Booking Information: Bringing Jay Michaelson to Your Institution or Event

Jay Michaelson regularly lectures and teaches as a scholar in residence at universities, synagogues, retreat centers, and conferences.  His classes, workshops, and lectures combine spiritual seriousness, a high level of intellectual rigor, and a down-to-earth contemporary sensibility.  Choose a link to learn more:

TOPICS

INSTITUTIONS

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MULTIMEDIA SAMPLES

TOPICS (click the link to expand)

Religion and sexuality / LGBT Issues

Nondual Judaism, Theology, and Kabbalah

1.   Religion and Sexuality / LGBT Issues

God vs. Gay?  The Religious Case FOR Equality.  Religious people should support equality for gays and lesbians not despite religion — but because of it.  So writes Jay Michaelson in his new bestselling book “God vs. Gay?  The Religious Case for Equality” (Beacon), which Publisher’s Weekly called “a salvo in the case for equality.”  Contrary to the myth that the Bible prohibits homosexuality (the myth of “God versus gay”), Michaelson shows how the handful of Biblical verses sometimes used against LGBT people are ambiguous, and subject to interpretation.  The real question, he says, is not “what about Leviticus?” but what values cause us to choose one interpretation or another, and how we as human beings grow when we encounter other people.  In this text-based and no-holds-barred discussion, Michaelson discusses his own personal journey of acceptance and affirmation, and how the overwhelming majority of our religious values support inclusion of LGBT people.  Plenty of time will be allowed for questions and conversation.  (Taught at over 40 churches, synagogues, and universities)

Sexuality and Scripture: What does the Bible really say about homosexuality?  Taught at the Empire State Pride Agenda, Easton Mountain, and for several interfaith groups.

God, Gender and Justice.  This class looks at Biblical text, anthropology, and some truly wild Christian Right quotes, to see how ancient and contemporary fears of homosexuality are similar (and different), and how they are really about the fundamental Western obsession with imposing order on chaos. Taught at Arlington Street Church, Denver LGBT Center, and Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue.

What did Abraham, Jacob,  and David Learn from their Homoerotic Relationships with Other Men?Three of the great heroes of Judaism — its founder, its namesake, and its greatest king –  all learned something very important about gender and God in homoeroticized encounters with other men… something which impacts how our tradition construes the ideal man and the ideal servant of God.  Text workshop.  Taught at Hadar, Limmud, and Nehirim.

Homosexuality and Liminality, Israelites and Canaanites: The Queer Theology of the Boundary Crosser. Biblical scholars have speculated that Biblical prohibitions on sexuality — especially cultic homosexuality — may have been intended to demarcate boundaries between Israelite and Canaanite. At the same time, some queer theologians and thinkers in the “gay spirituality” movement have sought to (re-)invent a suppressed queer identity that celebrates the transgression of precisely those boundaries.  This scholarly presentation (with powerpoint) explores these fascinating themes.  Taught at HRC Summer Institute, Nehirim, and Keshet/Mosaic.

Transgender Souls, Pretty Boys, and Queer Theology: This is the Stuff You Didn’t Learn in Sunday School.  Two verses of the Torah are not all that Judaism has to say about sexual diversity. In this workshop Jay will present a range of fascinating texts, some familiar (Jacob, Joseph, David and Jonathan), some less so (Lurianic Kabbalah, medieval poetry) to explore some of the ways in which queer sexuality has been expressed in the Jewish tradition.

Queer Religion, Queer Politics.   Our national debates about LGBT equality are much deeper than whether one is for or against “gay rights.”  They are also about how sexuality is used as an instrument of control, how religious and spiritual people relate to their sacred traditions, and what role religious values should have in our civic life.

Queer Activism, Queer Scholarship: Liminality, Identity, and the “Good Gays” (Academic lecture).  In contemporary queer religious scholarship, the category of liminality has emerged as a site for positioning queer identity within religious frames.  Yet out in the activist world, fixed identities (“born this way”) have been shown to be more politically effective.  When do our activist interests and scholarly interests intersect, collide, and fight with one another?  Does a basically queer approach to text lead to a particular political affiliation?

Does Homosexuality Matter?  Is homosexuality more like gender — which is very important, and which has shifted how we conceive of liturgy, theology, and community — or more like, say, eye color, which is not so important?

