More than 700 Jewish community members converged upon Washington, DC's Omni Shoreham Hotel to attend the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute's recent National Jewish Retreat. Participants enjoyed a six-day gathering of thoughtful lectures, provocative debates, and hands-on workshops presented by world-renowned Jewish thinkers, theologians, academics, and educators.
Among the impressive array of presenters were JEIC Founding Director Rabbi Shmuel Feld and Managing Director Sharon Freundel (pictured at right). Rabbi Feld moderated Crossfire, a panel discussion with three renowned Chabad rabbanim: author and speaker Rabbi Yitzchak "YY" Schochet (London), science journalist Rabbi Yechiel Krisch, and Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan. Rabbi Feld asked questions of the panel, who had up to two minutes to respond. The questions concerned philosophical issues like, "Why are Jews not concerned with the location of Mount Sinai?"
Sharon discussed "The Shema’s Hidden Pulse: Judaism’s Heartbeat and the Rich Meaning Behind Its Words," explored and uncovered the hidden layers of meaning within Shema's sacred words and why this simple declaration has endured as a pillar of Jewish faith through the ages. See the complete JLI National Retreat lineup here