Guest Teaching

limmud

Rabbi David is a sought-after teacher, ritualist, musician and liturgist available to visit congregations, communities and organizations as Scholar in Residence.

Classes, workshops and experiential programs reflect the spiritual depth, intellectual rigor, humor and warmth of heart-centered Jewish spirituality. Blending text study, discussion, meditation and other modalities Rabbi David adapts programs to each community’s needs to uplift spiritual experience for all.

Torah and Brunhilde Hat

As professor at Fordham University and Pace University in New York, rabbinics instructor in the ALEPH Ordination Program and at the Academy for Jewish Religion NY, and past faculty in spiritual direction for ALEPH and Yeshivat Maharat, Rabbi David brings exciting and engaging pedagogy for all levels of learning, engagement and experience.  Rabbi David teaches at congregations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as symposia ranging from Limmud New York to Rabbis Without Borders.

Below are selected subjects that Rabbi David offers for workshops, classes and weekend programs.  Please contact Rabbi David directly to explore what might best serve your community.

Workshops, Classes and Programs

  • The Voice Sounds: Modern Midrash and Liturgical Innovation.  Rabbis of centuries past never cornered the market on Jewish expression.  In our own day, through our own experience, we continue to pray and play new sacred words that poignantly speak to the human spiritual experience.  Together we will explore (and create) poetry and prose, deeply anchored in tradition’s bedrock and totally faithful to today’s hearts, minds and spirits – and thereby help “complete” Torah and the siddur for the needs of our generation.
  • The Spirituality of Joy.  Often communities invoke “joyful Judaism,” but what exactly does that mean – and what does it ask of us?  What kind of joy can be authentic in a broken world, and responsive to its demand for repair?  Can we really ask sadness to dance without becoming saccharine, blind or fake?  Yes, we can – in particular ways that ask deep authenticity and community power.  Together we’ll explore how.
  • Mitzvah and Mysticism: Holy Doing and Holy Being.  Mitzvot (the doings of Jewish life, like light shabbat candles and placing mezuzot on doorposts) embed deep mystical and spiritual meanings.  We’ll explore hidden uncommon meanings to common mitzvot and how combining mitzvah and mysticism can power up spiritual life.
  • Angels Among Us: Jewish Approaches to Angelology.  Many Jews believe in angels, and both culture and liturgy are full of them.  We’ll explore the Jewish story of angels for what they show about Jewish text, history and spirituality.
  • Shul and State: Bridging Secular and Spiritual in the 21st Century.  As one of the few (if only) public officials also having an active pulpit, Rabbi David will reflect on what the “separation of shul and state” means for both spiritual and secular life.  We’ll explore how rigid or porous this separation is, and whether Jews have a religious duty to vote.
  • Meditation and Esoteric Practice in Jewish Tradition.  Jews are a “People of the Book,” but we also have a deep and ancient toolkit of meditation and other esoteric practices alongside our texts.  We’ll explore some of these practices, trace them into text and experience ways to use them to enliven spiritual life.
  • Evolving a Life of Blessing: Ancient Legacy and Personal Becoming.  The Jewish art of blessing can transform heart and soul.  We’ll explore how to enter the portal of blessing and become a portal for others.
  • Guidance from Spirit: Being in the Flow of Discernment and Doubt.  The Jewish practice of hashpa’ah (spiritual guidance) discerns how what we call God, holiness, spirit or meaning flows through us and our lives.  We will learn tools of discerning this flow, sitting in doubt and delving deep into the subtleties of our inner lives to arouse wisdom and transformation.
  • Illness and Healing in Jewish Spiritual Tradition.  Judaism has many authentic spiritualities of illness and healing, and many authentic practices in response.  We will explore some of them and apply them to our lives.
  • Innovation in Jewish Life: Disruption, De-centering and Renewal.  Jewish life is changing fast, but we often forget that Jewish life always has evolved.  We’ll explore today’s changes, put them in historical context, understand the history of Judaism as a history of disruptive innovation, and use those tools to dream Judaism’s evolving future.