The Shidduch Crisis & Intermarriage: Finding Love in the Jewish Community (UTJ 2016 Conference – Full Video)

On September 10-11, 2016 the UTJ convened a conference titled “The Shidduch Crisis & Intermarriage: Finding Love in the Jewish Community.”  JBS TV recorded and broadcast the conference.  The full video of this conference can be viewed here and the conference program is below.  Links to video of specific sections appear in the program below (you can also access particular videos by using the menu in the upper-left hand corner of the video above).

UTJ Kallah September 11th -12th 2016 The Shidduch Crisis & Intermarriage: Finding Love in the Jewish Community Sunday & Monday, Sept. 11-12 Long Beach Hotel, 405 E Broadway, Long Beach, NY

 

Event Schedule

 

Sunday  Sept 11

2:00 – 3:00	Conference check-in
3:00 – 3:15	Welcoming remarks Rabbi Gerald Sussman, Executive Director of UTJ
3:15 – 3:45	Marc Goldmann Founder of “Saw You at Sinai” “Challenges of Dating for Marriage and the Increasing Role of Online Dating”
3:45 – 4:15	Dr. Neil Maron “The Individual Approach to Solving the Shidduch Crisis”
4:15 – 4:30	Q & A and discussion with Mr. Goldmann and Dr. Maron
4:30 – 4:45	Stretch break
4:45 – 5:15	Temima Goldberg Shulman Award winning writer “From Tanach to Talmud: The Female Myth vs. The Narrative Truth. What Young Jewish Girls Are Taught About What They Can Get in Love and Marriage, and How We Can Reread the Narratives Into Modern, Relevant, and Healthy Models.” The source sheet for Ms. Goldberg Shulman’s talk is available here.
5:15 – 5:45	Dr. Sharon Weiss Greenberg Executive Director of the Jewish Feminist Alliance (JOFA) “How to Lose a Single With Two Words: Shidduch Crisis”
5:40 – 6:00	Q & A with Ms. Shulman and Dr. Weiss Greenberg
6:00 – 6:15	Mincha
6:15 – 7:15	Dinner
7:15 – 8:00	Ma’ariv, 9/11 Memorial Tribute to Elie Wiesel, former ITJ Board Member
8:00 – 8:45	Zev Brenner (video not available) President & Executive Producer, Talkine Communications Network “Confessions of a Jewish Broadcaster”
9:00	Chaim Kiss, Cantor and Singer

 

 

 

Monday  Sept 12

7:00 – 8:00	Tefilah
8:00 – 9:00	Breakfast
9:00 – 9:35	Dr. Steven Bayme Director of the Contemporary Jewish Life Department, American Jewish Committee “The Intermarriage Policy Debate; A Traditionalist’s Response”
9:35 – 10:10	Rabbi Asher Lopatin President at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah “Balancing a Torah Taboo with Pragmatic Inclusion: How conversion and Connectedness Can Impact the Intermarriage Crisis”
10:10 -10:30	Stretch break
10:30-11:05	Rabbi David Novak President of UTJ, J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University of Toronto “The Halakhic Ramifications of Intermarriage.”
11:05-11:45	Panel discussion with Dr. Bayme and Rabbis Lopatin and Novak moderated by Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, UTJ Past President and Rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel, Woodmere, NY.
11:45 – 1:00	Closing remarks

 

About Our Speakers

Dr. Steven Bayme serves as Director of the William Petschek Contemporary Jewish Life Department, AJC. He holds an undergraduate degree in history from Yeshiva University and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Jewish history from Columbia University. He has taught at Yeshiva University, Jewish Theological Seminary, Hebrew Union College, Queens College, and he serves as visiting faculty at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. His publications include Understanding Jewish History: Texts and Commentary, a survey of the Jewish historical experience, and Jewish Arguments and Counter-Arguments, a volume of essays on contemporary Jewish life. His most recent volumes are American Jewry’s Comfort Level, assessing the challenges to American Jewry and (co-edited with Steven Katz) Continuity and Change: A Festschrift in Honor of Irving Greenberg. He is widely cited in the media and on three occasions has been named to the Forward’s list of the 50 most influential Jews in the United States. In its 2001 listing, the Forward noted that Dr. Bayme “influences the debate on a variety of issues and has helped steer his organization into position as the leading address in the national Jewish discussion”.

