Jewish Ideas to Change the World

A hybrid event presentation featuring Reverend Terri Hobart, Imam Muhammad Kolila, and Rabbi Emily Hyatt, moderated by Ariel Nassau of VBM Denver.The event was co-hosted with St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Downtown Denver Islamic Center, and Temple Emanuel Denver.About The Event: Faith leaders from across Denver come together to explore how their traditions guide responses to today's most pressing local issues - and how interfaith partnership strengthens our shared community.About The Speakers:Rev. Terri Hobart is a student and practitioner of mystical Christianity. She preaches love as the powerful, generative, life-giving force that pulsates through all of creation and us to transformation. She is passionate about leading St. Thomas out into our neighborhood to share the presence of Christ as we feed, heal, love, and stand with those in need. Her life and ministry are guided by the following core values: Seek the Sacred Everywhere, Speak and Act From Love, Cultivate Deep Relationships, Honor Creation, Prioritize Relationships, Live Sustainably, Be Grateful, Welcome Everyone, Promote Transparency, Speak Truth, Take Faithful Risks, Abide in Christ. Terri holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Baylor University and a Master of Divinity from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She shares her life with her beloved spouse, the Rev. Canon Vanessa Stickler Glass, who serves as the Canon for Transition Ministry for The Episcopal Church in Colorado. Before moving to Colorado, she served as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Woodland, California. She loves foraging, gardening, and feeding people. Together they have four adult children.Imam Muhammad Kolila serves as the Imam at Masjid al-Shuhada’ Downtown Denver Islamic Center. Muhammad is a community leader and activist in education, charity, peacebuilding, interfaith partnerships, community development, project management, and spirituality. Muhammad has an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Denver and has a B.A. in Translation Studies and Linguistics. Rabbi Emily Hyatt serves as Senior Rabbi and CEO of Temple Emanuel Denver. Together with Senior Rabbi Elizabeth Sacks, she is the first woman to lead Temple Emanuel’s Reform Congregation in its 150–year history. Rabbi Hyatt joined the Temple Emanuel team in 2018. A proud Denver native (and Temple Emanuel preschool graduate), Rabbi Hyatt is deeply committed to Temple Emanuel, to the Denver Jewish community, and to the principles of Jewish Peoplehood, Pluralism, and Jewish community. She proudly serves on the boards of the Denver Jewish Day School, ADL Mountain States, and the Golda Meir House. She is a member of ATRA: Rabbinic Pipeline Initiative Advisory Council and is the immediate past president of the RMRC – the Rocky Mountain Rabbis and Cantors. Rabbi Hyatt is a graduate of the American University, received her M.B.A. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and has a Master in Jewish Education from the Hebrew College in Boston. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion: Los Angeles Campus, and is a member of class 25 of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Prior to joining the clergy team at Temple Emanuel, Rabbi Hyatt worked as the Network Director for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and as a Regional Director and then Director of Jewish Enrichment for BBYO International. Rabbi Hyatt, along with her son, Neil, loves being home in Denver. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabbi Karyn KedarThe class is co-sponsored by Congregation Ner TamidAbout The Event:Join Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar as she explores her award-winning book, Unfolding: A High Holy Day Companion. Drawing from meditations, poetry, reflections, retellings of Talmudic and Hasidic stories, and lyrical encounters with prayer and scripture, Rabbi Kedar will share insights from the book and offer selections that illuminate the path through the months of Av and Elul, Rosh HaShanah, the Ten Days of Repentance, and Yom Kippur.Together, we will reflect on themes of grief, longing, forgiveness, repentance, and renewal, discovering how ancient wisdom and contemporary spiritual practice can help us navigate this season with greater depth and compassion. Whether this year’s High Holy Days were your first or you have new questions about familiar rituals, this gathering will offer inspiration on how to carry forward the lessons of the holidays into the new year ahead.Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pL1d6SjIp9mcGHz2IU6xvkjHNQR4USEm/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=trueAbout The Speaker:Karyn Kedar is a gifted writer and teacher. She inspires people of all backgrounds and faiths to live intentionally, find beauty and purpose in everyday moments, and cultivate a life of spiritual depth, meaning, compassion, and purpose. Through poetic reflections and practical insights, she guides others to navigate life’s complexities with grace and deepen their connection to their essential self and to others.As the author of six non-fiction books, she writes poetry, liturgy, and essays that invite readers to pause, contemplate, and awaken the spirit.Her newest work, Unfolding: A High Holy Day Companion, invites readers to sit on the edge of what they know and explore the mysteries of forgiveness, beauty, and spiritual renewal.Her books, teachings, and retreats explore the shared human experiences of love, struggle, forgiveness, resilience, and the search for meaning. She invites us to “come to the edge of what you know and sit a while.”Karyn lives with her husband Ezra in the Chicago area. Their children and six grandchildren are making their way in life in both the United States and Israel. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Dr. Paul FranksThe event was co-sponsored by BMH-BJAbout The Event:What is kavanah — usually translated as “intention” — in the performance of mitzvot?  What, in particular, is kavanah in Jewish prayer?  Often used but rarely explained, the term will be illuminated by means of the speech act theory of the great Oxford philosopher and architect of the Normandy invasion, J. L. Austin (1911-60), articulated most famously in his 1955 William James Lectures at Harvard, later published as How to Do Things with Words.Source Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1MHaWA3mLhMkt4-p_KzU6h1qOjyh9j7wh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=trueAbout The Speaker:Paul Franks is the Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies and the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Yale University. Educated at Gateshead Yeshiva, Oxford, and Harvard, he has taught at Indiana University, Notre Dame, and Toronto, and has been a visiting professor at Chicago, Leuven, and Hebrew University.  He works on post-Kantian philosophy, Jewish philosophy, and kabbalah.  Among his publications are Franz Rosenzweig: Philosophical and Theological Writings and All or Nothing: Systematicity, Transcendental Arguments, and Skepticism in German Idealism. ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual event presentation by Rabba Aliza Libman BaronofskyThe class was co-sponsored by Temple Emanuel. About The Event:The Mishnah was written during a time period that included the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kochba Revolt. The 63 tractates of the Mishnah include the rabbis’ origin story for rabbinic Judaism and many clues about the world it was written in. We’ll explore Mishnahs that give us explicit information about the early rabbinic period as well as hints about the groundbreaking changes happening in the Jewish world at the time.*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-XZetmWV3B5xwdGqpuD_iMMCIn2N0BgmC4sLL0XsO4Y/edit?usp=sharingAbout The Speaker:Rabba Aliza Libman Baronofsky is a career educator who teaches Jewish text and mathematics at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. In the summer, she works as a teacher and Rabba at Camp Yavneh in Northwood, NH. She is the host of the podcast “Mishna Accomplished.” ★ Support this podcast ★

A virtual presentation by Dr. Marc DollingerThe event is co-sponsored by Temple SolelAbout The Event:One of the thorniest questions in contemporary American Jewish life, the boundaries between anti-Israelism, anti-Zionism, and antisemitism are now the subject of university policy debates as well as proposed state and federal action. This presentation offers historical background on each category, outlining the points of debate in this highly contentious subject.About The Speaker:Dr. Marc Dollinger holds the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University. Dr. Dollinger currently serves on the executive board of the Union for Reform Judaism. He is also board president of URJ Camp Newman. Professor Dollinger has spoken about his research with the CEO of the NAACP on CNN as well as the CNN podcast “Silence Is Not an Option,” the PBS docu-series Black and Jews: An Interwoven Alliance, the NFL Network, ESPN, and Germany’s National Public Radio. Just for fun, Dr. Dollinger helped actress Helen Hunt learn about her Jewish roots on the prime-time NBC show, “Who Do You Think You Are?” ★ Support this podcast ★