ELI talks is proud to announce the next cohort of speakers presenting their “inspired Jewish ideas” this fall. ELI talks is dedicated to capturing, sharing, and nurturing conversation around new and compelling ideas of Jewish religious engagement, Jewish literacy, and Jewish identity with Israel and peoplehood at the core.

“ELI talks has established a reputation as the starting point for inspiring dialogue and ideas that encourage investment in Jewish life,” says Andrés Spokoiny, President and CEO of The Jewish Funders Network. “This evening will be no exception.”

This round was the program’s most competitive yet, with over 100 submissions coming in from around the globe, all evaluated by a committee of content experts, video specialists, and representatives from partnering organizations. The following are the speakers selected to deliver their talks the evenings of Oct 27, 28, and 29 at The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Feinberg Auditorium. (Note that all talk titles are subject to change.)

Speaking on “Applied Jewish Wisdom,” presented in partnership with Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, are:

Rabbi Shai Held, “Compassion and the Heart of Jewish Spirituality”

Nell Mahgel-Friedman, “The Mitzvah of Buying Local”

Yoshi Silverstein, “Community by Design: The Torah of Place”

Speaking on Judaism and Science, presented in partnership with Sinai and Synapses and The John Templeton Foundation, are:

Dr. Samuel Abramovich, “Finding the A-Ha’s in Jewish Education: The Symbiosis Between Jewish Education and Learning Science”

Rabbi Daniel Brenner, “Baboons, Bonobos, and Bar Mitzvah Boys: How New Insights in Evolutionary Biology are Changing What it Means to be Male”

Rabbi Michael Mellen, “The Universe as Torah”

Speaking on The Value(s) of Jewish Philanthropy, presented in partnership with the Jewish Funders Network, the Jewish Teen Funders Network, and the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation are:

Joseph Gitler, “Philanthropic Collaboration: Israel and the Diaspora”

Felicia Herman, “The Transformative Power of Giving Circles”

Mamie Kanfer Stewart, “Teach an Organization to Fish: Maimonides’ Ladder for Jewish Organizations”

Lisa Lepson, “Patient Capital: Bucking the Metrics Trend and Investing for the Long-Term”

Yossi Prager, “The Selfish Side of Philanthropy: What’s In It for Me?”

Yael Simon, “The Business of Giving: Sitting on Both Sides of the Funding Table”

Juliana Rodriguez, “Teens with Vision”

Speaking on “The Aleph Bet of Israel Education: At the Heart of Jewish Identity Building,” presented in partnership with The iCenter for Israel Education, are:

Miriam Brosseau, “If You Go, I’ll Go: Ahavat Yisrael”

Udi Krauss, “The Language of Hebrew, Music, and Education”

Shalom Orzach, “Timely Issues and Timeless Lessons”

Dr. Zohar Raviv, “Unity is Not Uniformity”

Jon Adam Ross, “You Call THAT Art?”

The filmings of these talks are free to attend, but reservations are required. Click here to RSVP for Oct. 27, “Applied Jewish Wisdom” and “Judaism and Science”*;

here for Oct. 28, “The Value(s) of Jewish Philanthropy”;

and here for Oct. 29, “The Aleph Bet of Israel Education: At the Heart of Jewish Identity-Building.”

All filmings will begin with a light reception at 6pm, followed by talks beginning promptly at 7pm.

*Please note that Rabbi Shai Held will be presenting on Wednesday night with the speakers from the Israel education series.



ELI talks is a project of The AVI CHAI Foundation, produced by the team at See3.

Please direct inquiries to Miriam Brosseau, ELI talks Program Director: miriam at see3 dot com.