Daniel Nevins
JTS
Telephone: 2126788000
Danny Nevins is Dean of the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary. For the past 13 years he was Rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills, MI. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly's executive council and Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. He has written legal opinions (responsa) on issues such as disabilities, brain death, and the inclusion of gay and lesbian Jews as individuals and couples in the traditional Jewish community. He lives with his family in NYC.
Inclusive Communities
Identity and Responsibility,
University Student Recommended
It seems that the Jewish community is still designed for families comprised of a Jewish woman married to a Jewish man with 1.9 children. Yet this configuration applies to less than 20% of our population. What should be done to make our communities inclusive? What boundaries, if any, should be maintained?
Human Dignity and Halakhah (Jewish Law)
Classical and Contemporary Negotiations
Text and Thought,
University Student Recommended
We will trace the role of “k’vod habriot” (human dignity) as a legal principle in halakhah (Jewish law), starting in the Talmud and continuing to our day. This principle was central to Daniel Nevins’ December 2006 responsum that allowed for the ordination of gay and lesbian Jews as rabbis and cantors in Conservative Judaism.
Harry Potter and the Yetzer Hara
The fight against evil begins within
Children's and Family Programming,
High School Recommended
One source of fascination in the Harry Potter series is the complicated portrayal of good and evil. Harry, Dumbledore, and especially Severus Snape present ambiguity in their identification with good and evil. What does Judaism teach about the struggle within the human soul? What would the Rabbis have to say to Harry? [Spoiler alert - please read all seven books before this session!]
**This session will be led by Daniel Nevins and his daughter, Talya Nevins.
The Frontlines of LGBT Inclusion:
A Conversation with Agents of Change
Gregg Drinkwater,
Daniel Nevins,
David Shneer,
Aaron Weininger,
Tovah G.
Have lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Jews “made it” in liberal Judaism? Since 2006, the Conservative Movement opened two of its seminaries to gay and lesbian students, the Reform Movement ordained the first openly transgender rabbi, and Reconstructionists elected the first openly gay leader of a national rabbinic body. But too many LGBT Jews are still excluded from full integration into Jewish communal and institutional cultures. Come discuss the future of LGBT inclusion in Jewish life.
Us and Them? Are Boundaries Acceptable?
Ritual and Prayer,
University Student Recommended
A rabbi once told the presenter of this session that the point of Jewish education is to alienate Jews from their surroundings. Is this model true or false, good or bad? The mitzvot do seem designed to maintain distinctions, separating Jews by diet, schedule, and even neighborhood from non-Jews. Is it possible to live a rigorous Jewish life without guarding such boundaries? If not, then which will you choose?
