Walnut Street Minyan is launching a new speaker series designed to do more than inform—it aims to deepen connections, spark curiosity, and showcase the remarkable range of learning present within the community.

The series, tentatively planned as a monthly or six-week cadence, will feature speakers exploring topics that span Jewish history, text study, ethics, culture, science, humor, and lived Jewish experience. Rather than following a single theme, the program embraces intellectual breadth, reflecting the many ways Jews think, learn, and make meaning today.

The first session will take place on March 1, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon. In honor of professor Ed Kaplan, Or-Nistar Rose (Hebrew College) and Avi Bernstein-Nahar (visiting scholar, Brandeis University) will lead a text study on Learning and Living Today in Light of the Torah of Abraham Joshua Heschel. The session is free and open to the public.

Among the possible topics under consideration:

  • Jewish perspectives on bioethics and medical ethics
  • How the Jewish calendar works—and why some years have a second Adar
  • Jewish humor as a cultural and spiritual lens
  • Talmud study and contemporary approaches to classical texts
  • Growing up Jewish in “exotic” locations such as Mexico City or Curaçao
  • Conversations at the intersection of Judaism and science
  • A discussion of the connection between Torah and Bob Dylan
  • And something no one expects: The Spanish Inquisition

Some sessions will be rooted in traditional text study; others will center on personal narrative or interdisciplinary exploration. What unites them is a commitment to thoughtful engagement and serious curiosity—not answers neatly packaged, but questions worth lingering over.

Many of the proposed speakers are longtime members or close community connections whose knowledge, teaching ability, and lived experience make them uniquely compelling guides. Guest speakers may also be invited when their voices add something distinctive to the conversation

Although open to anyone interested in learning, the primary goal here is strengthening communal life. Organizers emphasize that shared learning experiences—especially when repeated over time—help people know one another more fully. A talk might begin with a topic, but it often continues as conversation, reflection, and follow-up study long after the evening ends.

That ripple effect is intentional. A single lecture can open doors—prompting further reading, discussion, or entirely new lines of inquiry. The series is designed to be a catalyst, not a conclusion.

For those who are curious about Walnut Street Minyan, the speaker series also offers a clear window into Walnut Street’s identity: a community grounded in tradition, intellectually adventurous, and deeply committed to learning as a shared endeavor.

In a Jewish world often pulled between specialization and fragmentation, Walnut Street Minyan is making a different bet—that wide-ranging ideas, explored together, are one of the strongest ways to build connection, meaning, and community.

All sessions will be held at Walnut Street Minyan, 858 Walnut St., Newton. For more information, or to register for the March 1 session, please email events@walnutstreetminyan.org.

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