Something Queer about Mysticism: Christians & Jews discuss the spiritual path  (with teaching partners).  Mysticism and spirituality are, paradoxically, at both the core and the edges of many religious traditions.   Moreover, mystics are often queer people, and contemporary queer Christians and Jews have found resonance within their contemplative and mystical traditions.  How does queerness figure into Christian and Jewish spiritualities?  What’s similar and what’s different?

What Comes After Marriage?  Many New Yorkers are still basking in the afterglow of the marriage equality victory last June.  But what comes next?  Should we direct our attention to marriage battles in other states, or to other issues of LGBT equality — or to other social issues entirely?

Creating a Queer-Positive Jewishness: Resources and Challenges. This is a broad lecture combining some ‘reports from the field’ of what’s happening (same-sex marriage, new ritual,  halacha) and some ‘resources’ (medieval homoerotic Jewish poetry, theology, the gay spirituality movement, readings of Bible and Kabbalah) to present the big picture of how GLBT people are creating their own forms of Jewish identities and practices.

Queer Spirit Heroes. From David and Jonathan to Allen Ginsberg and his many loves, there are ample heroes in the past for thoughtful and spiritual GLBT people today. In this workshop, we’ll learn about some of them and explore what they can mean to us today.  Taught at Easton Mountain and Nehirim

   Performed at Easton Mountain, the JCC of Manhattan, Tuscon Inclusion Project

Other classes and workshops on religion and sexuality:
Homosexuality in Halacha
Introduction to the Gay Spirituality Movement
The status of gays and lesbians in the different movements of Judaism
Personal stories of ‘the closet’ and ‘coming out’
Lesbianism in Halacha
Toward a queer Jewish theology

2.  Nondual Judaism, Theology, and Kabbalah

God Does Not Exist, God is Existence Itself: An Introduction to Nondual Judaism.  God-concepts evolve over time. In the beginning, our ancestors were polytheists, animists, and nature-worshippers. Later, they developed monotheistic notions of one God in the sky, and a philosophical monotheism of one unchanging deity.  Still later, they came to see God as Ein Sof — without end — even filling every molecule in your brain and thinking your thoughts.   This workshop explores some of these ideas.

Introduction to Jewish Mysticism/Kabbalah 101. This class can focus on the core symbols of the “theosophical” Kabbalah, including the Zohar; the meditative practices of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia; Hasidism; and folk beliefs including golems, angels, demons, reincarnation, even the red string.   Taught at: The 14th Street Y, Makor, The Dorot Foundation, the Skirball Center, and many synagogues. An enlarged an academic version of the course was taught at Yale University and City College of New York.  Can also be taught as a focused text study on the Zohar, with the original texts.

What is Jewish Enlightenment?  With Kabbalistic contemplation, inquiry into the nature of nonduality, dialogue, and a bit of mindfulness meditation, we will ask the question of “what is Jewish enlightenment” and explore how the answer differs from enlightenment in other traditions, and how nondual meditation orients the mind a bit differently from more familiar practices of mindfulness.  Taught at Manhattan JCC and several synagogues.

All is One/All is God: Nonduality East and West.  “All is one” is a familiar teaching of yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and New Age spirituality. But it is also the foundation of Kabbalah, other forms of Western mysticism, and many Earth-based and indigenous religions as well.

It’s Not All In Your Head: Food, Sex, and the Enlightenment of the Body in Jewish Tradition.  This lecture explores how the body is the site of religious observance and enlightenment in Judaism, with a wide range of textual explorations.  Lecture given at Cong. Kol Ami, Cong. Dorshei Emet, Academy of Jewish Religion

“A Taxonomy of Wonder” An Introduction to Abraham Joshua Heschel.  Taught at Temple Israel of Natick and Ivry Prozdor school.

Kabbalah and Eros. Lecture given as  the Pincus Lecture at Drew University.  Workshop version taught at One Taste San Francisco.

Polytheism and Nonduality: Integral Kabbalah and the Repersonalization of God. Though one might expect a radically iconoclastic emphasis on nothingness in nondual mystical traditions, in fact the opposite is the case: religious traditions which most embrace nonduality often  embrace polytheism — in Hinduism, for example — or in the case of Judaism, what might be called theological polymorphism.  Taught at the Science & Nonduality Conference, and New York Integral.

