News and Updates
An arsonist torched a Mississippi synagogue. It feels hauntingly familiar. January 11, 2026
“The fire at Beth Israel echoes a long history of synagogue attacks, including the 1958 bombing of The Temple in Atlanta.” Read the article here.
‘Jesus is a Palestinian,’ claims a Times Square billboard. Um, not quite December 26, 2025
“A new billboard in Times Square is misguided in dangerous ways” Read the article here.
After Bondi Beach, Reclaiming Difference in an Age of Sameness December 17, 2025
“The greatest danger to Judaism today is not secularism, and it’s not even antisemitism. It is cultural absorption — the slow sandblasting of distinctiveness.” Read the article here.
A Nation of Leftovers November 25, 2025
“The Jewish people have become masters of transforming remnants into renewal.” Read the article here.
The Killings in DC had become inevitable, May 22, 2025, Religion News Service
“When protesters chant: “Intifada revolution,” or its evil cousin, “Globalize the Intifada!” what do you think they mean? ” Read the article here.
“With Pesach around the corner, we ask ourselves: in the aftermath of October 7th, can we sit at the table with the Wicked Child, one who believes Israel is wrong and is ready to share these views?” Read the article here.
Upcoming Virtual Conversations with Wisdom Without Walls, January 5, 2025, Boulder Jewish News
“We’ve hosted over fifteen conversations, welcoming Jews world wide to our virtual gatherings. Our guests have included leading voices like Yossi Klein Halevi, Rachel Korazim, and Leil Leibovitz. Each one brought their unique perspectives to foster thoughtful dialogue about Jewish ideas.” Read the article here.
The Dinner Conversation Challenge, November 27, 2024, Jewish News Syndicate
“More than ever, Jews need spaces for conversations that go beyond religious or political identities. Hopefully, Jews can bring the spirit of open dialogue to their Thanksgiving tables. Instead of focusing on what divides us, we can listen and try to understand the beliefs of those we care about. Real listening can break through walls that divide us and allow the sweet waters of Judaism to flow freely—a gift we can all be thankful for.” Read the article here.
Rabbis Prep for Challenges of High Holiday Sermons, September 25, 2024, Atlanta Jewish Times
“A workshop on High Holiday sermon writing earlier this month, sponsored by “Wisdom Without Walls,” a virtual discussion group created by Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, a former Atlanta rabbi, and Dr. Sandra Lillienthal, a prominent Jewish educator, gave nearly two dozen rabbis from around the country the opportunity [to] exchange ideas and voice their concerns to each other.
One of the moderators of the online program was Rabbi Ed Feinstein, who is also a founder of the groups, a faculty member of the Ziegler Rabbinical School of the American Jewish University, and a pulpit rabbi. He described the opportunity that rabbis are offered during this holiday season as “a Yohanon ben Zakkai moment.” It was an apparent reference to the important Jewish sage of the late Second Temple period 2,000 years ago, who seized the moment the Romans destroyed the holy site in Jerusalem to offer leadership to a beleaguered Jewish community.” Read the article here.
A Reform Jewish woman and an Orthodox rabbi talk Torah: Abigail Pogrebin & Rabbi Dov Linzer, September 23, 2024 Religion News Service
““The Conversation”, succeeded in gathering Jews together from all walks of Jewish life — from all denominations and non-denominations, professionals, lay people and totally uninvolved people — for the sole purpose of sharing ideas, visions and dreams.
I can attest to the power of “The Conversation.” I formed some very close friendships as a result of it, and in many ways, Wisdom Without Walls is an expansion of it — and I am not surprised that Abby and Dov found each other there.”
Can there be poetry after Oct. 7? A new collection shows how, Sept. 3, 2024, The Forward
Our co-founder, Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, wrote about one of Wisdom Without Walls’s featured speakers, Rachel Korazim’s recent book, Shiva: Poems of October 7. Explore our past conversations, including one with Dr. Korazim, here.
Press Release: Wisdom Without Walls Partners with The Jewish Publication Society to Bring Renowned Jewish Authors to Jews Across the Globe, September 3, 2024
Wisdom Without Walls (WWW), an innovative Jewish nonprofit committed to fostering meaningful online discussions with leading Jewish thinkers, is thrilled to announce a partnership with The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), a respected name in Jewish publishing. This collaboration represents a powerful step forward in making deep, engaging Jewish content accessible to Jews everywhere through virtual conversations.
SHALOM MAGAZINE
Rosh Hashanah 2024, Shalom Magazine
“This is all to say that as the holy days are approaching and I think of celebrating Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah this year, which will fall on the first anniversary of the tragic October 7, I will temper my sadness with my hope that the world can and will be better, and will promise myself to do that which is in my power to bring more kindness into it. It may just require an extra smile, an extra “good morning,” an extra “how are you doing?” If everyone makes small changes, we will go far. L’Shanah Tovah – may we have a year of peace both in America and in Israel and the whole Middle East.” Read the full article here.
‘Wisdom Without Walls’ fosters Jewish unity amid Israel war, Distributed via Jewish News Syndicate newswire, August 12, 2024
“By creating an online space for thoughtful dialogue and diverse perspectives, Wisdom Without Walls provides a much-needed antidote to the divisiveness and isolation plaguing the Jewish community.”
Father’s Day 5784 With Adam Nimoy, Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, and Gabe Sanders, June 13, 2024 Tablet’s Unorthodox Podcast
“Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin of Wisdom Without Walls explains the big ideas behind his new book, Tikkun Ha’am / Repairing Our People: Reimagining Liberal Judaism in America, which calls for a renewed emphasis on Jewish responsibility.” Listen to the full episode here.
Religion Communicators Council Names Wilbur Awards of Excellence and Merit, April 16, 2024
Wisdom Without Walls received an award of excellence for audio-only news stories from the Religion Communicators Council. “We need to talk about antisemitism” Wisdom Without Walls: an online salon for Jewish ideas; Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin
Where was God on Oct. 7?, April 3, 2024 Religion News Service
“That is why we at Wisdom Without Walls: an online salon for Jewish ideas, proudly invited Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, arguably the most significant modern Orthodox thinker in the world today, to share a conversation with our people. More than 60 people showed up, virtually — on a Sunday afternoon.” Read the full article here.
To be shaken and stirred, The Jewish Standard, March 21
“Repairing our people is about reclaiming a sense of non-Orthodox Judaism as a counterculture and stressing the need for liberal Judaism to push back against certain trends in American society such as consumerism, which is defining myself by what I can buy; individualism, which is seeing myself as radically alone; the culture of therapy, which defines me by what I feel; and technology, which is about whether things work, not if they are right,” he said.
The cataclysmic events of October 7 not only led Rabbi Salkin to cofound “Wisdom Without Walls: An Online Salon for Jewish Ideas” — accessible at wisdomwithoutwalls.org — but also led him to rewrite the introduction to “Tikkun Ha’am” just before the book went to press. Read the full article here.
Sarna Discusses ‘Tsunami of Hate’ After Oct. 7, March 13, 2024, Atlanta Jewish Times
“We thought the mass murder, rape and kidnaping of innocent Jews, which is something many of us remember hearing about in Russian pogroms was all in the past. Well, that myth of security, I think, was shattered on Oct. 7. And that’s particularly true in Israel, although for different reasons. I think it’s true in other respects here … in the United States.”
“Professor Sarna’s host for this searing critique of relationships between Jews and non-Jews was Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, who, with co-founder, Dr. Sandra Lillienthal, launched their new Wisdom Without Walls website with Professor Sarna’s lecture.” Read the full article here.