JOFA Conference 2017: Full Schedule

Registration closes January 10th - Don’t forget to REGISTER here!

10:30am EST

Infertility & New Reproductive Technologies

Learn about the medical and halakhic parameters of new reproductive technologies and ways we can continue to remain sensitive to families struggling with infertility.

Moderators

Dr. Susan J. Gross, MD, FRCSC, FACOG, FACMG

Dr. Gross received her medical degree from the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where she completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, as well as a fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine and a second residency/fellowship in Medical Genetics at the University of Tennessee... Read More →

Speakers

Dr. Richard Grazi

Richard V. Grazi, M.D. is the Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Maimonides Medical Center and the founder of Genesis Fertility & Reproductive Medicine. The Genesis program is a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for the treatment of... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 10:30am - 11:15am EST
Broadway

Modern Family

10:30am EST

The International Beit Din: Resolving the Agunah Crisis

The International Beit Din was formed in 2015 as an attempt to put an end to the agunah crisis once and for all. Come learn how the IBD was formed, how is functions as a halakhic authority, and what it will take to gain unanimous support. This session will feature an interactive Q&A session.

Moderators

Giti Bendheim

Speakers

Rav David Bigman

Rosh Yeshiva, Ma'ale Gilboa

Rav David Bigman moved from suburban Detroit, Michigan to Israel to work the land in the spirit of the Zionist pioneers and to make it his home. Soon after his arrival, the leadership of the Religious Kibbutz movement took note of his prodigious knowledge, his open-mind, and his moral... Read More →

Blu Greenberg

Sunday January 15, 2017 10:30am - 11:15am EST
Satow Room

Modern Family

12:30pm EST

Equal Partners? Evolving Gender Roles in the Family

As women’s opportunities have advanced by light years over the past few generations, men’s roles have not adapted as quickly to the new realities. In the Orthodox community, this is even trickier to navigate because of deeply entrenched cultural and halakhic norms and expectations. In this session we will discuss our own experiences in trying to create an equal partnership in the home, out of the home, in our family, religious, and professional lives, and then guide a discussion among participants about these issues and various approaches to the challenges encountered.

Speakers

Shira Hecht-Koller

Director of Communal Engagement, Drisha

Shira Hecht-Koller is the Director of Communal Engagement at Drisha. She has taught Talmud and Jewish Identity, most recently at SARHS. She was a Fellow at Paideia Institute in Stockholm and is currently a Fellow in the Senior Educators Cohort of M² The Institute for Experiential... Read More →

Dr. Aaron Koller

Yeshiva University

Aaron Koller is an associate professor of Near Eastern and Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University, where he studies the ancient world of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East. His most recent book is Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought(Cambridge University Press, 2014). Aaron has served... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 12:30pm - 1:15pm EST
Room 568

Modern Family

12:30pm EST

When Plan B Becomes Awesome: Jewish Single Motherhood by Choice

Moderators

Audrey Trachtman

Speakers

Rav David Bigman

Rosh Yeshiva, Ma'ale Gilboa

Yael Ukeles

Co-Founder/Director, KayamaMoms

Yael Ukeles, who made Aliyah from NYC since 1996, worked in the tech world as a UI designer and product marketing manager. In 2002, she founded/directed Derech Hateva, providing Jewish outdoor educational programs in Israel. In 2010, Yael founded KayamaMoms with Dr. Dvori Ross and... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 12:30pm - 1:15pm EST
Broadway

Modern Family

2:50pm EST

Mekudeshet? Alternative Models to Kiddushin

This session will explore the ritual act of Kiddushin, the most fundamental act that takes place under the Huppah. We will explore the creation of the ritual, and the repercussions for Jewish, Israeli, and American law. We will articulate some of the difficulties surrounding kiddushin in our present moment and explore different solutions that have been posed and what innovations are currently being utilized.

Moderators

Judy Heicklen

Judy Heicklen is a past president of JOFA. She is a managing director at Credit Suisse and serves on the Board of Princeton University’s Hillel. She lives in Teaneck with her three children.

