The Jewish Theological Seminary - JTS in Your Community

The Department of Community Development strives to increase the presence of JTS across the globe with public lectures and events, community programming, and adult education programs at JTS and locally.

Regional Programming

To better serve the greater Conservative community, JTS maintains offices offering programming in the following areas:

Public Lectures and Conferences

Each year, JTS’s public lectures and conferences feature engaging personalities who tackle modern issues through a Jewish lens. These events, which are open to the community, provide a forum in which scholars, writers, and community leaders can explore the vital topics that affect our lives.

JTS Community Calendar

Our distinguished faculty speak across the country on a variety of Jewish issues throughout the year. This calendar highlights upcoming events that our faculty are participating in across the country.

Date	Location	Time	Event Detail
January 2–3, 2009	Temple Beth Sholom, Sarasota, FL	Various	Dr. Jonathan Milgram serves as the JTS Hereld Scholar-in-Residence, discussing "Jesus in the Talmud"
January 9–10	Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT	Various	Dr. Anne Lapidus Lerner will be serving as a scholar-in-residence.
January 16–18	Congregation Beth Israel, Vancouver, BC	Various	Dr. Anne Lapidus Lerner delivers several lectures on contemporary Jewish issues.
January 22	Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, NY	7:30 p.m.	Dr. David Roskies discusses his new book Yiddishlands.
January 22	Congregation Tifereth Israel, Columbus, OH	6:00–9:00 p.m.	Rabbi David Ackerman discusses: "What Really Happened at the Burning Bush: A Close Reading of Exodus 3."
January 23–24	B'nai Torah Congregation, Boca Raton, FL	Various	Dr. Benjamin Gampel serves as scholar-in-residence.
January 23–25	Adas Israel, Washington DC	Various	Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky is a scholar-in-residence speaking on "Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters: The Real, the Ideal, and the Monstrous in the Hebrew Bible."
January 27	Huntington Jewish Center, Long Island, NY	8:00 p.m.	Rabbi Lawrence Troster discusses "The Mitzvah of Going Green."
January 30– February 1	Beth El Synagogue, East Windsor, NJ	Various	Dr. Anne Lapidus Lerner serves as the 2009 scholar-in-residence.
February 22	Congregation B'nai Tikvah in Deerfield, IL	7:00 p.m.	Dr. Benjamin Sommer delivers the eleventh annual Dr. Shlomo Moskovitz Memorial Lecture—"The End: Jewish Views of the Afterlife."
February 23	Congregation Tifereth Israel, Columbus, OH	6:00–9:00 p.m.	Rabbi David Ackerman discusses "Purim for Adults."
February 24	Gross Schechter Day School and Agnon, Pepper Pike, OH	3:45–5:00 p.m.	Rabbi David Hoffman teaches Judaic and secular studies staff on "Jewish Political Order."
March 13–14	Temple Beth Am, Margate, FL	Various	Dr. Robert Harris serves as scholar-in-residence.
March 18	South Huntington Jewish Center, Long Island, NY	8:00 p.m.	Rabbi David Hoffman discusses "Connecting Mind, Body, and Soul: A Holistic Approach to Jewish Spirituality."

The Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies

The Finkelstein Institute continues to provide a venue for advancing the dialogue at the intersection of religion and public affairs. The institute sponsors conferences on the theoretical, political, and theological dimensions of the controversial role of religion in liberal democracies, both in the United States and abroad, examining issues including the role of virtue in liberal societies and the place of religion in national self-definition. The institute also sponsors conferences on the separation of church and state and bioethical issues such as stem cell research and cloning.

Community Development

Under the rubric of Friends of JTS, the Office of Community Development works closely with Conservative synagogues to create engaging adult education programs including: scholars-in-residence, videoconference learning, and Seminary Shabbatot. We tailor programming to fit each individual synagogue's need.