Programs
ACJ offers a range of programming from our public education series, to online courses, to in person events.
Learn more and join us!
Featured Programming
- Education Series
- Event
Global Shavuot Teach-in "From the US to Palestine: Solidarity is Holy"
On May 21st-22nd, the American Council for Judaism and Rabbis for Ceasefire will be hosting our third annual Global Shavuot Teach-in
Under the theme “From the U.S. to Palestine: Solidarity is Holy” we will demonstrate global Jewish solidarity with Palestine, deepen relationships across continents, and develop shared analyses, songs, interpretations of texts and beyond that guide our way to liberation.
This teach-in will be wide ranging including short films and discussions, traditional Jewish text studies, skill shares, song shares, history lessons, political discussions, art making workshops and beyond!
We look forward to seeing you there!
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- Event
Keeping the Score: Jewish Trauma, Memory, and Healing with Jon Danforth-Appell
What if the dominant progressive Jewish explanation for Zionist attachment, that our bodies carry the accumulated trauma of generations, is itself a kind of myth?
In his just-published essay for @jewishcurrents, "Does the Jewish Body Keep the Score?", writer Jon Danforth-Appell traces how the language of embodied, intergenerational trauma has come to saturate Jewish organizing spaces over the past decade. He argues that this framework treats Zionism, a political project, as a pathology, and in the process flattens a wildly diverse community into a single wounded body, relieving us of agency in the process.
Join Rabbi Andy Kahn in conversation with Jon on Tuesday, April 28 at 3:30 PM EST for a public education conversation exploring the history, theory, and politics of "Jewish trauma" as a concept. We'll talk about where these ideas come from, what they do inside our institutions, and what becomes possible when we accept agency as creators of Judaism.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
Introduction to Judaism Beyond Nationalism Cohort 4
What is a Jew? What is Judaism? And what does Jewish life look like when it's grounded in ethics, history, and practice rather than nationalism?
Whether you're Jewish, Jew-ish, exploring conversion, or simply curious, you're invited into this space.
Introduction to Judaism Beyond Nationalism is a 16-week survey course broken up into two modules, covering Jewish history, belief, practice, lifecycle, philosophy, and culture from the ancient world to the present.
We'll ask hard questions, sit with complexity, and learn together.
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Iyar Shabbat Haggadah 5786
Rather than a single Kiddush, this haggadah offers four cups, each paired with a text and reflection prompts drawing on poetry, Talmud, midrash, and Hasidic teaching. The cups move through four themes: poetry and song, action and doing, ethical responsibility, and spiritual practice. You can use all four in a single evening, or one cup per Shabbat throughout the month.
This haggadah was created by the American Council for Judaism in collaboration with Rabbis for Ceasefire, and includes contributions from three writers whose Jewish commitments span administration, rabbinics, and mystical art.
Whether you gather with a havurah, a family, a few friends around a table, or for personal reflection, this haggadah offers a structure for Shabbat that is rooted in tradition and oriented toward the world we are working to build.
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Our Passover Hallel Guide
Hallel is among the oldest sequences in Jewish liturgical life, and at many seder tables it passes by quickly or gets skipped past entirely. This year we're offering something to slow it down.
Our free to download Hallel guide pairs each of the six psalms with a new translation, a contemporary poem, and a discussion question for your table. Audio recordings by Cantor Laura Stein accompany each psalm.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
Across Generations: Steve Naman and Sam Panken
Join us on Thursday, March 19th at 6:00 PM Eastern for a wide-ranging conversation between two people who have devoted themselves to the American Council for Judaism, one who shaped its modern history, and one who is helping write its next chapter.
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- Lecture Series
- Streaming
The Cultures of the American Jewish Left with Benjamin Balthaser and Dania Rajendra
Join ACJ executive director Andy Kahn, Open Society fellow Dania Rajendra, and professor of multiethnic US literature at Indiana University, Benjamin Balthaser, for a timely conversation on Jewish radical history, anti-Zionism, and the roots of today’s Jewish uprising for Palestinian liberation.
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- Event
- Midtown, NYC
- Streaming
Upside-Down Love: A Conversation with Sari Bashi
The American Council for Judaism, Community Church of New York, Jewish Currents, Rabbis for Ceasefire and 15th Street Monthly Meeting (Quakers), invite you to an evening with author and human rights lawyer Sari Bashi, in conversation with Rabbi Andy Kahn, discussing her memoir Upside-Down Love.
Upside-Down Love tells the story of Sari and her partner Osama, a Palestinian professor originally from Gaza, and the life they have built together in the West Bank under the apartheid conditions of restricted movement, legal uncertainty, and enforced separation. The memoir speaks to the unique circumstances of this specific moment in history, while also illustrating a timeless truth: Love will triumph over bigotry and destruction.
Together, Sari Bashi and Rabbi Kahn will explore how personal story, law, and Jewish ethical frameworks can illuminate paths toward a more humane future.