Speakers

Rabba Yaffa Epstein

Director of Education, North America, The Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies

Rabba Yaffa Epstein serves as the Director of Education, North America for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. She received Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Maharat and holds a Law Degree from Bar-Ilan University. She has studied at the Pardes Kollel, the Advanced Talmud Institute... Read More →

Yedidah Koren

Yedidah Koren is a PHD student in Talmud at Tel-Aviv University, currently writing her dissertation on lineage and illegitimate persons in Rabbinic literature. Her MA thesis, completed at Tel-Aviv University, dealt with the category of the "foreskinned Jew" in Rabbinic literature... Read More →

Rabbi Aviva Richman

Yeshivat Hadar

R. Aviva Richman is a faculty member at Yeshivat Hadar where she teaches Talmud and Halakhah and directs the winter learning seminar. A graduate of Oberlin College, Aviva studied in the Pardes Kollel and the Drisha Scholars' Circle and received ordination from Rabbi Daniel Landes... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 2:50pm - 3:35pm EST
Room 555

Modern Family

3:50pm EST

"What's Your PGP?" Transitioning in the Orthodox Community

The Jewish people are a big family with a highly diverse membership. This session will present an opportunity for us to engage in better understanding transgender Jews from three vantage points, the personal, the communal and the halachic. Our hope is that this conversation can lead to a path of greater welcoming and communal inclusion toward these members of our family.

Moderators

Rachael Fried, LMSW, MFA

Originally from Fairfield, CT, Rachael Fried is now the Assistant Director of JQY (Jewish Queer Youth), a non-profit organization that supports and empowers LGBTQ youth from Orthodox homes. She holds a Masters in Social Work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work and a Master of Fine... Read More →

Speakers

Rabbi Jeffrey S. Fox

Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivat Maharat

Rabbi Jeffrey S. Fox, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Maharat, was the first graduate of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Upon graduation he served as the Rabbi of Kehilat Kesher: The Community Synagogue of Tenafly and Englewood for seven years. In Rabbi Fox’s tenure at Kesher, the community... Read More →

Rabbi Hyim Shafner

Rabbi, Bais Abraham Congregation

Rabbi Hyim Shafner, LCSW, is the rabbi of Bais Abraham Congregation in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to Bais Abraham he was the Rabbi of the Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis and the Rabbi of India for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. He has S’micha... Read More →

Yiscah Smith

Yiscah Smith is a spiritual activist who speaks to the spiritual dimension of authentic living. As one who transitioned from a Chabad man to an observant woman, she presents topics in an accessible and vivid style, from both a personal and a text-based perspective. Yiscah lives in... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 3:50pm - 4:35pm EST
Satow Room

Modern Family

3:50pm EST

Northern Exposure: Agunah in Canada (90 minutes)

This panel brings together academics and activists to expose how Canadian experiences of divorce are distinctive and differ from the US and Israel. From facts on the ground to hard questions, from civil court to beit din, from challenges to best practices; this is the human face of the Agunah in Canada.

Moderators

Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin

Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin is a Clinical Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School and the Founding Director of the Program on Leadership at the Heyman Center for Corporate Governance. She is also the Special Advisor to the Dean and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School. Previously... Read More →

Speakers

Deidre Butler

Director, Carleton University, Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies

Dr. Deidre Butler is Director of the Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Studies specialist in the Religion program at Carleton University. She researches and teaches at the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality, and Jewish thought as well as Limmud Ottawa’s... Read More →

Professor Norma Baumel Joseph

Norma Baumel Joseph, Professor, teaches in the Department of Religion of Concordia University, Montreal. She supervises the Women and Religion specialization and is an Associate of the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on... Read More →

Betina Appel Kuzmarov

Professor Betina Appel Kuzmarov is the Associate Dean (Students and Enrolment) in the Faculty of Public Affairs and she researches and teaches at the intersections of religion, law (international law) and culture in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University.

Yael Machtinger

Yael Machtinger is a PhD Candidate in Socio-Legal Studies, at York University, Canada. She has been awarded an Ontario Graduate Scholarship twice, and most recently has been funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship, and the Religion and Diversity... Read More →

Diane Sasson

Diane Sasson has focused her career on human rights and social change. She was President of Women’s Federation CJA in Montreal from 1992-1994 when her efforts were focused on women’s issues in the Jewish Community. In 1995, she became Executive Director of Auberge Shalom... Read More →

Sunday January 15, 2017 3:50pm - 5:20pm EST
Roone Cinema

Modern Family

4:50pm EST

KayamaMoms: Thinkers, Tryers, Pregnant, Mother

This closed session is strictly for single women who are part of the 'Single Mother By Choice' demographic (women who become mothers outside of romantic partnering). If you are thinking of having a baby on your own, are trying to become pregnant, pregnant or a single mom by choice already, this session is for you to come to ask questions, listen and support each other in a confidential forum.

Speakers

Rachel Kirschbaum

Yael Ukeles

Co-Founder/Director, KayamaMoms

Sunday January 15, 2017 4:50pm - 5:35pm EST
Room 568

Modern Family