Scholar in Residence 2026

January 16-17, 2026

Each year, Brith Shalom welcomes thought leaders and cultural ambassadors from around the globe. January 16-17, 2026, the shul hosts Rabbi Shai Held for a weekend of meaningful, spiritual conversation.

Friday, January 16, 6:15 PM (time approx.)  during services
In person at Brith Shalom and on YouTube
Rabbi Held will deliver the D’var Torah. 

Friday, January 16, at 7:30 PM (time approx.), after services 
Dinner and talk in person
Is Judaism Really About Love? (And What is Love, Anyway?)

RSVP here for Dinner: 
Dinner cost $36.00 per person. 
Babysitting available (registration required)

Saturday, January 17, at 9:30 AM, during services
In person at Brith Shalom and on YouTube
Rabbi Held will deliver the D’var Torah. 

Saturday, January 17, following Kiddush Lunch
In person at Brith Shalom and on YouTube
Sharing in God’s Joy…and God’s Heartbreak: A New Reading of Creation and the Flood.

About Rabbi Held:

Rabbi Shai Held-- philosopher, theologian, and Bible scholar-- is President and Dean at the Hadar Institute.  He received the prestigious Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, and has been named multiple times by Newsweek as one of the fifty most influential rabbis in America and by the Jewish Daily Forward as one of the fifty most prominent Jews in the world. Rabbi Held is the author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence (2013), The Heart of Torah (2017), and Judaism is About Love (2024) and he is the host of Hadar's newest podcast, Answers WithHeld.