Ways of Speaking Silence: Vedanta and Neo-Hasidism.  How did Vedanta, the nondual mystical Hinduism that is the root of much “New Age” spirituality, impact Neo-Hasidism and the Jewish spiritual renaissance?  This scholarly presentation traces some of the key figures and contrasts central doctrines and teachings.

To Sin is Holy: The Anti-Torah of Jacob Frank.  The antinomian heretic Jacob Frank (1726-1791) was a fascinating and startling Jewish (and Christian) thinker and/or cult leader who believed that the total transgression of all norms was necessary to actualize the messanic redemption.  Taught at Limmud Colorado and Limmud NY.

Performative Messianism and Radical Freedom:  Antinomianism, Sexuality, and Consciousness. Performing ritual acts of radical antinomian sexuality is found in many cultures, from tantra to the Radical Faeries.  How does ecstatic sexual practice relate to transformation of consciousness?

Is Ecstasy Bad for You?: The Staroselse-Lubavitch Controversy. Two hundred years ago, the Chabad Hasidic sect split in two, over what remains a pressing question today: whether ecstatic mystical states are good for you, or not. This text workshop explores some of the key texts of the dispute.  Taught at Hadar, Limmud, and synagogues.

Queering Kabbalah. Kabbalah has become a resource for progressive, feminist, and even some queer Jews seeking an alternative to normative Jewish spirituality.  At the same time, Kabbalah is among the most heteronormative, sexist, and gender-binary-reenforcing discourses in world religion: the union of male and female reflects the very nature of the cosmos itself, with the female often “disappearing” into the male.   In this workshop, we’ll explore ways in which traditional theological Kabbalah can indeed be a site for a queering of the categories of mysticism and religion.

3.  Contemporary Judaism

iSpirituality: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love 21st Century Judaism. Traditional Jewish institutions are in trouble.  Denominations are going broke, federations are struggling to retain relevance, and the old model of the synagogue is increasingly being questioned.  Is this the end of the Jewish world, or the beginning?  Jay Michaelson, the writer and activist recently named to the Forward 50 list of the “people creating the Judaism of the 21st century,” thinks this is a moment of great opportunity.  Particuarly among younger, educated Jews, there is a renaissance underway of new Jewish culture, spirituality, and identity. Transcending conventional movements, ideologies, and labels, young Jews are congregating on their own for prayer, spiritual practice, and cultural activities.  They are mixing and matching from different religions and cultures, and are no longer quite as enchanted with the Holy Trinity of antisemitism, Israel, and the Holocaust.  What can we do to make the most of this new, postmodern American Judaism — in our congregations, our homes, and our lives together?

YHVH Means ‘What Is’: Integrating Buddhism and Judaism.  It’s an open secret that many of America’s leading Buddhist teachers come from Jewish backgrounds, and many of America’s leading teachers of Jewish spirituality have spent time on Buddhist retreat. What do these two seemingly disparate traditions have in common? How are they influencing one another? And what, really, is Buddhist about Buddhist meditation anyway?  Taught at Wesleyan University, Limmud UK

American Jews and Israel: Is The Love Affair in Trouble? How have Israeli policies changed American Jewish opinion?  How have American Jewish communal policies shifted American Jewish opinion?  What is the state of the American-Jewish relationship with the Jewish state?

Letter and Spirit: An introduction to the New Jewish Culture Among younger educated Jews, there is a renaissance underway of new Jewish culture, spirituality, and identity. Generally disregarding of conventional movements, ideologies, and labels, young Jews are congregating on their own for prayer, spiritual practice, and cultural activities. In parallel, leading young Jewish writers like Jonathan Safran Foer, Michael Chabon, Nathan Englander, and Myla Goldberg are increasingly making use of religious themes in their work, in sharp contrast to a previous generation of secular Jewish writers. What do these new spiritual and literary movements mean for the Jewish future? Are there new forms of Jewishness being written and created today?

Is the Torah a Basis for Liberal values? Today, it’s common in some circles to hear claims that the Bible aligns with modern liberal ideas such as taking care of the less fortunate, pursuing peace and justice, and ending baseless hatred. Are Jewish neo-conservatives, are just plain wrong? This is a frank look at Biblical texts on such issues as poverty, the death penalty, slavery, and multiculturalism. This text workshop and discussion is sure to provoke.  Taught at: Skirball Center.

