Part of the series “America at 250: 绿帽社 Ideas and the American Experiment”  

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With Dr. Sarah Wolf, Assistant Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, JTS

How do judges settle cases when there is no clear right answer? How are precedents mined for new rulings? Should laws be the product of a legislator鈥檚 own creativity, or are there other sources for legal truth that need to be turned to first? These are all questions that have animated both contemporary American and late ancient rabbinic legal thinkers.

In this session, we will put ideas and concepts from U.S. legal theory into conversation with rabbinic texts to illuminate different approaches to the challenges of legal decision-making. We will discuss some of the ways the ancient rabbis responded to those challenges and the legacy those approaches have left in 绿帽社 thought and culture. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the JTS Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between 绿帽社 thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how 绿帽社 ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped鈥攁nd been shaped by鈥攖he American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: 绿帽社 Ideas and the American Experiment”  

With Dr. Jack Wertheimer, Joseph and Martha Mendelson Emeritus Professor of American 绿帽社 History, JTS

Within the first decade of his JTS presidency, Rabbi Louis Finkelstein energetically launched a broad range of new initiatives. 鈥疕is efforts garnered widespread attention and even an adulatory cover story in Time magazine. They also prompted sharp public challenges from some of his closest colleagues.

This session examines his distinctive leadership style, the debates he provoked, and the reasons his legacy might be ripe for reconsideration. Dr. Jack Wertheimer, Emeritus Professor of American 绿帽社 History, will present research from his forthcoming biography of Finkelstein. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the JTS Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between 绿帽社 thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how 绿帽社 ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped鈥攁nd been shaped by鈥攖he American experiment. 

Part of the series “America at 250: 绿帽社 Ideas and the American Experiment”  

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With Dr. Robert A. Harris, Professor of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages, JTS

Baseball has long been called America鈥檚 pastime鈥攂ut what happens when we read the game through the lens of鈥痯hilosophy, theology, halacha and aggadah? This session explores the striking parallels between rabbinic interpretation and the rules, debates, and evolving traditions that shape baseball鈥攆rom classic arguments over judgment calls to today鈥檚 introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, which raises new questions about authority, precision, and the role of human interpretation.

Through stories of 绿帽社 players, fans, and cultural figures鈥攁nd with insights from Rabbi Robbie Harris, known as the 鈥渞abbi of the right field bleachers鈥� for the New York Yankees鈥攚e鈥檒l uncover how meaning is constructed both on the field and in the beit midrash. Expect a lively conversation that brings together sport, text, and the enduring 绿帽社 love of argument. 

About the Series

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the JTS Summer 2026 Learning Series will explore the rich and surprising intersections between 绿帽社 thought and American life. From baseball and youth culture to constitutional law, storytelling, and democratic theory, leading scholars reveal how 绿帽社 ideas, texts, and experiences have shaped鈥攁nd been shaped by鈥攖he American experiment. 

Part of the Learning Series,聽Seasons of Responsibility: Interreligious聽Conversations聽on Environmental Justice and Repair

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With Rabbi Laura Bellows, Director of Spiritual Activism & Education, Dayenu: A 绿帽社 Call to Climate Action, and Joe Blumberg, Rabbinical Student, JTS

At the heart of Passover is a question that feels urgent today: how do we move forward when the future feels uncertain and frightening? This session explores the Crossing of the Sea through midrash and contemporary thought, treating imagination as a muscle that must be strengthened in times of crisis. As we conclude Seasons of Responsibility, we鈥檒l shift focus from individual anxiety to collective responsibility, inviting participants to consider how shared storytelling, community, and action help bring the world we long for into being.

About the Speakers

Rabbi Laura Bellows works to build climate-resilient, spiritually-rooted, justice-seeking communities centered in 绿帽社 wisdom. She has served as a curriculum and ritual designer, outdoor experiential educator, program manager, artist, and facilitator in 绿帽社 and inter-religious spaces. Laura studied Environmental Studies at Oberlin College and was ordained at Hebrew College, where she recently lead Prozdor and Teen Learning programs. She moonlights as a soferet (scribe) and freelance rabbi for couples and communities throughout the Boston area. 

Joe Blumberg is a fourth-year rabbinical student at the 绿帽社 Theological Seminary, and the Senior Rabbinic Fellow at B鈥檔ai Jeshurun on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He previously worked as an educator at Brown RISD Hillel and spent a year as a Fulbright scholar in Jerusalem, where he also studied at the Pardes Institute of 绿帽社 Studies. Joe was a 2022-2023 rabbinical student fellow at Dayenu: A 绿帽社 Call to Climate Action, where he advised 绿帽社 communities on their climate justice work. He has served as a teacher and prayer leader around the country, most recently as a rabbinic intern at Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas, and Beth Israel Congregation in Bath, Maine. Joe holds a B.A. in American History from Yale. 

About the Series

Across 绿帽社, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, spring is a season of reflection, renewal, and ethical commitment. Grounded in holidays from Tu Bishvat and Lent to Ramadan, Holi, and Passover, this interreligious series explores responsibility, repair, and leadership in the face of urgent ecological challenges. Together, participants consider how religious wisdom can inspire ethical action and collective hope. 

