Back to the Future: Jewish Perspectives on What Comes Next
Fall 2026 Webinar Series
Preoccupation with what comes next, especially in periods of uncertainty, is hardly a new phenomenon. Looking ahead—to what might change, what might endure, and what might be possible—runs throughout Jewish text and tradition. In this series, JTS scholars and alumni look backward and forward, exploring how Jews across centuries have imagined what comes next, prepared for the unknown, and established what they hoped would endure. From biblical visions and rabbinic ideas about the world to come to preservation, artificial intelligence, and the future of Jewish life, we’ll ask not only what the future might hold, but how we can help shape it.
Sources for sessions will be found here.
What Comes Next?
Jewish Life and the Future We Are Building
with Rabbi Mike Uram, Chancellor, JTS
October 19, 2026
The Future of Torah:
Jewish Learning in the Age of AI
with Rabbi Zohar Atkins
October 26, 2026
A New Heaven and a New Earth:
How the Bible Cultivates Hope for the Future
with Dr. Amy Kalmanofsky, Blanche and Romie Shapiro Professor of Bible, Dean, Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, and Gershon Kekst Graduate School
November 2, 2026
Rabbinic Futures, Short and Long Term
with Dr. David Kraemer, Gerson D. Cohen Chair in Talmud and Rabbinic Culture, and is the Librarian Emeritus of The JTS Library
November 9, 2026
TBD
November 16
Anticipatory Memory:
Remembering the Future
with Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement at JTS
November 23, 2026
The End of Days:
Eschotology and the Rabbinic Imagination
A Conversation with Dr. Jenny Labendz
November 30, 2026
The Bikur Cholim Shul in Slovakia:
Preparing for the Future
with Dr. Marjorie Lehman, Professor of Talmnud and Rabbinics at JTS
December 7, 2026
Preserving the Past for the Future:
The JTS Library
with Dr. Yitz Landes, Assistant Professor of Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures
December 14, 2026