Why Jews Under 30 can’t stand Judaism, and what to do about it. Many in the institutional Jewish community have begun sounding the alarm about dangerous demographic trends among Jews under 30: high intermarriage, low affiliation, and a generally negative view of Jewish life. What can be done to reverse these trends?  We’ll talk about the loss of the ‘sacred trinity’ of American Judaism — Israel, the holocaust, and the survival of the Jewish people – and the renaissance of Jewish spirituality and nontraditional affiliation.

Jewish Spiritual Searches: A View from the Path. What are the new forms of Jewish spirituality? How are young people today seeking, finding, and then re-seeking new ways of connecting to spirit and to tribe? Blending personal story, intimate anecdotes, and reports from the cutting edge of Jewish spirituality, this workshop will inform and challenge our preconceptions about authentic spiritual search today.

Alternative Judaisms of the 20th Century.  In the 20th century, many new alternative forms of Judaism were created. In this class, or series of classes, we’ll learn about them first-hand. Topics covered include: Jewish Socialism and Labor Unions, The American Jewish Left & the American Jewish Right, Radical Zionism & Canaanism, Radical Jewish Nationalism, the 60s Radicals, the Chavurah Movement, Jewish Renewal/ New Age and 20th Century Kabbalah, Chabad, Reconstructionism, BuJus, Jewish Feminism, and Queer Judaism.

Integral Judaism: An Introduction to Ken Wilber, Spiral Dynamics, and The Torah of Everything. How does Torah fit into the evolution of the world & consciousness? How does the evolution of the world & consciousness fit into Torah? In this workshop, we’ll look at one non-Jewish “theory of everything,” philosopher Ken Wilber’s adaptation of Spiral Dynamics, to see how the universe has unfolded from inanimate matter to spiritual enlightenment, and what redemption and mashiach might mean in an actual, this-world context. Charts, maps, and memes will be provided.

Other classes in Contemporary Judaism:
The Philosophy of Halacha
Buber, Rosenzweig, Levinas, Derrida: Toward the Other
How Not to Believe in God
Motherland, Mother Earth, Divine Mother: Dreaming of the Land of Israel

4.  Meditation and Spirituality

Insight Meditation Retreats. Meditation is the practice of slowing down thought enough to observe the mind more clearly. It is a non-dogmatic and non-sectarian practice that shows demonstrable results: more calm, less selfishness; more clarity of mind, less confusion; more awareness, less suffering.   Jay Michaelson’s meditation teaching makes serious meditation practice accessible to all. He teaches the basic practice of insight meditation (vipassana), which is derived from Theravada Buddhism.  If desired, Jay can also combine insight meditation with Jewish religious practice.  Taught for Nishmat Hayyim, Nehirim, Rabbi David Cooper.  Jay is formally authorized to teach in the Burmese lineage of Theravadan Buddhism.

A Day Spa for the Soul: A Day of Mindfulness. This daylong retreat of meditation and spiritual practice will include sitting, eating and walking meditation; body-centered spiritual practices including yoga and movement; and time to connect with one another. It’s like a day-spa for the soul!   Taught at the JCC of Manhattan and Easton Mountain

What is Spirituality?  Is it Nonsense, or the Meaning of Life Itself? Can we say anything useful about “spirituality,” a non-Jewish word which has transformed Jewish life and practice?  Is it just a narcissistic feel-good  for the privileged and the lonely, or is there more to it than that?  Can the word even be defined?  Today  we’ll look at the purposes, stages, and varieties of spiritual practice; distinguish spirituality from religion, hedonism, and personal growth; and suggest that a spiritual orientation transforms religion and is an essential part of the life well lived.  Lecture given at Easton Mountain and several synagogues.

Getting “Serious” About Your Meditation Practice: How to do it, why to do it, and where you can go with it. What should a “Jewish” meditation practice look like?  Why might it be of interest – what can it do?  Can you do it in a hectic life and with a skeptical mind?  Do you have to be “spiritual” to meditate?  How is meditation understood by contemporary cognitive neuroscience?  And what can we expect of meditation practice?  How does practice deepen over?  Are we allowed to talk about goals — and if so, what might they be?  All this and more, plus silence.

