, an online database and interface for Jewish texts. She is passionate about expanding Jewish textual knowledge for all. Sara is also a fellow at the David Hartman Center at the Hartman Institute of North America.

Saturday June 27, 2015 3:30pm - 4:40pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Texts and Ancient Wisdom

5:00pm PDT

Shabbat Sit-Jewish Meditation

There is no better day in the week than Shabbat to focus on just being and not doing. But slowing down and being able to be present for the day does not always come naturally. This session helps us to achieve that with a period of mindful meditation, Jewish chant and a mindfulness lesson from the week's parsha. Several dozen folks do this every week at Kol Shofar. Experienced meditators as well as those with no experience are all welcome.

Presenters

Larry Yermack

Meditation Teacher

Larry has been teaching Jewish Meditation for over 10 years. He co-created and now co-leads the Center for Jewish Spirituality at Congregation Kol Shofar in Tiburon, CA. The Center offers a wide variety of Jewish Spiritual practices that include meditation, alternative prayer opportunities... Read More →

Saturday June 27, 2015 5:00pm - Sunday June 28, 2015 6:10pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Body - Mind - Spirit

7:50pm PDT

New Moon and Full Moon as Holidays of Earth Preservation

How can we live closer to the rhythms of the natural world? Like our ancestors, we can become moon watchers! Through the study of classic and contemporary texts we will consider the rhythm and rules of the Sabbath and how it conflicts with that other Jewish rhythm, the moon, which determines Rosh Hodesh and the annual holidays. We will conclude by considering whether these new and full moon observances might be a template for a secular rhythm of Earth Days.

Presenters

Ron H. Feldman

Dr. Ron H. Feldman is a Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union and has taught Jewish studies at various Bay Area universities. His main fields of research and publication include Jewish time and calendars, Jewish mysticism, and the German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Are... Read More →

Saturday June 27, 2015 7:50pm - 9:00pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Social Justice - Ethics - Environment

1:20pm PDT

Wicked-pedia: Is the Democratization of Knowledge a Good Thing?

Because of the internet, more information is available to us than in any previous generation. But is this a blessing, or are there problems with the proliferation of knowledge? Using a biblical and a Talmudic model we will examine what it means to learn and to teach in the modern world.

Presenters

David Levin-Kruss

Rabbi David Levin-Kruss directs special programs and teaches at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. He holds a B.A. and Teachers' Certification in English Literature and Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University, attended Pardes, and has rabbinic ordination from the... Read More →

Sunday June 28, 2015 1:20pm - 2:30pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Texts and Ancient Wisdom

2:50pm PDT

Ten Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Sefaria

This session is a practical introduction to how Sefaria works and what you can do with it. We'll be highlighting new features and workflows that may be unfamiliar even to people with Sefaria experience. We'll take you through finding and learning texts on Sefaria; exploring interconnections and commentaries; building Source sheets from scratch, collaboration or by remixing other people's work; advanced searching; and using our link explorer.

Presenters

Brett Lockspeiser

Chief Technology Officer, Sefaria

Brett is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Sefaria, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating the future of Torah. Sefaria makes Torah texts available online for free and creates tools to help people learn and explore. Brett lives in San Francisco, California.

Sunday June 28, 2015 2:50pm - 4:00pm PDT
Dry Creek Valley SC2066

Innovation