Shavuot

חלום דניאל : The Daniel Barach z’l Shavuot Program at BDJ

We are looking forward to welcoming Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff as our scholar-in-residence for Shavuot 5785! More info on his shiurim below.

We are also delighted to have Dr. Miriam Heller Stern as our speaker for the Marilyn Lowenstein z'l Shiur, now in the post-davening time slot on day 2! See here for more info and to register children for extended childcare.

Shavuot Sponsorship: There are several sponsorship opportunities available. Please click here to donate.

Relaxed Parking Restrictions: Click here to view info for relaxed LA parking restrictions for Pesach and Shavuot.  

Torah To-Go: Download the Benjamin and Rose Berger Torah To-Go for Shavuot 5785 here.

Shavuot Committee: Many thanks to Bruce Dickstein, Rae Drazin, Alex Fax, Jonah Hyman, Rich Kellner, Daniella Levy, Noah Nathan, Jeffrey Rabin, Rabbi Adam Rosenthal, Alana Rotter, Rena Selya Cohen, Ariel Stein, Barbara Wettstein, and Abigail Yasgur

Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff is president of Gratz College. A prolific scholar, he is the author or editor of nine books and more than fifty scholarly articles in the fields of Jewish Studies and American Religion. His most recent book is Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life. Zev's research in American Jewish history has received numerous awards, including the American Jewish Historical Society’s Wasserman Prize and the Rockower Award for Excellence by the American Jewish Press Association. He is also a two-time finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and a member of the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society. Dr. Eleff received his Ph.D. from Brandeis University and M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University. At Yeshiva University, Rabbi Eleff graduated from Yeshiva College and received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He is a past Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar. He resides in Merion Station, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.

Rabbi Dr. Eleff will speak on five occasions over Shavuot:

Night 1 at 7:55 PM (between Mincha and Ma'ariv): Torah, Technology and the Transformed Beit Midrash
How has the Digital Age changed the nature of Torah study? An answer might be drawn from rabbinic anxieties about the print revolution in the ninteeenth century.

Leil Tikkun at 11:00 PM: Ramban, Avner and the Remaking of a Legend
In the sixteenth century, a legend emerged about the pivotal thirteenth century rabbinic figure, the Ramban. He was kidnapped on Yom Kippur, forced to watch a wayward student violate Judaism's most sacred day of the year. But how that story emerged and how it has been transformed says more about the storytellers than the Ramban. 

Day 1 at 7:30 PM: The Tradition of “Authenticity” within American Orthodox Judaism
Has Orthodox Judaism slid to the right or shifted to the left? That's the wrong question. Instead, we ought to consider how items and practices such as rabbi cards, bat mitzvah and women's prayer groups have all fought to become "authentic" expressions of Orthodox Judaism.

Day 2 at 1:45 PM (following community Luncheon): The Rambam, the Exodus, and a Curious Link in the Chain of Tradition
In his chain of transmission of Judaism's oral tradition, the Rambam introduces a little-known figure. His reasons for this inclusion teach us something important about passing along Torah to our children and grandchildren. 

Day 2 at 6:30 PM: Non-Jewish Wisdom and the Rabbinic Mind
Rabbinic tradition isn't of one mind about non-Jewish wisdom. It has changed over time, and historical context explains why.