What’s Next After Now?  Taking your practice to the next level. Contemplative practice is always about the present moment.  But over time, it is indeed possible to make progress, or not, in one’s spiritual life.  In this discussion for experienced practitioners, we’ll explore traditional, linear approaches to contemplative practice, focusing on practical ways each of us can take the “next step” for ourselves.  “Advanced Meditation” need not be an oxymoron.

Meditation on the Run. You don’t have to set aside 45 minutes a day to meditate in peace and quiet. Even if you have kids or a crazy business schedule, you can easily relax, be present and gain the benefits of meditationwith zero minutes of spare time. Learn several simple and effective meditation practices that you can integrate into your busy, stressed-out life.   Taught at Makor, Limmud, and the 14th Street Y.

Eat Your Way to Enlightenment: The Art of Eating Meditation. Eating meditation, combining the wisdom of the Buddha with the brilliance of the bagel, can give your mind the spaciousness it needs, and, nu, a little nosh.  Anyone can do it, and you don’t need 45 minutes either. Taught at National Havurah Institute, Congregation Kol Ami, Congregation Dorshei Emet, and many other institutions.

Introduction to meditation.  Learn the basics of meditation, practices that can work well with a low-sleep, high-energy  lifestyle, and ways to integrate these techniques in our own lives for more calm, concentration, and focus. If youre curious about meditation, this is the perfect introduction. Taught at NYU, the JCC of Manhattan, and Wesleyan University.

“‘There’s nothing so whole as a broken heart’: Embracing Sadness and Joy on the Spiritual Path.  Can we approach God with sadness, anger, and loneliness in our hearts? Can sadness and joy be united? Is suffering a prerequisite for religious  consciousness — indeed, is religion a sublimation of the desire for love?  Texts, tears, teachings, and truths will all have a place.

God in Your Body: Body-centered spiritual practice in the Jewish tradition.  What’s the best place to start experiencing God, freeing yourself from stress, and practicing the vast majority of Jewish commandments? Your body.  We will study text, walk in the woods, meditate with potato chips, and even learn how to use the bathroom according to Kabbalah.  Taught as a weeklong retreat at Elat Chayyim, and as one- and three- session workshops at several synagogues.

Trance Techniques of Ecstasy: Music and Contemplative Practice. Around the world, repetitive musical patterns are used to induce trance states believed to be conducive to spiritual insights and mystical experience. Consider the zikr of the Sufis, icaros of the South American ayahuasca shamans, repetitive chanting of the Buddhist sutras, mantra, Hindu kirtan, Kabbalistic mantra-like recitations, and even such practices as the recitation of the Hail Mary and aspects of traditional Jewish prayer — not to mention the modern resurgence of trance techniques in technoshamanism, the New Age’s ‘trance dance’ and the archaic revival.  In this class, we will examine some of these practices, experience some of them for ourselves, and situate our understanding of mystical experience in the context of how these traditions address the relationships between experience and insight.  Taught at Berklee School of Music.

Other meditation classes:
Authentic Movement
Nondual Meditation
Sitting with God: Using the Ashrei as a Guided Meditation
Osho’s Dynamic Meditation
Meditation: It’s a Walk in the Park (walking meditation, outside)

5.  Jewish Ritual

Meditative davening services.  Jay’s services usually follow the structure of the traditional liturgy, but do not include all of its substance, instead allowing those who wish to daven traditionally to do so alongside our own creative interpretation and improvisation.   Jay is fully fluent in all Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform nusach, and can read Torah, Haftarah, High Holidays, and Megillah trope.  the services are a mindful and heartful way to bring in a Sabbath of tranquility and alertness, regardless of your level of religious observance or Hebrew knowledge.

Deep Rest: A Shabbat Mini-Retreat.  This Shabbat, we will experience a miniature silent retreat, combining insight meditation, chanting, movement, and eating meditation. Blending mindfulness techniques from the Buddhist world and heart-opening ones from the Jewish tradition, we will cultivate a deep restfulness and awaken an awareness of the Divine Presence. Participants are asked to come on time, and observe “social silence,” not speaking except for designated moments in the program.  We will not be following the liturgy or conducting a Torah service; this is an experiment with a different mode of spiritual practice.

