Jewish Ideas to Change the World

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
The event was co-sponsored by Congregation Ner Tamid
Funded in part by a grant from the National Center to Encourage Judaism
About The Event:
As Jews, we spend a lot of time praying, but not a lot of time looking at the texts of our prayers for meaning and understanding. In this session, we will explore a method that will aim to deepen your own engagement with prayer through rigorous interpretation. We will examine questions such as: Can traditional prayer formulas express my own values/ideas about prayer? What do you do when you "disagree" with the prayer's content? How can one interpret the siddur in a grounded, traditional, yet creative way?
*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17K4LUOzBUMR_l3t1PKydEjpDCLMTmOdxUEp-1BfvP5o/edit?usp=sharing

About The Speaker:
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is President and CEO of the Hadar Institute. Elie has previously worked as a journalist, banker, and corporate fraud investigator. A graduate of Harvard College, he completed his doctorate in liturgy at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was also ordained. He received semikhah from his long-time teacher, Rav Daniel Landes. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and Dorot Fellow, Elie has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the top 50 rabbis in America. He is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us About Building Vibrant Jewish Communities and is completing a book on the Amidah.

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A virtual event presentation with Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer
Event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJ
About The Event:
Throughout Jewish history, there have been a series of individual attempts to organize Jewish communities towards conquering the Land of Israel and reinstalling Jewish sovereignty. Time and again, these attempts were turned down and declined by the masses. Why? Learning about the fascinating stories of a few individuals, we learn a valuable lesson about freedom and the slippery slope from redemption to messianism.
About The Speaker:
Jonnie Schnytzer is probably the only PhD in Jewish Philosophy, focusing on medieval kabbalah, who can say that he once beat the head of Israeli Naval Commandos in a swimming race. His dissertation focused on the scientific kabbalah of Rabbi Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi. Jonnie’s forthcoming book is about Ashkenazi’s Kabbalah as well as a critical edition of the kabbalist’s majestic commentary on Sefer Yesira. Jonnie is also the author of the Mossad thriller, The Way Back, which paints a picture of contemporary Israel. Jonnie also orchestrated the publishing of an English edition of ‘The Hitler Haggadah’, an important piece of Moroccan Jewish history from the Holocaust. Jonnie has also taken on several leadership roles in the Jewish world, including advisor to the CEO of Birthright and executive manager with StandWithUs. He lectures on a wide variety of topics relating to Judaism and Israel, especially about the untold stories and unspoken heroes of Jewish history. Jonnie is happily married, with four gorgeous little kids, lives in Israel, and thinks that Australian Rules Football is the greatest sport ever invented.

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A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Steven M. Bob

About The Event: 
The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the return to Jerusalem from the first exile in ancient Babylonia. These books contain the foundational ideas for our modern sense of Jewish identity and key elements of our Jewish lives. The public reading of the Torah begins with Ezra reading from the scroll before the community in Jerusalem. In these books we will meet the first people to think of themselves as Jews. Jewish holidays take shape at the beginning of this period, as does the Jewish calendar. Ezra and Nehemiah are the first biblical books to use the names of the months we use today, such as Elul and Kislev.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q44NR1z3HgJn2dhx0mvL4OPHxJl9rlU5/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=true

About The Speaker: 
Rabbi Steven M. Bob was Senior Rabbi of Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, IL, for 35 years. Rabbi Bob serves as a Guest faculty member at Wheaton College and as an Instructor at the Hebrew Seminary for the Hearing and the Deaf. He is a faculty leader at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. His newest book is When Judaism Began: Exploring the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah (2026). He is also the author of Go to Nineveh (2013) and Jonah and the Meaning of Our Lives (2016), and Ha’aretz named Rabbi Bob as one of the 36 American Jews who helped shape the 2008 Presidential election.

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Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz sits down with Mirabai Starr.
Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and interspiritual teacher. In 2020, she was honored on Watkins’ list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching philosophy, world religions, and a lifetime of practice, Mirabai shares her wisdom worldwide on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformational power of grief and loss. She has authored over a dozen books, including Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, Ordinary Mysticism, and renowned translations of sacred literature. 
Author of God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 
She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

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A hybrid event presentation featuring Reverend Terri Hobart, Imam Muhammad Kolila, and Rabbi Emily Hyatt, moderated by Ariel Nassau of VBM Denver.
The event was co-hosted with St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Downtown Denver Islamic Center, and Temple Emanuel Denver.
About The Event:
Faith leaders from across Denver come together to explore how their traditions guide responses to today's most pressing local issues - and how interfaith partnership strengthens our shared community.

About The Speakers:
Rev. Terri Hobart is a student and practitioner of mystical Christianity. She preaches love as the powerful, generative, life-giving force that pulsates through all of creation and us to transformation. She is passionate about leading St. Thomas out into our neighborhood to share the presence of Christ as we feed, heal, love, and stand with those in need. Her life and ministry are guided by the following core values: Seek the Sacred Everywhere, Speak and Act From Love, Cultivate Deep Relationships, Honor Creation, Prioritize Relationships, Live Sustainably, Be Grateful, Welcome Everyone, Promote Transparency, Speak Truth, Take Faithful Risks, Abide in Christ. Terri holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She shares her life with her beloved spouse, the Rev. Canon Vanessa Stickler Glass, who serves as the Canon for Transition Ministry for The Episcopal Church in Colorado. Before moving to Colorado, she served as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Woodland, California. She loves foraging, gardening, and feeding people. Together they have four adult children.
Imam Muhammad Kolila serves as the Imam at Masjid al-Shuhada’ Downtown Denver Islamic Center. Muhammad is a community leader and activist in education, charity, peacebuilding, interfaith partnerships, community development, project management, and spirituality. Muhammad has an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Denver and has a B.A. in Translation Studies and Linguistics. 
Rabbi Emily Hyatt serves as Senior Rabbi and CEO of Temple Emanuel Denver. Together with Senior Rabbi Elizabeth Sacks, she is the first woman to lead Temple Emanuel’s Reform Congregation in its 150–year history. Rabbi Hyatt joined the Temple Emanuel team in 2018. A proud Denver native (and Temple Emanuel preschool graduate), Rabbi Hyatt is deeply committed to Temple Emanuel, to the Denver Jewish community, and to the principles of Jewish Peoplehood, Pluralism, and Jewish community. She proudly serves on the boards of the Denver Jewish Day School, ADL Mountain States, and the Golda Meir House. She is a member of ATRA: Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative Advisory Council and is the immediate past president of the RMRC – the Rocky Mountain Rabbis and Cantors. Rabbi Hyatt is a graduate of the American University, received her M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and has a Master in Jewish Education from the Hebrew College in Boston. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion: Los Angeles Campus, and is a member of class 25 of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Prior to joining the clergy team at Temple Emanuel, Rabbi Hyatt worked as the Network Director for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and as a Regional Director and then Director of Jewish Enrichment for BBYO International. Rabbi Hyatt, along with her son, Neil, loves being home in Denver.

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