JewFem 2.0 (Section 1)

The world has changed dramatically over the past 15-20 years. Technology, politics, culture, and societal ideas have affected the way we think about our lives and our communities. We decided it's time to discuss this. 

We have invited over thirty of the world's most interesting and inspiring Jewish feminist thought leaders to come together for a powerful discussion about how Jewish feminism has evolved. 

JewFem 2.0 is a two-section online course, six weeks each, in which each session is dedicated to a different core idea in Jewish feminism -- such as sexuality, gender identity, diversity, body, spirituality, and more. The sessions each have a panel of 3-4 incredible speakers engaged in the most current and cutting-edge thinking in the field. 

This first section, called Bodies and Identities, will look like this: 

WEEK 1: Looking back: A retrospective on Jewish feminism 

Jan 16

Rabbi Prof. Rachel Adler, Professor (emer.) of Modern Jewish Thought and Judaism and Gender at Hebrew Union College (she/her)

Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Emmy-award-winning Jewish feminist author, journalist, and social activist. (she/her)

Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive (she/her) 

WEEK 2: Gender identity

Jan 23

Rav Jane Rachel Litman, First openly LGBTQ person admitted to a rabbinical seminary (they/them)

Abby Chava Stein, First openly transgender woman raised in a Hasidic community (she/her)

Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael, Director of Education & Training with Keshet (he/him or they/them)

Leah Lax, author of Uncovered, the first gay memoir to come out of the Orthodox world (she/her)

WEEK 3: Sexuality

Jan 30

Talli Yehuda Rosenbaum, Certified sex therapist, author and podcast host (she/her)

Rav Nikki DeBlosi, PhD, Freelance rabbi specializing in queer belonging, sex positivity, creative ritual, and inclusive Judaism (she/her)

Paula Mills, Somatic sex educator and Hotline Counselor with Open Door (Israel's Planned Parenthood)  (she/her)

WEEK 4: Intersectionality, race, and diversity  

Feb 6

Dr. Tarece Johnson,  Co-founder of Multicultural Jewish Alliance (she/her) 

Rabbi Ruth Abusch Magder,  PhD, is the Rabbi-in-Residence and Director of Education, Be'chol Lashon (she/her)

Tema Smith, Director of Professional Development at 18Doors (formerly InterfaithFamily)and inclusivity professional  (she/her)

WEEK 5: Disability and feminism

Feb 13

Ariella Barker, Senior Counsel at New York City Law Department and disability rights activist (she/her) 

Sheryl Grossman, Disabilities activist with a very rare Jewish genetic condition, Bloom's Syndrome (she/her)

Heather Stone, Deputy International Counsel (Global) of Democrats Abroad and advocate for the visually impaired (she/her)

WEEK 6: Bodies

Body  

Feb 20

Rabbi Dr. Minna Bromberg   

Rabbi Dr. Minna Bromberg is a singer, teacher, writer, and the founder of Fat Torah: A community of Abundance. (She/her)

Susan Bordo

Dr. Amy Milligan 

Dr. Amy Milligan is a folklorist and  ethnographer who is particularly interested in the manifestations of identity on the body and uses these questions of bodylore to explore lived experiences of gender, sexuality, and Jewishness.

(she/her/hers)