Neo-Kabbalistic Poetry.  P.Diddy in Fiddler on the Roof. Checking out yeshiva bochurs during Simchas Torah. Erotic harmonies of Lecha Dodi. These and many more antinomian verses will be declaimed, shouted, and sung to musical accompaniment and general merriment by Jay Michaelson, author of Another Word for Sky: Poems.

6.  Environmentalism/Nature

The Face Behind the Mask: Encountering God in Nature. In Hasidic wisdom, Hateva, nature, is equivalent to Elohim, the aspect of God that both conceals and reveals the Divine. In this class, you will learn, and practice, some of the ways in which our ancestors sought Gods Face in nature. We might practice hitbodedut, Rabbi Nachmans method of soul-searing meditation, aided by the songs of the grass. Or we may practice mindful walking and learn the Jewish attention-blessings to be recited in places of natural beauty. Through meditation, study, and experience, we will together learn a Jewish path for appreciating natures beauty, and the Divine life within.   Taught at Elat Chayyim

Other workshops in Environmentalism/ Nature:
Rock scrambling, hiking, spelunking, and bike trips (for adults and young adults; taught for several years at Camp Ramah and Elat Chayyim)
Rabbi Nachman’s “Song of the Grass”
Jewish environmental ethics and the Four Worlds Model
Doing Real Spiritual Work with Kids on the Trail (for educators; taught at Teva Learning Center)

7.  Other

Non-Violent Communication
Antilawyerism and Antisemitism
Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Pricing of Human Lives
Understanding the International Court of Justice opinion about the Israeli “separation wall”.
Geoengineering: Toward a Climate Change Manhattan Project

INSTITUTIONS

Academic Appointments
Boston University Law School (Visiting Assistant Professor; Environmental Ethics, Law & Religion)
City College of New York (Adjunct Professor, Kabbalah)
Yale University (Instructor, Jewish Mysticism college seminar)

Faculty Positions
Scholar in Residence, Eden Village Camp, 2010
Human Rights Campaign Summer Institute, 2010
Senior Teacher, Camp JRF, 2007
Adjunct Professor, City College of New York, 2005
Skirball Center for Jewish Studies, 2005
Berkshire Hills-Emanuel Center, Summer 2004
Teacher, Jewish Theological Seminary of America Prozdor School, 1999-2005
Teacher, Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, 1991, 1994, 1997-99
Teacher, Makom, New Haven, CT,  1996-97
Teaching Assistant, Yale University, 1996-97

Scholar in Residence
Temple Beth El, Stamford, CT, April 2011
Shir Tikvah, Minneapolois, MN, April 2011
Jewish Community of Amherst, MA, May 2011
Limmud New York (invited presenter), Jan 2011
Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinic Training Institute, Jan 2011
Bet Alef Synagogue, Seattle, WA, Nov 2010
Beth El Temple, Harrisburg, PA, May 2010
Limmud Colorado (invited presenter), May 2010
Limmud UK (invited presenter), Dec 2009
Academy for Jewish Religion, Nov 2009
Easton Mountain Retreat Center, Greenwich NY, Summer 2009
Temple Israel of Natick, Feb 2008
Congregation Dorshei Emet, Montreal, Nov 2007
Lehigh University, Oct 2007
Congregation Bet Haverim, Atlanta, GA, March 2007
Congregation Kol Ami, Tampa, FL  Feb. 2006
Wexner Heritage Foundation, August 2004

Academic Lectures/Presentations
American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Fall 2007 (Vedanta & Neo-Hasidism)
Cardozo Law School/ Jews and the Legal Profession Conference (Anti-legalism and anti-Judaism)
Lehigh University (New Jewish Culture, Queer Midrash)
Manhattan Marymount College (Judaism & Sexuality)
Drew University (Kabbalah and Eros)
Wesleyan University (The Theory and Practice of Queer Spirituality)

