The L'SHMA Lecture Series takes place every Wednesday night at the Bronfman Center. Come hear speakers and experts on topics such as Conversion, Biblical Criticism and Sexual Ethics.

L'SHMA is sponsored by the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus-Orthodox Union and Hillel Outstanding Student Initiative Grant

Recordings of past lectures are available below. To download, right-click the link and click 'save link as':

L'Shma Spring 2009

4/22/09 Dr. Micah Gottlieb
Torah, Truth & Tolerance
Dr. Micah Gottlieb is an Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Indiana University (2003)and his M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. His research interests include Faith versus reason in the medieval and modern periods, the relationship between the German and Jewish Enlightenments, philosophical approaches to Biblical interpretation.

3/22/09 Devorah Zlochower
Are Women Able to Touch the Torah Scroll?
Devorah Zlochower is coeditor and writer of JOFA's Ta Shma: Halakhic Source Guide Series. She was Rosh Beit Midrash and an instructor of Talmud and halakhah at the Drisha Institute for the past decade. Devorah is a board member of JOFA, an advisory board member of Sh'ma, and an educational advisory board member of American Jewish World Service. She lectures and writes on topics relating to halakhah, feminism, and women's religious leadership.

2/18/09 Rabbi Hayyim Angel
Biblical Warfare: Holy Wars, the Promised Land & Amalek
Rabbi Hayyim Angel currently serves as the Rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan, NY. He graduated with a BA from Yeshiva University and in 1995 he received his semicha from RIETS. In 1993 he earned his MA in Bible at Bernard Revel Graduate School and in 1996 he earned an MS in Jewish Education at the Azrieli school of Education.Rabbi Angel teaches advanced undergraduate Tanakh courses at Yeshiva College, Yeshiva University. He has published a book which contains twenty of his biblical studies titled, "Through an Opaque Lens". He also co-authored a book with his father, Rabbi Marc Angel, titled, "Rabbi Haim David Halevy: Gentle Scholar, Courageous Thinker".

2/4/09 - Rabbi Steve Greenberg
Orthodoxy & Homosexuality: A Rabbi's Story
Rabbi Steve Greenberg will discuss the sources that relate to homosexuality in Judaism as well as discussing his personal journey.
Rabbi Steven Greenberg received his BA in philosophy from Yeshiva University, and his rabbinic ordination from YU's RIETS. He is currently a Senior Teaching Fellow at CLAL (National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership), an interdenominational Jewish think tank, leadership training institute, and resource center. Rabbi Steven Greenberg is the first person with Orthodox Rabbinic ordination to announce his homosexuality while claiming adherence to Orthodox Judaism.

1/28/09 - Rabbi Sarna & Imam Latif:
A Public Chavruta on Fundamentalism & The Value of Human Life
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Imam Khalid Latif discuss religious fundamentalism and the dignity of human life.

L'Shma Fall 2008

12/3/08 - Rabbi Aryeh Klapper
Jewish Business Ethics: Getting Rich and Staying Moral
Join Rabbi Aryeh Klapper as he explores the principles behind Jewish business ethics. Rabbi Aryeh Klapper is Dean of the Center for Modern Torah Leadership and Rosh Beit Midrash of its Summer Beit Midrash Program, Instructor of Rabbinics and Medical Ethics at Gann Academy, and a member of the Boston Beit Din. He previously served as Orthodox Adviser and Associate Director for Education at Harvard Hillel and as Talmud Curriculum Chair at Maimonides High School.

11/12/08 - Dr. Shai Secunda
Reading the Bavli in Iran: Persian Influence on the Talmud
Shai Secunda is the 2007-2009 Blaustein Postdoctoral Fellow in Judaic Studies at Yale University. He studied in Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore before receiving a doctorate at Yeshiva University. He also pursued graduate studies at Harvard and Hebrew Universities.

