Love and Learning Unite Jews Around the Globe

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scholars, artists, rabbis and authors from around the world will participate in the world's largest global Jewish learning webcast event - 24x24 – Sunday, November 15.  The Global Day of Jewish Learning will broadcast this live video event free of charge via Google Hangouts On Air. 24x24 is a free resource open to everyone – participants can watch the videos live at theglobalday.org on November 15.

24x24 begins at 00:00 Greenwich Mean Time on Sunday, November 15 (7pm EST on Saturday, November 14). Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, world-renowned scholar, will open the event with his talk, "Love: Seeing Through All the Veils."

The Global Day of Jewish Learning will unite over 500 communities in 40 countries through the study of Jewish texts. It is a project of the Aleph Society, under the aegis of Rabbi Steinsaltz. Rabbi Steinsatlz's mission is to make Jewish texts accessible to all: to "Let my people know." 24x24 propels the mission forward into the digital age.

Speakers will engage with this year's Global Day theme, "Love: Devotion, Desire & Deception", exploring different dimensions of love, from romantic to parental to divine.  

• Rabbi Efrem Goldberg (Boca Raton, FL), Senior Rabbi of Boca Raton Synagogue, will address "Learning to Love in a World of Likes."
• Sandee Brawarsky, Hanan Harchol and Rabbi Leon Morris (New York, NY and Jerusalem, Israel), of The Jewish Week, Jewish Food For Thought and the Shalom Hartman Institute, will have a trans-continental panel on "Fish Love: A Discussion on Self-Love and Loving Others."
• Ruth Messinger (Chicago, IL), of AJWS, will challenge viewers with "Listen With a Loving Heart: A Recipe to Repair the World."
• Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan (San Francisco, CA), Senior Educator of Lehrhaus Judaica, will teach "Desire: It's Good For You! The Body, Sexuality and Fat Rabbis in the Talmud."
• Dasee Berkowitz (Jerusalem, Israel), Ayeka, will inspire with "Love: Becoming a Soulful Parent."

In exploring the theme of Love, artists are society's voice of self-reflection, and their perspective on "Devotion, Desire and Deception" enriches this year's global conversation. This year 24x24 features performances and discussions with artists across several disciplines, including authors, playwrights, and musicians.

24x24 is presented with participation from partner organizations such as Hillel International, URJ, and AJWS in the USA, and with international partners Akadem and the Universidad Hebraica, Mexico.

Viewers around the world will be able to sit in on classes broadcast from in-person community events worldwide and form virtual communities. Viewers can ask questions of the speakers and engage with their fellow far-flung viewers. Questions can be asked live on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ and the 24x24 live chat. These videos will also be available on YouTube after broadcast.

"Learners will have the opportunity to connect what they are learning to who they are and what they care about. The Jewish community needs more of these opportunities for us to come together across geography, movements, and perspectives to learn together," said Rabbi Bradley Solmsen of the URJ.

Rabbi Steinsaltz:

Rabbi Steinsaltz has recently completed a 45-volume Hebrew translation and elucidation of the Talmud, the first such commentary since the 11th century. The first twenty-two volumes of the new Koren Talmud Bavli with Rabbi Steinsaltz's English translation and commentary are now available. He is also the author of over 60 books on philosophy, language, mysticism and history. Visit the Aleph Society for more information.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151109/285338LOGO

SOURCE The Aleph Society