In an era of heightened political antagonism, this series invites us to re-engage with the redemptive possibilities of Zionist ideology through the lens of foundational texts and visionary thinkers such as Ahad Ha’am, Martin Buber, Moshe Avigdor Amiel, and R. Yehuda Amital. Together, we will explore the humanistic spirit of the Zionist revolution.  Don’t miss this opportunity to reclaim the values and principles of Zionism to inspire a new generation
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller recently celebrated his 40th year of working with students and faculty as the Executive Director of the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is currently Director Emeritus. He was ordained in 1971 at Yeshiva University where he completed a Masters in Rabbinic Literature. Chaim has been a lecturer in the Departments of Sociology and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA and in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He is currently a faculty member of the Shalom Hartman Institute North America and of the Wexner Heritage Foundation. He was the founding director of the Hartman Fellowship for Campus Professionals and a founding member of Americans for Peace Now. In 2014 he initiated a fact-finding mission for non-Jewish student leaders to Israel and the Palestine Authority which is now offered on ninety campuses. In 2020 a Festschrift entitled Swimming Against the Current: Reimagining Jewish Tradition in the 21st Century was published in Chaim’s honor. He is married to Dr. Doreen Seidler-Feller, a clinical psychologist and is the father of Shulie, a photojournalist and Shaul, an ordained rabbi who is currently serving as a Judaica consultant at Sotheby’s while pursuing a doctorate in Jewish History at the Hebrew University.
Session 1 – Program video
Register here

Session 1 – Sunday, April 6, 1:00 pm ET (online)
Session 2 – Thursday, April 17, 1:00 pm ET (online)
(online in partnership with the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program)

Join Mike Hollander in this thought-provoking two-part series exploring how early Israel crafted its national identity through sacred spaces and commemorative days. We’ll delve into the significance of Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, home to the graves of Theodor Herzl and Israel’s political leaders, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, and the military cemetery, which reflects the heavy price of Jewish sovereignty. We’ll also examine the creation of three spring “Holydays, ” Holocaust Remembrance Day, Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers, and Independence Day, designed to remember, mourn, and celebrate as pillars of the young nation’s identity. Together, these elements provide key insights into contemporary Israeli society and its collective memory.
Mike Hollander, a seasoned tour educator and historian, has dedicated over 30 years to leading engaging journeys across Israel and Jewish destinations in Europe. Born in Canada, Mike earned a BA in History from York University and later pursued a Master’s in Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University, where he made Aliyah in 1988. After qualifying as a Licensed Tour Guide in 1994, Mike began his career educating individuals and groups of all ages, from families to interfaith clergy. He served as an educational emissary for the Federation of Zionist Youth in the UK, planning impactful programs for thousands of young participants. In 2008, he earned a Master’s in Jewish-Christian Relations and expanded his expertise to Jewish heritage tours in Europe.
Session 1 – Program video
Register here

PAST APRIL 2025 CSP PROGRAMS

Session 2 – Tuesday, April 1, 1:00 pm ET (online)
(online in partnership with the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program)

Curator Simona Di Nepi leads a two-part, in-depth virtual tour of one of the very first Judaica galleries in an encyclopedic art museum in the world. Explore the 27 works on view and the stories behind their recent acquisition (or unearthing): from an Italian Renaissance Torah binder and an Iraqi Torah case used in India, to a Yemenite woman’s festive headdress and a Torah Ark from 1920s Chelsea, Massachusetts. Spanning five hundred years and four continents, and featuring, silver, textiles, furniture, paintings, and books, these works highlight the extraordinary diversity of Jewish culture.
Simona Di Nepi is the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Curator of Judaica at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she is responsible for building and displaying the Judaica collection, and for curating Intentional Beauty: Jewish Ritual Art from the Collection, the museum’s first Judaica gallery. Originally from Rome, before moving to the United States  Simona studied and worked in London and Tel Aviv for 25 years. She filled curatorial roles, in both decorative arts and Old Masters, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Gallery, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where she cared for permanent collections and curated exhibitions. In Israel, she worked as curator at Anu: The Museum of the Jewish People and as Lecturer in Italian Renaissance art at Reichman University, Herzelyia. Simona curated the exhibitions and wrote the accompanying catalogues for Reunions: Bringing Early Italians Paintings Back Together (The National Gallery, London, 2005), and Dreyfus: The Story of a French-Jewish Family (Anu: the Museum of the Jewish People, Tel Aviv, 2014). She is also the author of the National Gallery’s collection catalogue From Duccio to Leonardo: Renaissance Painting 1250-1500. In Judaica, Simona wrote the essays “Itinerant Sephardic Judaica: from Dutch Ports to the Harbours of Europe and the Americas,” “Jewish Things at the Museum of Fine Arts: a History,” “The Servi Shaddai: the Family History of an amulet at the MFA Boston”, and “Treasures from storage: Two Rediscovered Italian Jewish Textiles.”