Kaplan Minyan, Tikkun Olam, Scholars in Residence
KAPLAN MINYAN
The Bnai Keshet Kaplan Minyan is named for Reconstructionist Judaism founder Mordecai Kaplan, who sought to create a Jewish framework for discussions of ethics, culture, history, and current events. They are designed for people who enjoy a communal Shabbat and want to enrich their understanding of Jewish peoplehood in an alternative, less traditional setting.
TIKKUN OLAM SHABBAT
BK's Tikkun Olam Committee plans and curates a series of Shabbatot about pressing social justice issues. After a spiritual and educational approach to each issue, we take action together as a community following Shabbat. The action could be anything from signing a petition, to calling legislators, to attending a protest (if there happens to be one), or anything in between. Our Shabbatot have included Climate Justice, Reproductive Justice, Disability Awareness & Inclusion, and Refugee Justice. Please contact Jessica Brater to get involved in planning.
Upcoming Kaplan Minyan & Tikkun Olam Shabbat
5785 / 2024-2025
Kaplan Minyan: Dr. Jessica Brater
Saturday, March 15th
Adult Bet Midrash at 9:00am
Devar Torah at ~11:00am
Dr. Jessica Brater is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Montclair State University, where she serves
as Theatre Studies Head and oversees BA and MA programs, a P-12 teaching certification, and a graduate certificate in Theatre of Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Change. Her current book project, under contract with Methuen Drama, reads 21st Century American social justice campaigns through the lens of theatre, using parallels between advocacy and theatre to suggest progressive change in both disciplines. She is collaborating with the New Jersey Play Lab and Jersey City Theater Center to launch the Garden State New Play Festival, working with community activists to create plays that explore new ways for activism and theater to intersect. Brater received MSU’s 2024 Outstanding Service Award from the Office of Community Partnerships and Engagement and is part of the faculty cohort at the Institute for Citizens and Scholars.
Past Sessions:
Kaplan Minyan: Dr. Sarah Emanuel
The apostle Paul as a Jewish follower of Jesus, and modern Jewish-Christian relations
Tikkun Olam Shabbat: Affordable Housing
What can we do to keep housing accessible?
Kaplan Minyan with Margaret R. Sáraco and Alex Polner:
Creative Collaboration as a Lifetime Journey
Kaplan Minyan with Dr. Khyati Joshi:
Racism and Antisemitism in the Context of Christian Privilege in the U.S
Kaplan Minyan with Michael Strassfeld
Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century.
Kaplan Minyan with John Wallach:
Misinformation And Free Speech: A Troublesome Liaison
Joy Levitt:
Toward a more permeable Judaism: The case for conversion and radical welcome
Rabbi Dr. David Teutsch:
Reconstructing Judaism and Israel: A Personal Reflection on the Past, Present, and Potential Future
World Jewry Shabbat
Racial Justice Shabbat
Sally Gottesman:
Getting Proximate: Bringing Jewish Leaders to the West Bank and East Jerusalem
Claire Garland:
Indigenous Culture and Land Rights
Michelle Cameron:
The Uneasy Balance - A Fiction Writer's Take on Assimilation vs. Maintaining Jewish Tradition
Jenny Baum:
Just City, Growing up on the Upper West Side when Housing Was a Human Right
Ariel Goldberg:
Just Captions: Ariel Goldberg Shares Research and Writing from book in progress on Trans and Queer Image Cultures
Miriam Herschlag:
A Montclairite in Jerusalem: Fieldnotes from my inspiring, infuriating, flawed, beautiful home.
Siddhu Nadkarni:
Identity: What is your true identity from a Kabbalistic and Vedantic perspective?
Ari Finkelstein:
Separating Christians from Jews in Late Antique Syria: the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the 380s and its Impact on Jews and Judiasm
Roni Yavin:
Did the Baby Cry? Midwifery and Circumcision in the Talmud.