 

 

Rabbi Zev J. Brenner serves as President; Executive Producer of TALKLINE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK, America’s leading Jewish radio and television network, which he formed in 1981. From his home base in New York, Rabbi Brenner syndicates TALKLINE WITH ZEV BRENNER, the network’s flagship radio and television program, which have been broadcasting for 35 years. His other duties include working with advertisers in targeting Jewish and ethnic consumers as well as assisting budding broadcasters start their own radio and TV programs. He helped launch Spanish TV network LTV and Russian Radio Channel New Life Broadcasting. TALKLINE airs on WMCA 570 AM, and WSNR 620 AM in the New York area; and live on the Internet. His television shows air on TIME WARNER MANHATTAN, DIRECT TV,and nationwide on JLTV. Zev Brenner has interviewed some of the leading newsmakers in the Jewish and political world. Among his guests: President Bill Clinton; Hillary Clinton, Senator Ted Cruz, Former CIA Director James Woolsey, Israeli Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir and the late Yitzhak Rabin; former Vice President Dan Quayle; former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, Don King and the Reverend Al Sharpton.  For the last 35 years, Zev Brenner has devoted his creative energies toward expanding the vistas of the Jewish Community as well as to forging better ties between Jews and other ethnic groups. Mr. Brenner is an outspoken advocate of Black-Jewish relations; leaders of the Black Community are often featured on his programs. For his efforts on behalf of the Jewish Community, Mr. Brenner has received numerous awards including the Journalism/Jewish Heritage Award from Kings County District Attorney; the Hasbarah award from the Jewish Teachers Association; the Humanitarian Award from the International League for the Repatriation of Russian Jews; and the Communications Award from the National Council of Young Israel. The City Council of New York has also honored him for his work. A native New Yorker, Zev Brenner resides in Manhattan with his wife Adena and his children Menachem Leib, Elisheva Malka, Peninah Shlomit, Aderet Nava & Yehudit Chana.

Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg has served as Rabbi of Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere, NY since 1991. A product of Boston University, New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary, and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, he holds a doctorate in Hebrew literature. Known for his decades-old activism on behalf of Israel, Soviet Jewry, and intra/interfaith cooperation, he has served both as president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis and as president of the Union for Traditional Judaism. His essays have appeared in Newsday, the Christian Science Monitor, the Jerusalem Report, and other publications.

Temima Goldberg Shulman is a Jerusalem-born, award winning writer and teacher based in New Jersey.  She has taught Bible and Jewish law at New Jersey Jewish high schools and in Israel.  She has worked as a daily reporter, a book review columnist, and as an Israel correspondent, interviewing the likes of Yaakov Agam and Yizhak Rabin. As a community activist, 13 years ago she turned her attention to women’s issues and healthy sexuality.  Today she writes and speaks about these issues, their origins in the Bible and Talmud, and their application and relevance to modern Jewish life.  She is founder and director of the Midrasha in Manhattan, a house of study and culture for Israelis, opening 2017.

Marc Goldmann is the CEO & Founder of SawYouAtSinai.com, the largest matchmaking site in the Jewish community.  Over the past decade, over 40,000 singles and 350 volunteer matchmakers have joined the site and over 2,600 members have married as a direct result of the site.  When people ask how he decided to start SawYouAtSinai, Marc explains he had a “midlife crisis at age 34,” while still single, and decided he had to be working on a project that had a clear and distinct impact on the Jewish singles’ community. So he left the corporate world where he was a Management Consultant and working on Wall Street for 12 years to create the ultimate online matchmaking network. Marc loves building a company that is clearly affecting many people in a positive way. Prior to SYAS, Marc was a Management Consultant for A.T. Kearney, Mitchell Madison Group and Zeborg.  Most recently he served as a Vice President at Zeborg where he launched the company’s second largest software division and was responsible for business strategy, alliances and business development (developed over $30MM in sales with clients including American Express, Xerox, and LlyodsTSB).  Marc then arranged the sale of this division to Xerox in August 2003.  In addition, he founded and then helped sell Global Sourcing Services, a $750MM a year marketing firm.  Marc received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University.  He is married and has 4 children.

