Author of eight books, including the national bestseller “Making Loss Matter,: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times,” Rabbi David Wolpe has been named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek and twice named among the 50 most influential Angelinos by LA Magazine. He has taught at a number of universities, including UCLA, Hunter College, Pepperdine and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and written for The NY Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Jerusalem Post among other newspapers and journals. Wolpe’s most recent book, “David: The Divided Heart,” a biography of King David, was optioned for a movie by ‘Warner Brothers.’ Next year he will be a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School.
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Craig Taubman is the producer of Jewels of Elul (www.jewelsofelul.com) an annual collection of short stories, anecdotes and introspections for the High Holy Days. Over the past 10 years “Jewel” have been collected from an eclectic group of people including President Barack Obama, the Dali Lama, Eli Wiesel, Deepak Chopra, and over 250 other inspired voices . . . well known and not so well known. Most Recently, Craig has been focusing his energies on building the Pico Union Project. (www.picounionproject.org). This multi-faith cultural arts center located downtown Los Angeles – in the oldest synagogue in Southern California, is dedicated to the Jewish principle to “love you neighbor as yourself”.
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Rabbi Sherre Hirsch is the Chief Innovation Officer at American Jewish University. She made headlines as the first female rabbi at Sinai Temple, the largest Conservative congregation on the west coast. She served as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hillel International, where she created and developed Hillelwell, an initiative for Hillels worldwide to become the recognized address for preventative mental health. A thought leader and author on spirituality and religion, Rabbi Hirsch has appeared on the Today Show, ABC News, Extra, and PBS, among other outlets, and has been a contributor to Time.com, Oprah Magazine, the Jewish Journal, the Hollywood Journal, and more.