Lectures and Classes
God, Gender & Justice, Arlington Street Church, Boston, MA, December 2010
Meditation, Spirituality, and the BuJus, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, Nov 2010
God, Gender & Justice, Denver LGBT Center, Nov 2010
Moving Traditions, Nov 2010
Queering Kabbalah, Nehirim Shabbaton, Oct 2010
Polytheism and Nonduality, Science & Nonduality Conference, Oct 2010
Judaism and Sexuality, Judaism Your Way, Denver CO, July 2010
Spirituality in Turbulent Times, Kripalu, Lenox MA, June 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, Congregation Kol Ami, KS, May 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, Temple Beth Israel, Charlottesville, VA
What’s next after Now? Taking your practice to the next level, JCC Manhattan, May 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, Allentown PA, April 2010
The Queer Theology of the Boundary Crosser, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, April 2010
Talking about Israel in the LGBT Community, San Francisco, CA April 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, Tufts Univ. Hillel, April 2010
What is Jewish Enlightenment?, Jewish Meditation Center, Brooklyn NY, April 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Intro Nondual Judaism, Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia, March 2010
Why Gay Rights is a Religious Issue, Denver University, March 2010
Everything is God: Intro to Nondual Judaism, JCC of Boulder, March 2010
Introduction to the Gay Spirituality Movement, Nehirim, March 2010
Peoplehood and Israel, UJA-Federation of Greater NY, March 2010
Jewish Spirituality for Gay Men, Congr. Shaar Zahav, San Francisco, Feb 2010
Exploring the New Jewish Spirituality, San Francisco, Feb 2010
Exploring the New Jewish Spirituality, Boston, Jan 2010
What is Spirituality? Shedding Some Light on the Light, JCC Palm Beach, Jan 2010
Polytheism and Nonduality, New York Integral, January 2010
Intro to Nondual Judaism, JCC in Atlanta, Nov 2009
God Does Not Exist, God is Existence Itself, JCC in Manhattan, Nov 2009
Exploring the New Jewish Spirituality, New York, Oct 2009
Intro to Nondual Judaism, NY Open Center, April 2008
Kabbalah, Mindfulness & Embodied Spiritual Practice, JCC Metrowest, Feb 2008
The Voices of 21st Century Jewish Poetry, 92nd Street Y, Jan 2008
Kabbalah, Mindfulness & Embodied Spiritual Practice, JCC New Haven, Jan 2008
Vedanta and Neohasidism, American Academy of Religion, Nov 2007
The Political Meaning of Homosexuality, Congregation Shaar Zahav, San Francisco
Kabbalah and Eros, One Taste Retreat Center, San Francisco, CA, Nov 2007
Mystical Practice of Zohar Study (weeklong), National Havurah Institute, Summer 2007
Babel to Bamba: New Words From, About, and Wrestling with Israel, Makor, Feb 2007
Is the Torah really a Basis for Liberal Values?, Skirball Center, NY, Feb 2007
Anti-Legalism and Anti-Judaism, Cardozo Law School, October 2006
Is Ecstasy Bad for You? The Lubavitch-Staroselse Controversy, Hadar, June 2006
Buddhism and Judaism in the 21st Century, Wesleyan University, January 2005
Lesbianism and Jewish Law, Limmud UK, December 2004

Panels
American Jews and Israel: Is the Love Affair in Trouble? Hebrew Union College, Feb 2010
Jewish Seekers and Finders, Makor, Feb 2007
Faith Traditions and Homosexuality, New York GLBT Center, Nov. 2006
“The Jews in Control of the Media,” Sidney Krum Conference, Sept. 2006
Sexuality and Scripture, workshop at New York state legislature, May 24, 2005
Turning It Around and Taking It Back: Religious Activism in a Time of
Dissent, New York GLBT Center, April 2005
Kabbalah and Popular Culture, Manhattan JCC, January 2005
Judaism and Homosexuality: Is There Movement Among the Movements? Makor, June 2003

High Schools and Youth Programs
JTS Prozdor High School
The Trinity School
Camp JRF
Camp Ramah in the Berkshires
USY Metny Summer Encampment
USY on Wheels
The Teva Institute
J-High Queens
Makom Hebrew High School in Connecticut
Park Avenue Synagogue Youth Programs, New York

Performances and Readings
92nd Street Y
Burning Man
Knitting Factory
CBGB
Bowery Poetry Club
Giovanni’s Room
Gay Spirit Culture Summit
National Havurah Institute
Center for Jewish History
Judaism Your Way
Limmud Colorado, Limmud UK
JCC in Manhattan