Program

  • Education Series
  • Streaming

Terms of Service: An Exploration of Covenant and Jewish Collectivity

Join the ACJ and Shel Maala for a three work journey through the creation and development of the concept of brit, covenant, throughout Jewish history. We will explore its roots in the ancient Near East, its usage throughout Biblical and Rabbinic texts, and its usages, for good and for ill, in today's world.

All classes via Zoom, December 22nd, 29th, and January 5th from 6:30-8pm Eastern

Instagram post   4x5 (63)
Start:
December 22nd, 2025 — January 5th, 2026
Time:
7:00pm -
Location:
  • Streaming

If Jews had to describe our relationship to God back in the Facebook era, we would've chosen: "It's complicated." Are we meant to be unquestioningly subservient? Or is it in our nature to be bratty and rebellious? In this class, we'll explore an alternative understanding that lies between these two poles: 'The Covenant.' As a way to understand our sense of obligation to the Holy One and our expectations from Her, our 'covenant' has been a unique, powerful and fraught lens for millenia. Touching on themes from chosenness, to peoplehood, to the very place of Jews and humans writ-large in the universe, we'll explore what 'covenant' has meant from the Torah to now, and what it can offer us (beyond nationalism or superiority) as we chart our future in these desolate times.

Related Programming

IntroCohort4slide1
  • 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.

Learn More

Instagram post   4x5 (96)
  • Education Series
  • Streaming

The Halakhic Process: Jewish Worldbuilding Beyond Empire with Rabbi Avigayil Halpern

In this four-session course, we explore halakhah, often reductively glossed as "Jewish law," as a powerful resource for the Jewish left. We will examine how the halakhic process works, how its modes of thinking push against and beyond empire, and why this system, developed parallel to the modern state, may be uniquely suited to building the world we want to live in.

Learn More

Instagram post   4x5 (86)
  • 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.

Learn More