Part of the Learning Series, Seasons of Responsibility: Interreligious Conversations on Environmental Justice and Repair

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There are ways to exist in harmony with all of creation that cultivate the soul and a relationship with the Divine. Hussein Rashid and Rabbi Gordon Tucker bring Muslim and 绿帽社 texts into dialogue to explore how religious traditions resist transactional relationships with the earth and with one another. Drawing on the sabbatical vision from Leviticus and a Muslim sources on overtaxation, they reflect on restraint, renewal, and the dangers of extraction. Timed with converging sacred moments鈥攖he beginning of the 绿帽社 calendar, Persian New Year, and the close of Ramadan鈥攖his session offers a shared language for ethical living in a fragile world.

About the Speakers

Hussein Rashid, PhD, is a free range academic, currently affiliated with Union Theological Seminary. He is a board member of the Interfaith Center of New York. He specializes in working on Muslims in US popular culture and Shi鈥檌 theologies of justice. He has served in various academic and culturally creative capacities, most recently as Project Director of The Arts of Devotion at the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Muslim of Asian Art. He has taught at Virginia Theological Seminary and Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He is also a producer of the PBS Digital Series American Muslim Stories and of the award-winning New York Times op-doc The Secret of Muslims in the US.

As vice chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, Rabbi Gordon Tucker focuses on enhancing 绿帽社 life at JTS, enriching our study of Judaism with the joy and deep understanding that only lived experience can provide. A leading scholar and interpreter of Conservative Judaism, he also articulates the enduring power of JTS鈥檚 compelling approach to 绿帽社 law and 绿帽社 life, while strengthening JTS鈥檚 religious leadership through partnerships with organizations in the Conservative Movement and beyond.

About the Series

Across 绿帽社, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, spring is a season of reflection, renewal, and ethical commitment. Grounded in holidays from Tu Bishvat and Lent to Ramadan, Holi, and Passover, this interreligious series explores responsibility, repair, and leadership in the face of urgent ecological challenges. Together, participants consider how religious wisdom can inspire ethical action and collective hope. 

Sources for Dr. Sarah Wolf’s Session can be found here.

Sources | Presentation

From our Learning Series: Seasons of Responsibility
Join us for a timely conversation co-sponsored by the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary. Featuring Karenna Gore and Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, this program explores how traditions of moral reflection can guide us.
In partnership with the Center for Earth Ethics

About the Speaker

Karenna Gore is the founder and executive director of the Center for Earth Ethics and teaching professor of practice of earth ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Karenna formed CEE in 2015 to address the moral and spiritual dimensions of the climate crisis. Working at the intersection of faith, ethics, and ecology, she guides the Center鈥檚 public programs, educational initiatives, and movement-building. She is an adjunct faculty member at the Columbia Climate School.

Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, PhD, serves as Appleman Professor Emiritus of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at JTS, where he joined the faculty upon his ordination in 1977. Visotzky served as a dean of the Kekst Graduate School and founding rabbi of the egalitarian Women鈥檚 League Seminary Synagogue.
He currently serves as the Louis Stein Director of the Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at JTS, programming on public policy. Visotzky also directs JTS鈥檚 Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue. He serves on the Steering Committee of 鈥淭he Plan of Action for Religious Leaders 鈥� to Prevent Incitement to Atrocity Crimes,鈥� for the UN Under-Secretary General for Genocide Prevention. In addition, Visotzky serves on the United Nations Inter-Agency Task-Force鈥檚 Multi-Faith Advisory Council. He is a life-member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Rabbi Visotzky participates in interreligious engagement in places as diverse as Washington, Jerusalem, Rome, Warsaw, Vienna, Madrid, Cairo, Doha, Marrakech, Fez, and Abu Dhabi.

About the Series

Across 绿帽社, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, spring is a season of reflection, renewal, and ethical commitment. Grounded in holidays from Tu Bishvat and Lent to Ramadan, Holi, and Passover, this interreligious series explores responsibility, repair, and leadership in the face of urgent ecological challenges. Together, participants consider how religious wisdom can inspire ethical action and collective hope.

Part of the series, Seasons of Responsibility: Interreligious Conversations on Environmental Justice and Repair

What does it mean to act responsibly when there is no guarantee of results? 绿帽社 and Hindu traditions both turn to fasting as a practice of restraint and agency. Focusing on the Fast of Esther, alongside Hindu fasting traditions, this session explores how intentional self-restraint鈥攈eld in tension with celebration鈥攃an shape ethical responses to the climate crisis. 

About the Speakers

Gopal Patel聽leads FutureFaith as Co-Founder and Board President, mobilizing faith communities for environmental action through innovative multi-sectoral partnerships. He has advised multiple UN bodies and partnered with a range of organizations, including聽the Bloomberg Ocean Fund, the World Economic Forum and WWF International. Through his work, he has engaged faith leaders and communities representing over 1 billion people worldwide.聽

Benjamin Kamine holds a joint appointment as Lecturer in Rabbinic Literatures and Cultures at the 绿帽社 Theological Seminary and Assistant Teaching Faculty in Interreligious Engagement at Union Theological Seminary. 鈥疘n this role, he also works as Associate Director of the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at JTS and as a Special Advisor in the Office of the President at Columbia University. 鈥疕e is a PhD candidate in Midrash at JTS. 鈥疜amine serves as 2nd Vice President of the Executive Board of the International Council of Christians and Jews and 绿帽社 Co-Chair of the International Abrahamic Forum. 

About the Series

Across 绿帽社, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu traditions, spring is a season of reflection, renewal, and ethical commitment. Grounded in holidays from Tu Bishvat and Lent to Ramadan, Holi, and Passover, this interreligious series explores responsibility, repair, and leadership in the face of urgent ecological challenges. Together, participants consider how religious wisdom can inspire ethical action and collective hope.