Wednesday, March 1st, 7:00 p.m.
(Zoom)
Join Rav Natan and his colleagues, Daneel Shaechter and Rabbi Juan Mejia, in a conversation about a unique phenomenon that is happening all over the world, in particular in the Americas.
Jewish Emergent Communities are communities in which most or all members were not raised in the Jewish tradition and are finding in Judaism a spiritual renewal, reconnecting them to their ancestral traditions while learning and creating new ones as well.
Rav Natan and our guest speakers have been traveling to multiple communities over the past years meeting, teaching, and learning with them.
This class is a partnership with the Emanuel Synagogue in Oklahoma City where Rabbi Mejia is the Education Director.
Daneel Schaechter has spent the last fifteen years working with Latin American Emerging and Crypto-Jewish communities and over a decade on Kulanu’s (https://kulanu.org/) board, until stepping down in 2021. In addition to his year as a Fulbright scholar in Brazil, Daneel has traveled to six other Central and South American countries to visit, teach, and support returning and emerging Anusim communities, helping facilitate grants, donations, and volunteer programs across Latin America. Daneel now focuses most of his efforts working in International Strategy for Tech Companies like Indeed.com, OpenTable, and currently Glassdoor, where his work helps people everywhere find jobs and companies they love.
Rabbi Juan Mejía was born in Bogotá, Colombia. Raised a Catholic, he converted to Judaism after discovering the powerful beauty and message of Judaism. He holds a degree in philosophy from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, and a Masters degree in Jewish Civilization from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Juan was ordained in 2009 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He lives in Oklahoma City, where he serves as the Jewish Educator for Emanuel Synagogue. He also serves as Rabbi in Residence for Be’chol Lashon.
Juan is a passionate advocate for converts and making Torah available to all.