Ancient Wisdom for a Modern Jewish Life

Thursday, June 12, 2025
12:00pm - 12:45pm PDT

Judaism is more than a religion—it’s a culture that blends ritual with real-life wisdom. In The Jewish Way to a Good Life, Rabbi Shira Stutman explores how Jewish traditions endure because they meet our deepest needs, from shiva’s structured mourning to the joy of dancing the hora. Join Rabbi Stutman and AJU’s Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson as they discuss how chesed (kindness), tzedek (justice), and shabbat (rest) can enrich our modern lives. Whether seeking meaning, connection, or practical wisdom, this conversation offers timeless insights for all.

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Can’t make it live? Register anyway! All participants will receive the recording to free webinars. But join us in real time to engage with the speaker, ask questions, and be part of the conversation!

Rabbi Shira Stutman is the senior rabbi at Aspen Jewish Congregation and cohost of Chutzpod! with The Atlantic’s Hanna Rosin, a podcast that shares Jewish approaches to life’s great predicaments. The founding rabbi of Sixth & I in Washington DC, she was named one of America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis by The Jewish Forward, among other awards. Rabbi Shira graduated from Columbia University and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She is also a proud graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. 

Rabbi Dr Bradley Shavit Artson (www.bradartson.com) holds the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and is Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles. Rabbi Artson has long been a passionate advocate for social justice, human dignity, diversity and inclusion. He wrote a book on Jewish teachings on war, peace and nuclear annihilation in the late 80s, became a leading voice advocating for GLBT marriage and ordination in the 90s, and has published and spoken widely on environmental ethics, special needs inclusion, racial and economic justice, cultural and religious dialogue and cooperation, and working for a just and secure peace for Israel and the Middle East. A member of the Philosophy Department, he is particularly interested in theology, ethics, and the integration of science and religion. He mentors Camp Ramah in California in Ojai and Ramah of Northern California in the Bay Area. He is also dean of the Zacharias Frankel College in Potsdam, Germany, ordaining Conservative rabbis for Europe. A frequent contributor for the Huffington Post, the Times of Israel,  and a Contributing Writer for the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, he has a public figure Facebook page with over 70,000 likes. Rabbi Artson is the author of 12 books and over 250 articles, most recently Renewing the Process of Creation: A Jewish Integration of Science and Spirit. Married to Elana Artson, they are the proud parents of twins, Jacob and Shira.