Sessions

Sessions
Community Beit Midrash
They say if you have four Jews in a room, you have five opinions. See if that’s true when Rabbis Sharon
Brous, Zoë Klein, Elazar Muskin and Chaim Seidler-Feller study text together in pairs.
The Future of Jews in Hollywood
A lively roundtable discussion between Hollywood writers, producers and power brokers on how their
Jewish identities shape their work, the roles Jews play in Hollywood today and what the future holds.
Sermon Slam
See Rabbis Denise Eger, Ed Feinstein, Marvin Hier and Steven Carr Reuben improvise on-the-spot
mini-sermons as comic Gerry Katzman turns the tables on the rabbis.
Light Up the Night powered by East Side Jews
What happens when Chanukah ritual meets music and comedy at the hands of an upstart organization?
Nightclub-style music and comedy with performances by Josh Feldman, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Tami Sagher,
Eric Spiegelman and Michaela Watkins and music by Talia Osteen and Dov Rosenblatt of The Wellspring.
A Future Big Enough For All of Us
When the question is “What does it feel like to be an underserved community in Jewish communal life?,”
our presenters have the answers. Michelle Wolf and Elaine Hall discuss starting grass-roots organizations
dedicated to inclusion for children with special needs. Janelle K. Eagle, founder of Twice Blessed, talks
about the experiences of LGBT Jews. And Soviet-born, American-raised filmmaker Boris Kievsky explores
immigration, self-identification and assimilation.
Really? It Doesn’t Look Jewish:
New Rituals from Non-Traditional Inspirations
Feminism, music, art and a host of spiritual traditions have changed the American Jewish experience. In
this panel, speakers including Rabbi Laura Geller and yogi Marcus J. Freed discuss what makes a ritual
Jewish and how new rituals and forms of spirituality are increasingly becoming part of modern Jewish life.
Dreaming Big: Visions of the Jewish Future powered by LimmudLA
First, four visionaries, including Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller of UCLA Hillel and Joshua Avedon of Jumpstart,
share their ideas of what the Jewish community can look like. Then participants engage in small-group
learning and brainstorming sessions on how to create an even more value-driven, impactful and
meaningful Jewish community.
Speed Chevruta powered by Jewlicious
Rabbi Yonah Bookstein takes traditional chevruta study – learning in pairs – and gives it a modern twist.
After hearing from the sources, you’ll have the chance discuss your own interpretation with rotating
study partners.
Imagining Our Green Future
Eco-consciousness has been a Jewish tradition for thousands of years. Come explore our future as Bill
Kaplan of the Shalom Institute shares information about the Jewish environmental movement locally,
nationally, and globally as well as current initiatives in our Jewish community around environmental
awareness, organic farming and gardening, food justice, and more.
Closing Concert – A Celebration of the Words and Music of Leonard Cohen
Lisa Edelstein of House hosts a soul-stirring tribute with some of our community’s leading voices. Led by
Craig Taubman, it features Perla Batalla, Cantor Joseph Gole, HaZamir Los Angeles and Kol Echad Choir
from Milken Community High School, Laurence Juber, Joshua Malina, Yael Meyer, Moshav, Sharon Robinson,
Iliana Rose, Eric Schwartz and the Wellspring.
HaZamir Los Angeles
and Kol Echad Choir from
Milken Community High School
Laurence Juber
Lisa Edelstein
Cantor Joseph Gole
Craig Taubman
Wellspring
Sharon Robinson
Moshav
Joshua Malina
Yael Meyer
Iliana Rose
Eric Schwartz
Perla Batalla