Source: The New York Jewish Week
A new project modeled after the famous TED Talks, dubbed “ELI Talks” (for Engagement, Literacy, Identity), comes to New York on May 14, with five 10- to 12-minute talks presented at the JCC Manhattan by Etta Abramson, a Jewish educator, actor and singer; David Bryfman of the Jewish Education Project and an expert of Jewish adolescent identity; Daniel Libenson, head of a new Jewish think tank with an expertise in innovation; Nessa Rapoport, a writer and foundation officer who speaks frequently about Jewish culture and imagination; and Rabbi Ethan Tucker, co-founder and rosh yeshiva at Mechon Hadar.
After several years of discussions and attempts in the community to launch a Jewish TED, the AVI CHAI Foundation has jumped in, getting the effort started last January with six presentations presented and filmed before a group of 200 attendees at the North American Jewish Day School conference in Atlanta. The invited speakers were asked to come up with their own topics, as long as they deal in some way with Jewish literacy, religious engagement or Jewish peoplehood centered on Israel.
The Atlanta talks are online, and the New York talks will be posted as well after the next event, the first steps in what is intended to be a large and active website.
Read Gary Rosenblatt's entire article at the New York Jewish Week.