Section archive - Conferences & Events

This December 25-29, nearly 1,000 Jewish teenagers, educators, professionals, and alumni from United Synagogue Youth (USY) will gather in Dallas, TX for five days of Hanukkah celebrations, interactive learning, and hands-on social action at USY’s 66th International Convention. A program of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), USY is America’s largest Conservative Jewish youth group. This convention marks several firsts for the organization, from its inaugural Texas location to a new milestone in USY’s partnership with NOAM, its sister youth movement that reaches Masorti teens globally. USY will host young adults from ten countries including Israel, Argentina, Ukraine, Uganda, and beyond at the convention and kick off a year-long pairing of NOAM’s global chapters with USY regions. This new program will help foster lasting relationships between Jewish teens from diverse backgrounds, as well as global learning initiatives and social action projects.

In Summer 2017, the Tikvah Fund is offering an intensive, seven-week, (June 15 – August 3, 2017), fellowship for college students living in America, Canada, and throughout the Diaspora. Led by preeminent professors, rabbis, educators, and intellectual and political leaders, the Tikvah Summer Fellowship for College Students will explore foundational Jewish teaching, including biblical and rabbinic texts, the lessons of Jewish history, the insights of modern Jewish thought, and the vibrant interplay between Jewish and Western ideas.

The Lookstein Center is pleased to announce a four-day (June 19-22, 2017) intensive seminar designed to equip Jewish educators with knowledge, research, and resources to address the topic of academic Bible study. Participants will be rewarded with a rich program of text study, shiurim, and workshops designed specifically for Jewish educators. This fully funded program will be held at the Ramaz school in NYC, immediately prior to the popular YCT Yemei Iyun in Tanach and Jewish Thought. The program is led by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman (Academic Director) and Rabbi Dr. Zvi Grumet (Educational Director).

In the 20th century, Jewish education focused on strengthening Jewish identity and ensuring Jewish continuity. That approach to Jewish education no longer works for today's learners. They want to know how Jewish teachings and practices can make their lives better and the world better. They want Jewish life to help them flourish as human beings, to help them be 'happy' in the fullest Jewish sense of that term. Drawing on insights of world-renowned behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely, and bringing his findings into dialogue with Jewish teaching and practice, the 2016 Jewish Futures Conference (December 14, 2016 – Columbia University, NYC) will explore the elements of and conditions for human happiness and well-being, and how Jewish education can be redirected to answer the aspirations of 21st century learners.