11/13/08 - Shani Taragin
Tefillah & Raindance: Different Approaches to Avodat Hashem

Shani, completed a B.A. and M.A. in Tanach and Talmud at Bar-Ilan University. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Tanach while teaching in various institutions in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, and Beit-Shemesh including MaTaN and Nishmat. She also serves as coordinator of the Intensive Tanach Track (ITT) for post-high school students in Midreshet Lindenbaum. Shani is a graduate of Nishmat';s Keren Ariel Program for certification as a halachic advisor in issues of family purity law. She lectures throughout Israel and serves on the first womens' hotline to deal with issues of Jewish law.

11/12/08 - Rabbi Eitan Mayer

Rabbi Eitan Mayer is Midreshet's Menahel Chinuchi and Assistant Dean. "Rav Eitan," as our students call him, is known both for his wry sense of humor and his shiurim in Chumash and Machshavah, which emphasize creative thinking and personal grappling with Torah and its implications for our lives. Rav Eitan learned at Yeshivat Sha'alvim, received Semikhah at RIETS as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, and continued his learning in the Beren Kollel Elyon. He earned a BA in English Literature and an MA in Jewish Education at Yeshiva University, and is completing an MA in Jewish Philosophy and an EdD in Jewish Education at Yeshiva University. Rav Eitan taught Gemara and Halakhah at the Graduate Program for Women at Yeshiva University and served as Assistant Rabbi at The Jewish Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Rav Eitan lives in Neve Daniel with his wife and five children.

11/10/08 - Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
Conversations Between God & Man in Sefer Bereishit

Rabbi Menachem Leibtag is one of pioneers of Torah Education via the internet. His weekly essays on Parshat Ha'shavua, read by literally thousands of subscribers world wide, introduce a vibrant analytical approach to thematic study of the Bible and reflect over twenty years of experience as a student and teacher at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel. He was the founder of the Israel Koschitzky Virtual Bet Midrash and more recently founded the Tanach Study Center [www.tanach.org] which contains a full archive of his lectures in various formats. In addition to his educational responsibilities at Har Etzion, Rabbi Leibtag also lectures at Midreshet Lindenbaum, MMY, and Orot College for Women. He, his wife Thea, and their six children reside in Alon Shevut, Gush Etzion.

9/24/08 - Professor Robert Chazan
History, Sociology, and the Rabbis
Do historical, political, and sociological events influence the Jewish Law and Practice? If so, how? In this weeks L'SHMA lecture, NYU Professor Robert Chazan will explore how historical, political, and sociological events in Medieval France and Germany shaped the way that Rabbis in those countires understood the Bible, Jewish Law, and Jewish practice. obert Chazan is Scheuer Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. He is the author of many studies including Fashioning Jewish Identity in Medieval Western Christendom andThe Jews of Medieval Western Christendom.

9/17/08 - Rabbi David Flatto
Jews and Power
For 2000 years the Jewish people lived powerless in exile. Although they did not have political power, Jewish sources have thought about what political power is, what are the laws that govern it, and what are its potential dangers.
Rabbi David Flatto is Kehelith Jeshuran's Rabbinic Scholar and a member of the Judaic Studies Faculty of Ramaz. He received his B.A. in Computer Science from Yeshiva College, his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Rabbi Flatto is pursuing a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University.

9/10/08 - Rabbi Dov Linzer
Halacha and Science: Sympathies and Strategies
Can Science ever conflict with Halacha? If they do, does our new scientific knowledge change the Halachik practice?
Rabbi Dov Linzer is the Rosh HaYeshiva and Academic Head of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School. He studied for many years at Yeshivat Har Etzion, was a member of Yeshiva University's Gruss Kollel Elyon, and received his ordination from the Israeli Rabbinate. He is a recipient of the Javits Graduate fellowship, and a doctoral candidate in Religion at Columbia University. He has published Halakha and machshava articles in Torah journals and lectures widely at synagogues and conferences on topics relating to Halakha, Orthodoxy, and modernity. He teaches advanced Halakha in a broad range of areas across all four sections of the Shulchan Aruch – including Kashrut, Ishut and Niddah, and Shabbat and Eruvin. Rabbi Linzer teaches advanced classes in Talmud and a year-long class in Contemporary Challenges of Modern Orthodoxy.

