Webinars

Since April of 2020, when adult learners across the globe were yearning for intellectual stimulation and human connection amidst the profound disorientation of the Covid-19 pandemic, JTS has been offering online study sessions with our renowned faculty and other JTS-affiliated scholars. Thousands of participants have now enjoyed these weekly sessions. 

Lectures are generally offered as series organized around a central theme, about which scholars from virtually every sub-discipline within Jewish studies then share texts and insights. Registration for the series is free and you may attend as many sessions as you like. Sessions are held on most Mondays throughout the year, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm ET. We also offer occasional stand-alone sessions on timely topics. 

Fall 2025 Series

You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change
Mondays, October 20 to December 15, 2025
1:002:00 p.m. ET. There is no program on Presidents’ Day (Monday, February 17)

Register Here

What does revolution look like in Jewish life—spiritual, social, technological, or political? This fall, join JTS scholars for a provocative webinar series exploring transformative moments across Jewish history. From the emergence of monotheism to the Russian Revolution, from handwritten manuscripts to digital frontiers, from summer camps to the Talmud, we’ll consider how Jews have sparked, resisted, and reimagined change. Each session invites reflection on what revolution means—then and now. 

Presenters include:

Dr. Ben Sommer
Dr. Mordecai Schwartz
Dr. Robbie Harris
Dr. Shira Billet
Dr. David Fishman
Dr. Judith Hauptman
Dr. Yitz Landes
Dr. Abigail Uhrman

View upcoming sessions here, and click through on any of them to register for the series.

Past Series

Enjoy over 150 past sessions at the series pages below, where you will find a video recording of each session in the series along with a downloadable source sheet for that session.

Sponsor a Session

Sponsoring a learning session is a beautiful way to honor or remember a loved one or to mark a significant occasion—whether it be a yahrtzeit, a personal or professional achievement, or a milestone celebration. Three sponsorship levels are available: Hakham ($540), Tzadik ($1,000), and Navi ($1,800). As part of the registration process for any series, you will have the opportunity to specify if there is a particular session or scholar you wish to sponsor.  

All sponsorship levels are acknowledged on the session webpage, in email announcements pertaining to the session, in opening and closing remarks at the session, and on the welcome slide in the Zoom waiting room.

Contact Us

If you have questions about our weekly online lectures, please contact us at communitylearning@jtsa.edu.

Events

Events

Nov 17

Progress, Regress, and Transformation: Hermann Cohen’s Ezekiel as a Revolutionary Prophet 

Online | You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

Join this session with Dr. Shira Billet to learn why Hermann Cohen thought that both liberal and conservative forces would be necessary to create any true and lasting revolution. 

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Nov 24

Possibility and Peril: Jews and the Russian Revolution 

Online | You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

Explore with Dr. David Fishman the Jewish socialist movement known as the Bund, the revolutionary role of figures like Leon Trotsky, and Lenin’s complex position on the “Jewish question.”

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Dec 1

A Scholarly Revolution: Rewriting the Rules of Talmud Study 

Online | You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

Discover with Dr. Judith Hauptman how Professor David Weiss Halivni’s method reshaped the study of Talmud.

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Dec 8

Hanukkah: Rebellion, Revolution, and Reinvention

Online | You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

Dr. Yitz Landes will explore how the Hasmonean revolt reshaped Judaism, how later generations reinterpreted its meaning, and how the story of Hanukkah continues to evolve in Jewish tradition.

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Dec 15

NEW DATE! Revolutionizing Belonging: Disability Inclusion and the Future of Jewish Camp 

Online | You Say You Want a Revolution: Jewish Encounters with Radical Change

Dr. Abigail Uhrman explores how inclusive practices in camp settings are helping transform Jewish education, identity, and community.

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