Events & Videos
Boys Adrift and Girls on the Edge
A Conversation with Dr. Leonard Sax
March 2023
We are living through a period of turmoil in American culture and education, leaving American children—and their parents—caught in the crosshairs. American girls are suffering from unprecedented rates of anxiety and depression, driven by the pressure to perform on social media, confusion around gender identity, and the weakening bonds across generations. American boys, on average, are far less resilient or ambitious than they were twenty years ago; and the gender gap in academic achievement has widened dramatically, with boys now falling ever further behind. Internationally-acclaimed author Dr. Leonard Sax has drawn on over 30 years of clinical experience and scientific exploration to figure out what is at the root of these trends. Dr. Sax is the author of numerous books, including “Why Gender Matters,” “Boys Adrift,” “Girls on the Edge,” and “The Collapse of Parenting.” In his wide-ranging studies, he argues that many of the cultural challenges we face can be directly traced to parents abdicating their parental authority.
In this dynamic discussion, Caroline Bryk, executive director of the Jewish Parents Forum, is joined by Dr. Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D., to explore how contemporary American culture is impacting our children, how parents can reassert their authority, and how Jewish tradition can serve as an invaluable guide to human flourishing as our sons and daughters come of age.
ChatGPT, Our Children, and the Future of Learning
A Conversation with Christine Rosen and Rabbi Mark Gottlieb
March 2023
Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence have catapulted new technologies like ChatGPT into the headlines. From artificially generated college term papers to arguments in front of the Supreme Court, these programs are capable of reproducing new and creative configurations of information, scholarship, legal defenses, etc. in a very human voice. What does the introduction of ChatGPT, and other AI platforms like it, mean for learning, creativity, and the development of our children? How do we as parents lead our children through this new technological landscape and how can our tradition serve as an invaluable guide?
In this discussion on the challenges and opportunities this type of technology poses to ourselves and our children, JPF executive director Caroline Bryk is joined by Christine Rosen, scholar, cultural critic, and columnist for “Commentary” magazine and Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, senior director at Tikvah Fund.
Courage on Campus
Alan Rubenstein with Zoé Tara Zeigherman, Zach Kessel, and Danielle Shapiro
January 2023
In the face of anti-Zionism, what does Jewish courage look like on today’s college campus? An undergraduate journalist at Princeton calls out the politicized and weaponized abuse of Title IX to limit freedom of the press and speech after receiving a university “no communication” order for covering a Committee on Palestine protest. A journalism and political science major at Northwestern takes action when free speech is stifled at The Daily Northwestern, where he is a writer. A Georgetown student studying English and Film Studies partners with a renowned professor on a film project poised to counter the anti-Semitism pervasive on social media by promoting Jewish confidence.
These were some of the events we discussed last month when Alan Rubenstein, director of Tikvah’s University Programs, sat down with three Tikvah students on campus for a serious discussion about the obstacles they have faced as pro-Israel Jews and their courage in the face of these challenges. Many parents in our Jewish Parents Forum have students on campus or students that will soon be arriving on campus, and we hope you find this discussion both enlightening and encouraging.
The Shabbat Table and Building Our Children’s Character
A Conversation with Rachel Haron and Rabbi Mark Gottlieb
December 2022
As parents, our responsibility to raise children with strong Jewish values and identities can feel like both a difficult challenge and an extraordinary opportunity. Our tradition recognizes that the first place to learn and cultivate the rising generation is the home, and so Jewish tradition has designated a time and place for us to transform our homes into spaces of learning and growth: the Shabbat table. Now, more than ever, we treasure this designated pause, when we can reflect, teach, and connect, free of the in-person and virtual distractions of daily life. How can we leverage the power of the Shabbat table to foster growth in our children? What practical steps can we take to turn our home into a “meeting place for the sages,” and what does this look like for younger children, teens, and even adult children? Join us with two leading Jewish educators—Rachel Haron, director of curriculum and staff development at Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy and Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, senior director at Tikvah—for an inspiring discussion about the power of our Shabbat tables and the enduring wisdom of Shabbat itself.
The Gender Conversation: How Should Concerned Parents Respond?
A Conversation with Abigail Shrier and Jonathan Silver
Wednesday, November 16
Over the past two years, the meaning of “gender” and “gender identity” has become a central issue in our culture, our schools, and our communities. We see it in elementary-school classrooms and in academia, in medical institutions and in publishing houses, in the entertainment world and in major corporations. What is happening? Why has the question of gender identity suddenly become such a dominant and divisive issue? What can the Jewish tradition teach us about gender roles, and how should we respond when our values conflict with the new (and often radical) ideologies being introduced in our children’s classrooms? Join Abigail Shrier, best-selling author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, and Mosaic editor and Tikvah Podcast host Jonathan Silver for a serious discussion about how Jewish parents should respond to the gender debate.
The Engaged Jewish Parent: What Should We Be Thinking About as the School Year Begins?
A Conversation with Naomi Schaefer Riley and David Bernstein
Recorded Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Click here to watch the video.