Cantor Chaim Kiss is an entrepreneur and established Chazzan. He has worked with world renown Chazzanim and singers. He held the position of Chazzan at the West Side Intuitional Synagogue in New York City for twelve years. He sang with many premier stars such as the late R. Sholmo Carbach Z”L, Dudu Fisher,Avrum Fried, Yehuda Green, Etan Katz, Sholmo Simcha, Chazzan Yanky Lemmer, Chazzan Zevi Muller, Yaakov Motzen, Paul Zim, Lipa Schmeltzer.He has worked withmany elitebands, Soul farm, Shira Choir Band, Simply Tzafat, Eight Day, The Macabeats and many more. Chaim was chosen to sing the Jewish and American national anthems at the New York Stock exchange for Just One Life organization. Chaim is not only notable for his beautiful sweet voice, his extraordinary personally landed him many hosting positions and MC positions for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkos, Passover, Shavout, and summer hosting operations and benefits for many organizations.  He has worked in many luxury hotels, such as the Fountain Bleau, Eden Roc, Kosherica Tours, Kutshers Resorts, Worldgate Tours Orlando, Shelbourne hotel ran by The Galbut family and most recently worked with The Prime Group Hospitality at the St. Regis in Laguna Beach, California. Chaim is a host like no other he is warm, welcoming and makes all guests feel special and part of the program. He assures that each and every guest is provided with the very best possible Passover experience with the highest quality service. He also ensures the unique personal attention, warmth, caring and concern that impacts each and every guest in a positive way. Over the years he developed close relationships with guests who have become friends as well as clients, which evolved into a caring family, Chaim looks forward to seeing one another each Pesach, and continues to have the opportunity to serve you, for the most memorable Pesach ever.

 

 

Rabbi Asher Lopatin is the president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, an Orthodox rabbinical school that teaches an inclusive, open and welcoming Torah. Previously, he was the spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, a modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago, for 18 years.  He received his ordination from Rav Ahron Soloveichik and Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago, and from Yeshiva University, as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. A Rhodes Scholar with a M.Phil. in Medieval Arabic Thought from Oxford University, Rabbi Lopatin is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles.

Dr. Neil Maron is a New York State Licensed Psychologist with offices in Lawrence and Brooklyn New York. He has over thirty years of experience. He has post Doctorate training in family therapy, hypnosis, bio-feedback and neuropsychological testing. Dr. Maron also founded a not-for- profit agency. Under his leadership, he has made a difference in the lives of countless preschool students with special needs.

Rabbi David Novak holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as Professor of religion and Philosophy in the University of Toronto, where he is a member of University College and the Centre for Jewish Studies. He has been a consultant to the governments of Canada, the United States, Israel, and Poland, and is a contributor to the Religion and Ethics website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.  David Novak is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada , and a Fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He is a founder and President of the Union for Traditional Judaism. He is a founder and Vice-President of the Institute on Religion and Public Life. He is a Consulting Scholar and a member of the Board of Advisors of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions of Princeton University. David Novak is the author of seventeen books, the last two being, Natural Law: A Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Trialogue (Oxford University Press, 2014), co-authored with Matthew Levering; and Anver Emon, and Zionism and Judaism (Cambridge University Press, 2015). His new book, Jewish Justice (Baylor University Press) is scheduled for publication in January 2017. To date, there have also been four books written about David Novak and his thought.

 

 

Dr. Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, Executive Director of JOFA: For many years, Sharon has served as an educator and leader in the Jewish community. She was recently named by the Jewish Week as a person to watch as a “36 Under 36” honoree. Sharon has held a variety of professional roles including Director of Recruitment at Yeshivat Maharat and the Director of Online Engagement at the Consortium for Applied Studies in Jewish Education, and Rosh Moshava (Head of Camp) at Camp Stone.  Sharon has served as the co-director and Orthodox adviser of the Orthodox Union Seif Jewish Learning on Campus Initiative at Harvard Hillel and as the first Orthodox woman chaplain at Harvard University. She has taught at Yeshiva University High School for Girls in New York, Yavneh Academy in New Jersey, and the Denver Academy of Torah High School. Sharon earned her doctorate at New York University in Education and Jewish Studies. She is an alumna of the Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholarship graduate program She studied Talmud and halakha at The Drisha Institute for Jewish Education. She received her Masters in Education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Yeshiva University and received a B.A. in Sociology and Jewish History from Yeshiva University. Interested in booking Sharon for a talk or program? Be in touch with the Jewish Speakers Bureau at http://www.JewishSpeakersBureau.com. Sharon can be reached at sharon@jofa.org.

Thank You to Our Generous Sponsors

Rachel and Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg

Dr. Melissa Klapper and Rabbi Noah Gradofsky

Maxin and Rabbi Roberg Pilavin

Tobias A. Lickerman

Boni and Rabbi Gerald Sussman