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- Event
- Streaming
Sources of Pride: A Conversation with Rabbi Abby Stein
Join Rabbi Andy Kahn and Rabbi Abby Chava Stein for a powerful conversation about the evolving edges of Jewish life today. Abby reflects on growing up in a Haredi community shaped by anti-Zionist teachings, how those ideas have shifted over time, and how her journey as a trans woman has helped her craft a Judaism rooted in truth, dignity, and expansive possibility.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
From Trauma to Transformation: A Conversation with Rabbi Tirzah Firestone
Join Rabbi Andrue Kahn for a conversation with Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, acclaimed Jungian psychotherapist, teacher of Jewish renewal, and author of Wounds into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma. Drawing on Jewish tradition, psychology, and case studies from across the globe, Rabbi Firestone offers seven principles for transforming inherited pain into resilience and moral clarity. Together, we'll explore how Jewish wisdom can guide us through grief, hope, and collective transformation in this season of reflection.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
Dismantling Antisemitism with Kohenet Shoshana Brown
Join Rabbi Andy Kahn and Kohenet Shoshana Brown for a powerful conversation about how accusations of antisemitism are increasingly weaponized to silence dissent, divide communities, and align Jewish identity with far-right agendas. We'll explore how to dismantle antisemitism through liberatory, non-punitive practices grounded in restorative justice, solidarity, and collective healing.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
Beyond Fear: Combatting Antisemitism with Shane Burley and Ben Lorber
Rabbi Andy Kahn will be joined by Ben Lorber and Shane Burley to discuss their recent book, Safety Through Solidarity. The discussion will highlight approaches of shared responsibility across difference in the fight for justice and safety for all people as as the most effective form of combatting antisemitism.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
People, Faith, Nation: Exploring Judaism’s Many Identities with Professor Rabbi Shaul Magid
Join Rabbi Andy Kahn in conversation with Professor Rabbi Shaul Magid for a deep dive into the possibilities of post-ethnic Judaism in America. Together, they’ll explore how shifting tides in Jewish identity intersect with the growing crisis of Zionism, and what this moment might mean for reimagining Jewish life beyond nationalism.
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All Programming
- Education Series
- Streaming
The Four Cubits: Building Your Own Jewish Practice
This 8-week guided journey is designed for those seeking to build a meaningful Jewish practice on their own terms. Grounded in the ACJ’s historic commitment to Judaism beyond nationalism, this course explores Jewish spirituality, practice, ethics.
Each week, we will engage with foundational Jewish practices while allowing space for personal interpretation, shared study, and integration. Participants will be encouraged to shape their own evolving Jewish path through intentional learning, reflection, and action.
Whether you are discovering Judaism for the first time or reclaiming traditions in a way that aligns with your values, this course provides a flexible and inclusive framework for deepening your Judaism.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
A Queer Yeshiva in the Cloud: The Future of Jewish Study with Shel Maala
Join Rabbi Andy Kahn, Rabbi Xava De Cordova and Binya Kóatz, co-founders of Shel Maala, the unapologetically queer, anti-zionist, digital-first Yeshiva, for a conversation about the new era of Torah learning online.
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Our Sukkot Ritual Guide
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This year’s Sukkot Ritual Guide invites us to transform the festival’s ancient themes of fragility, hospitality, and renewal into a practice of remembrance and solidarity. Created by Rabbi Andy Kahn and artist Roan Boucher, the guide honors seven ushpizin—spiritual guests—whose lives were taken in the ongoing Palestinian struggle for liberation. Each night offers readings, ritual language, and a concrete action for justice and healing. Download the guide to bring this spirit of compassionate resistance into your own sukkah, home, or community gathering. |
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- Event
- Brooklyn, NY
Erev Rosh haShanah 5786 with Chavurat Binah
Join the American Council for Judaism for Erev Rosh Hashanah on Monday, September 22 at 6:30 PM at Christ Church in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. This songful, lay-led gathering will feature accessible liturgy in Hebrew and English and music drawn from Reform and Reconstructionist traditions. A light nosh will follow. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
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- Event
- Manhattan, NYC
A Path Forward: Three Approaches to The Fight for Palestinian Freedom
As the struggle for justice in Palestine reaches a critical moment, this gathering brings together leading voices who are building solidarity, organizing for change, and creating models of resilience and care.
Featured Guests
• Atalya Ben-Abba — Refuser Solidarity Network (Jerusalem)
• Mara Kronenfeld — Executive Director, UNRWA USA
• Hani Almadhoun — Founder, Gaza Soup Kitchen
Moderated by: Rabbi Andrue Kahn (ACJ) Presented by: Fellowship of Reconciliation, Refuser Solidarity Network, Rabbis for Ceasefire, American Council for Judaism, IfNotNow NYC, and Gaza Soup Kitchen.
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- Education Series
- Streaming
Introduction to Judaism Beyond Nationalism: Cohort 2
Whether you’re new to Judaism, seeking conversion, or reimagining your Jewish life, this course is for you! This 16-class, two-module series offers a fresh and rigorous exploration of Jewish identity, history, and practice grounded in justice, diaspora, and spiritual autonomy.
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