Are my kids reading the right books? What are they studying in American or world history? Is Israel treated as a remarkable story of Jewish renaissance—or attacked as an “apartheid state”? Are children from more religious or more traditional homes being treated with respect—or “cancelled”? The hard truth is that we are living through a period of turmoil in American culture and education, and Jewish parents have found ourselves in the crosshairs. As we embark on a new school year, what should Jewish parents be focused on? How can we exert the right influence and oversight in our children’s schools—whether they attend Jewish day schools, independent private schools, or public schools? And in our own homes, what can we do every week to strengthen our children’s Jewish, Zionist, and American values? Join us with David Bernstein, founder and CEO of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values and Naomi Schaefer Riley, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, for a serious exploration of the challenges and opportunities this cultural moment poses to Jewish parents across America.
Talking to your Children About Israel
A Conversation with Alyza Lewin
On today’s college campuses and even in some high schools, organized animus against Jews and Zionists abound. As parents to young adults who are facing this reality, how can we better understand the anti-Zionist playbook and prepare our children to respond effectively? What tools and strategies can we impart to them to best prepare them for their classrooms, campuses, and beyond? Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver explores these issues with Alyza Lewin, the president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, who has been at the forefront of public debate over illegal discrimination against Jewish students at the hands of anti-Israel activists.
Living Wisdom: Why Jewish Grandparents Matter
A Conversation with Dr. Leon Kass
Recorded March 10, 2022
When we launched the Jewish Parents Forum in the fall of 2021, we immediately heard from Jewish grandparents eager to contribute to the Jewish formation of their grandchildren. They too wanted to be involved in our effort to strengthen the Jewish and Zionist identity of their grandchildren. They wanted to help pass down their own sacred inheritance.
Grandfathers and grandmothers possess and embody great wisdom. Many Jewish grandparents remember Jewish life before the Six Day War of 1967, and even before Israel’s founding in 1948. They remember the history of Jewish fragility, and so they understand the value of cultivating deep Jewish attachments in their grandchildren.
For this discussion about why—and how—Jewish grandparents can connect with the rising generation, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Leon Kass—physician, scientist, author, one of the most esteemed public intellectuals of our generation, and, most importantly, proud grandfather.
Dr. Kass joins Eric Cohen, executive director of the Tikvah Fund, to discuss how grandparents can convey their wisdom to the young.
What Jewish Parents Need to Know about Their Children’s Security
A Conversation with Richard Priem and John Podhoretz
Recorded Monday, February 16, 2022
The hate crimes unit of the New York City Police Department is investigating three more incidents of anti-Semitism, all from this past weekend. Two of them were violent, physical attacks, and one was graffiti. Just over a week ago, Nazi symbols were painted onto the pillars of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station. And of course, just weeks before that, on January 15, a British jihadist took hostage four members of Congregation Beth Israel, a small synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.
Every Jewish parent in America reads the news, hears the reports, watches the coverage, and whispers the same thought: it could have been at our synagogue; it could have been on our street; it could be at my children’s school.
In this discussion on the threat landscape facing American Jewry, Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver hosts a briefing with the deputy national director of the Community Security Service, Richard Priem, and an exploration of the deeper significance of anti-Semitism’s return to the forefront of American consciousness with Commentary editor John Podhoretz.
The Creative Jewish Parent
A Conversation with Dara Horn and Eric Cohen
Recorded January 10, 2022
Dara Horn is one of the most imaginative Jewish minds of her generation—novelist, essayist, scholar of modern Jewish literature, and author of the provocative new book, People Love Dead Jews. She is also a Jewish mother, and in this conversation with Tikvah Executive Director Eric Cohen, she will share her own ideas about how to form deep Jewish attachments in children: how to make Jewish holidays, Jewish books, and Jewish experiences come alive.
Jews and non-Jews alike often obsess about the dark moments of Jewish history, perhaps as a way of avoiding the real threats facing Jews today and sidestepping the creative responsibility of passing down our rich Jewish inheritance to the next generation. Is there a better way?
Raising Courageous Jews
A Conversation with Jonathan Silver and Liel Leibovitz
Recorded December 13, 2021
Hosted live at the Young Israel of Scarsdale, two of America’s leading editors and thinkers—Jonathan Silver and Liel Liebovitz—consider the new set of challenges related to race, gender, religious identity, and the meaning of America itself. In this cultural minefield, how can we educate our children to be committed citizens, proud Zionists, and courageous Jews? How deeply have anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist ideas penetrated mainstream American culture and universities? How can parents reassert their authority in shaping the moral and religious formation of their children?
Is American Culture Good for the Young?
A Conversation with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik and Christine Rosen
Recorded November 15, 2021
Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, host of the Bible 365 podcast, and Christine Rosen, senior writer at Commentary Magazine, explored the deeper assumptions shaping our cultural environment today—about rights, free speech, tolerance, and inclusion; how social media is being used to influence young hearts and minds; why schools and universities are embracing ideas like “critical race theory” and “intersectionality”; and how Jewish parents and Jewish leaders should respond.
The Confident Jew Heads to College
A Conversation with Prof. Ruth Wisse and Tikvah Student Leaders
Recorded November 11, 2021
What should young American Jews seek and expect from college today—intellectually, religiously, politically? What is college for, and what are the challenges and opportunities for Jewish and Zionist students today? Three Tikvah alums—Adam Hoffman from Princeton University, Raina Weinstein from the University of Chicago, and Talia Katz from the University of Michigan—shared their insights and advice to Jewish families grappling with the college question. They were joined by legendary Harvard professor Ruth Wisse.
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