9/3/08 - Rabbi Jeremy Wieder
Is The Torah Really Meant to Be Read Literally?
Rabbi Jeremy Wieder has served as a Rosh Yeshiva in MYP. Since receiving rabbinic ordination at RIETS in 1994, Wieder has been an instructor of Bible at Yeshiva College and has held the post of counselor and mentor to the students of the Mazer Yeshiva Program. Rabbi Wieder also received his PhD in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University.

L'Shma Spring 2008

4/9/08 - Dr. Michelle Friedman
Does Mikveh Really Make Marriages Better?
Dr. Michelle Friedman conducted ground-breaking research of over 400 women who regularly use the mikveh, a Jewish ritual immersion bath. She serves as the Chair of Pastoral Counselling at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and as Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital.

3/12/08 - Rabbi Yehuda Sarna
Is the Torah Good Literature?
Rabbi Sarna is the Manager of Religous Life at the Bronfman Center and also serves as the NYU University Chaplain. Rabbi Sarna and Michelle Sarna serve as the JLIC on campus and extend an "open door" invitation to all Jewish students. Rabbi Sarna was the founder of JLF and continues to invigorate Jewish life on campus. He holds Rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, a master's degree in Medieval Jewish History from Yeshiva University, and a BA in English Literature from Yeshiva University.

3/6/08 - Rabbi Saul Berman
What is holiness and should Modern Orthodox Jews care about it?
Rabbi Saul J. Berman is a leading Orthodox teacher and thinker. As a Rabbi, a scholar, and an educator, he has made extensive contributions to the intensification of women's Jewish education, to the role of social ethics in Synagogue life, and to the understanding of the applicability of Jewish Law to contemporary society.

3/5/08 - Dr. Micah Gottlieb
Is The Torah Historically Accurate And Should It Matter?
Dr. Micah Gottlieb is an Assistant Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Indiana University (2003)and his M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. His research interests include Faith versus reason in the medieval and modern periods, the relationship between the German and Jewish Enlightenments, philosophical approaches to Biblical interpretation.

2/27/08 - Elana Stein Hain
Law, Narrative or Mythology?
Where is the real message of the Torah found, the stories or the laws? Elana Stein Hain is a Phd candidate in religion at Columbia University, Resident Scholar at the Jewish Center, and a Graduate Fellow at the Program in Jewish Law and Interdisciplinary Studies at Cardozo Law School. She is a graduate of Columbia University and the Graduate Program for Advanced Talmudic Studies at Yeshiva University.

2/13/08 - Rabbi Marc Angel
The Politics of Orthodox Conversion and Why it has to Change
Rabbi Marc Angel, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York City, has become a strong voice for a more inclusive approach to conversion among Orthodox rabbis. He is the founder and director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. A past president of the Rabbinical Council of America, he is the author of “Choosing to Be Jewish: The Orthodox Road to Conversion” (Ktav, 2005).

2/6/08 - Professor Lawrence Schiffman
Who was a Jew? An Exploration of Jewish Identity from Antiquity Until Present
Professor Lawrence Schiffman is a Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU and Chairman of the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. He has a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and is an author of four books. He is an internationally known scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His other major research interests are; Jewish religious, political, and social history in late antiquity; the history of Jewish law and Talmudic literature.

1/30/08 - Rabbi Avi Weiss
What makes a good Jewish leader?
Rabbi Avi Weiss is the Founder and President of YCT Rabbinical School. He is Senior Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, a modern and Open Orthodox congregation of 850 families in Bronx, NY. Rabbi Weiss is the National President of the AMCHA – the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, a grassroots organization that speaks out for Jewish causes throughout the world. He has authored two books: Women at Prayer: A Halakhic Analysis of Women's Prayer Groups and Principles of Spiritual Activism