Earlier Classes

Breathing Through the Anxiety of Covid

Thursday, August 20
Zachary Poyo is a somatic psychotherapist therapist in Los Angeles specializing in the mind-body connection. A certified integrative body psychotherapy practitioner, he has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. He works for the Chabad Inpatient/Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility in addition to building his private psychotherapy practice.  

Faith Unravels
Wednesday, August 26
Rabbi Daniel Greyber is the rabbi of Beth El Synagogue in Durham, North Carolina.  He is the author of the book Faith Unravels. A Rabbi’s Struggle with Grief and God. 

Saving Lives, Saving Dignity
Thursday, Sept. 3

Alan G.Molk, M.D., was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and graduated from medical school there before emigrating in 1977 to the United States, where he completed his internship and residency.

A board-certified emergency medicine physician, he works at two Banner Emergency Departments in Phoenix and is an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Arizona. A passionate promoter of dignified end-of-life decisions, he is the co-wrote Saving Lives. Saving Dignity: A Unique End-of-Life Perspective From Two Emergency Physicians with Robert Shapiro, M.D. 

Living Among the Dead
Wednesday, Sept. 30 

Mania Lichtenstein, Adena Astrowsky’s grandmother, witnessed the horrors of the Holcaust as a young girl, spending three years in a labor camp before she escaped and hid in the forests until the end of the war.In Living Among the Dead: My Grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story of Love and Strength, her granddaughter tells Mania’s memories, interwoven with poetry and and personal reflection. 

The author has dedicated her career to helping the most vulnerable of society by prosecuting child sex abuse and domestic violence cases in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Sue currently handles post-conviction cases on appeal and foreign extradition cases. 

Not Just a Survivor
Thursday, Oct. 8

Rochy Miller is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor – Lea Leibowitz. This memoir, her mother’s story, has been a lifetime in the making.

Rochy is a retired medical doctor, who, like her mother, holds a swathe of other qualifications, and dabbles a little in each. She has studied creative writing, and holds both Medical Journalism and Master of Journalism degrees. She has published numerous short stories and articles, as well as a series of Text Books in the field of Aesthetics Education.

Originally from South Africa, she now lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her husband – but spends much of her time traveling to Florida,  where her two young granddaughters live. When not traveling, she can be found pursuing her other favorite creative pursuits: painting and toy-making, and – like her mother − baking up a storm in her kitchen. 

The book is available from Amazon and other booksellers. 

A Jewish Approach on How to Deal with Those with Whom We Differ
Thursday, Nov.  19

Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D., serves as President of the Academy and Interim Dean of the Rabbinical School. He previously served as President (2008-2012) as well as Dean of the Rabbinical and Chaplaincy Schools. During his presidency, he co-founded AJRCA’s groundbreaking collaborative initiative in interreligious studies with Claremont School of Theology and the Islamic Center of Southern California.

Rabbi Gottlieb serves as Senior Fellow on the Academic Leadership Team at Claremont Lincoln University and is a member of the Board of Directors. He was ordained at Yeshiva University and holds a doctorate in Mythology/Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He has also taught at Columbia, Yeshiva University, and the University of Southern California’s Graduate School of Social Work. His essays have appeared in publications such as the Huffington Post, the national journals Ideas and Shma, and the book Illuminating Letters. He is a frequent guest lecturer at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles as well as at synagogues of all denominations throughout Southern California.

From the Holocaust to Kindness
Thursday, Dec. 3.
Esther Basch, will share with us her incredible journey through life from the trauma of the Holocaust to a life of gentle kindness. More details to come, but please RSVP for this class now! 

Coping with the Anxiety of Covid
Thursday, Jan. 7
Dr. Mitchell Gelber is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in the Quad-city area for 34 years. He specializes in adult psychology. He has written two books, “Alzheimer’s Shadow: Families Facing Critical Decisions” and “Family Planning for Alzheimer’s Disease: Essentials for Best Care”. Dr.Gelber provides staff education, assessments, and short-term therapy for residents in skilled nursing facilities in Northern Arizona.

Fighting Antisemitism
Thursday, Jan. 21

How did a mom from Montana become a leader in fighting antisemitism? The founder of a major neo-Nazi website orchestrated a harassment campaign, launching a troll storm relentlessly terrorizing Tanya Gersh and her family with anti-Semitic threats and message for months.

When White Nationalist Richard Spencer learned his mother had hired Tanya to sell a building, he took action. Consequently, Andrew Anglin with the Daily Stormer took interest. Anglin's online posts included all of Tanya's personal and professional contact information and photographs of her family. He circulated her photo and the photo of her 12 year old son photoshopped on the gates to Auschwitz. Another was altered to include a yellow Star of David with the label “Jude” – an allusion to the emblem the Nazi regime required Jews to wear during World War II. To Anglin's followers, Tanya became the enemy, and they contacted her in every way possible to be sure she knew it. 

The threats took an emotional, physical, social, financial and professional toll on Tanya and her family, but Tanya fought back. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit in federal court on behalf of Tanya, winning a more than $14 million judgment against the neo-Nazi leader and shut them down. 

Tanya's groundbreaking case  sends a message to extremists and others who spread hate: direct threats are considered acts of terrorism. This will not be tolerated, and there will be serious consequences for those who terrorize – whether online, by phone or in person. Spreading hate is not free speech and participants will be held liable for the consequences of their actions.  

Giving  Each Generation it's Torah
Thursday, Feb. 18

RABBI STEVEN G. SAGER, Director of Sicha, is the Rabbi Emeritus of Beth El Synagogue in Durham, NC, where he served as rabbi for 32 years.  He is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) and he earned a Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature at Duke University.

Rabbi Sager has been a teacher, rabbinic advisor and mentor for students and graduates of the RRC, the Hebrew Union College, The Jewish Theological Seminary and the Rabbinical School of the Boston Hebrew College. An adjunct faculty member of the Duke Divinity School, he has taught at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and in the Department of Social Medicine at the University
of North Carolina Medical School. 

Rabbi Sager is a Senior Rabbinic Fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem where he is also a leader of the Rabbinic Programs Advisory Committee and of the Rabbinic Havurah program.  Rabbi Sager has served as President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and of the Greater Carolinas Association of Rabbis (GCAR).  He served as the co-director of the GCAR Interfaith Institute.  Rabbi Sager has served as Scholar in Residence on numerous occasions for the GCAR as well as serving in this capacity in congregations throughout the United States. Rabbi Sager has published articles in The Reconstructionist, The Journal of Religious Education, and The Southern Medical Journal.  Rabbi Sager now serves as the Director of Sicha, a project to stimulate conversations between classical Jewish culture and contemporary Jewish needs.