Social Vision I: September, 2020

Interconnectedness in a Mystical Society

Yosef Bronstein – Teaches Halakhah and Jewish philosophy at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim (MMY) and online for Yeshiva University’s Isaac Breuer College; Peter J. Whitehouse, MD, PhD is Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto as well as former Professor in seven other departments, Eli Rubin – Holds a PhD in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from University College London, and is a research writer and editor at Chabad.org., Shaul Magid – Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Don Seeman – Professor of Religion, Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, Emory University.

Spiritual Environmentalism (2020)

David Robert Loy – American scholar, author and authorized teacher in the Sanbo Zen lineage of Japanese Zen Buddhism, Ariel Mayse – Assistant Professor Standford University Department of Religious Studies and serves as the rabbi-in-residence at ATIQ: Jewish Maker Institute, Ellen Bernstein – Founder of the first national Jewish environmental organization, Shomrei Adamah, Keepers of the Earth, credited with helping launch the joint field of Religion and Ecology.

Social Vision and the Real World

Heinz Sünker – Emeritus Professor of Social Pedagogy and Social Policy, Universität zu Wuppertal, Naftali Loewenthal, Adjunct Lecturer in Jewish Spirituality, University College London, UK., Philip Wexler – Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Unterberg Chair in Jewish Social and Educational History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Previously, Dean of the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester, NY,

Developing an Interconnected Society

Peter J. Whitehouse – MD, PhD is Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto as well as former Professor in seven other departments, Shelley Christenen author of From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities and Jewish Community Guide to Inclusion of People with Disabilities. Shelley is the founder and CEO of Inclusion Innovations. Paul Wason is Senior Director, Culture and Global Perspectives at the John Templeton Foundation.

Verticality and Hasidism’s Social Ethos

Jonathan Garb – Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe Between the Particular and the Universal

Daniel Reiser – Senior Lecturer. Department of Religious and Spiritual Studies, Zefat Academic College, Jonah Gelfand (he/him) received his Masters in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in 2022 and is a Fellow at the IJSS, Eli Rubin – Holds a PhD in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from University College London, and is a research writer and editor at Chabad.org., Marcia Brennan – Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Humanities at Rice University, and Professor of Art History and Religious Studies, Kate Loewenthal is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, London University and is currently a Visiting Professor at Glyndwr University, Wales, and the University of Chester, and is a Distinguished Research Fellow at New York University in London.

Spirituality and Social Justice

Shlomo Fischer – Research fellow at Jewish People Policy Institute, Bruce Gitlin – an attorney who has over thirty years of experience in the practice of law, Jeffrey J. Kripal – J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Philosophy and Religious Thought, Rice University in Houston, Texas, Chris Myers – Director Strategic Development, Crossroad Press, President & Publisher, Myers Educational Press, Dale Dannefer – Selah Chamberlain Professor of Sociology and Chair, Department of Sociology, Case Western Reserve University.

Spirituality and Modern Life

Green, Ben Selznick – Assistant Professor of Strategic Leadership with a focus on postsecondary analysis and leadership at James Madison University > Jonah Gelfand (he/him) received his Masters in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in 2022 and is a Fellow at the IJSS > Nathaniel Berman – Rahel Varnhagen Chair in Brown University’s Department of Religious Studies.

Reflection with Social Vision Authors

Catherine Casey – Professor of Organization and Society, Loughborough University, Philip Wexler – Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Unterberg Chair in Jewish Social and Educational History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Previously, Dean of the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester, NY, Eli Rubin – Holds a PhD in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from University College London, and is a research writer and editor at Chabad.org, Heinz Sünker – Emeritus Professor of Social Pedagogy and Social Policy, Universität zu Wuppertal.

Religion as Therapeutic in the Modern World

Michal Etzion – Doctoral student in the Gender Studies program at Bar Ilan University planning a dissertation on the subject of Chabad shlichot, Bill Parsons – Professor of Religion at Rice University, Bill has written and edited several books, including The Enigma of the Oceanic Feeling (Oxford, 1999), Teaching Mysticism (Oxford, 2011), and Religion and Psychology: Mapping the Terrain (Routledge, 2001), Mourning Religion (Virginia, 2008.) > Rachel Werczberger – Lecturer, Tel Aviv University, Program of Religious Studies & The Academic College of Yezreel Vally. > Jonah Gelfand (he/him) received his Masters in Jewish Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in 2022 and is a Fellow at the IJSS.

Social Vision and Love

Adversity as a Growth Opportunity: Moshe Idel’s Keynote Address