Secular Spirituality: Passionate Journey to a Rational Judaism
Can you be spiritual without being religious? Can you be rational and spiritual at the same time? Is there an ethical dimension to spirituality? Are science and spirituality in conflict? Or is “spiritual” not the best word we can find for the “experience?” Colloquium ’01 explored the challenging question of “spirituality” for Secular Humanistic Jews with clarity, insight and emotional power.
You can read more about Colloquium ’01, including synopses of the major speakers, in the introduction to the printed volume Secular Spirituality: Passionate Journey to a Rational Judaism (IISHJ/Milan Press, $14.95) which can be purchased online at Amazon.com or from the IISHJ. Secular Spirituality is also available as an e-book: Kindle, Nook, and more.
Video for each Colloquium presentation and the following panel discussion is now available on the IISHJ YouTube channel. Click here to see the complete playlist, or on each title for that specific video.
Felix Posen
Graduating Leaders, Musicians and Spokesperson
Rabbi Sherwin Wine
André Aciman – Lavender
Then-Professor of French and comparative literature at Bard College in New York. Fellow, Center for Scholars and Writers, New York Public Library. Prolific writer, poet and lecturer.
Dan Cohn-Sherbok – Rethinking Traditional Spirituality
Professor Judaism at the University of Wales, Dr. Cohn-Sherbok received his doctorate from Cambridge University. As a reformed rabbi he has served congregations throughout the world. Author and editor of more than 60 books on Judaism including The Future of Judaism and Understanding the Holocaust. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Ralph Williams – Rethinking the Bible
Professor in the Department of English, Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, offers his engaging perspective on the Bible.
Rahel Elior – Rethinking Jewish Mysticism
Professor of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Visiting professor at colleges and universities throughout the world. Research includes the history of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, Messianism, Hasidism and Jewish women. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Mitchell Silver – Rethinking Jewish Secularism
Professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Then-Cultural Director of Camp Kinderland and educational director of the I.L. Peretz School of Workmen’s Circle in Boston. Author of Respecting the Wicked Child: A Philosophy of Secular Jewish Identity and Education. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Ruth Calderon – Zionism and Spirituality
Founder and executive director of Alma Hebrew College in Israel. Dedicated to promoting Hebrew culture and greater mutual understanding between Jews of different backgrounds. Then completing doctorate in Talmudic studies. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Rabbi Daniel Friedman – Art and Nature: Beauty and Spirituality
Rabbi Emeritus of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation, founding member of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis and author of Jews Without Judaism: Conversations With an Unconventional Rabbi (Prometheus, 2002). To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Norbert Samuelson – Science and Spirituality
Chair of Jewish studies at Arizona State University. Prolific writer of books and academic articles on Jewish philosophy. The First Seven Days is the first of a planned seven-book series on constructive Jewish theology in the light of contemporary philosophy and science. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Joseph Chuman – Ethics and Spirituality
Founding faculty member of the IISHJ and longtime leader in Ethical Culture movement. Has taught contemporary civilization, religion and master’s seminars in religion an human rights as a visiting professor at Columbia and Barnard College. Writings on Humanistic Judaism are widely published. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
Harry T. Cook – An Alternative Perspective
Then-Rector of St. Andrews Church in Clawson, Michigan. Former ethics and public policy columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Author of Christianity Beyond Creeds and Sermons of a Devoted Heretic. To see the panel’s response to this presentation, click here.
