A virtual event with Rabbi Marc Gitler

About The Event:
In this class, we'll explore the deeper layers of the Purim story that often go unnoticed. Together, we’ll look beyond the costumes, noise, and celebration to uncover subtle themes woven into the Megillah—hidden miracles, quiet acts of courage, and the power of human choice when God seems absent. Through close reading and reflection, this class will reveal how Purim speaks not only to ancient Persia but to our own lives, offering timeless insights about resilience, faith, and finding meaning beneath the surface.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1epMazCRxkJyPlebCqapWPUOxnBSQPRET/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=true

About The Speaker:
Rabbi Marc Gitler serves as the Senior Jewish Educator at Valley Beit Midrash and is the visiting Rabbi of Aish SanDiego. A recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, he was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The founder of Fast for Feast, he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.

A virtual event with Rabbi Marc Gitler

About The Event:
Judaism contains 613 mitzvot, each shaping Jewish life in its own way. But are some more central than others? In this lecture, we’ll explore how the Torah and later Jewish thinkers have grappled with the idea of prioritizing commandments. By examining key biblical passages and rabbinic teachings, we’ll ask what it might mean to identify a “most important” mitzvah, or a core set of values that anchor them all. Along the way, we’ll consider how these debates can help us clarify what Judaism asks of us—and how those priorities might guide Jewish life today.

*Source Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qNx5xPcV0qQwQwWtoCny4EPT2PBNw-gc/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118303465191084699356&rtpof=true&sd=true

About The Speaker:
Rabbi Marc Gitler serves as the Senior Jewish Educator at Valley Beit Midrash and is the visiting Rabbi of Aish SanDiego. A recipient of the Wexner Fellowship, he was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. The founder of Fast for Feast, he lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.

A virtual event presentation by Melanie Gruenwald

About The Event:

In this session, we will take a psycho-spiritual, kabbalistic exploration of our multiple masks and identities, and explore the themes connected to the upcoming holiday of Purim.

*Source Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DccDFTg4zbdz7e-SC_wusZRtcEy7NIoH/view?usp=sharing

About The Speaker:

Melanie Gruenwald, Executive Director of Kabbalah Experience, brings over 30 years of non-profit leadership and community-organizing to her position. Engaged with senior citizens, families, college students, and teens, Melanie has extensive professional experience with communal leadership and informal Jewish education.

Melanie is energized by building relationships, understanding people’s needs, and finding ways to connect them. She loves the balance of organizational leadership and teaching, on a daily basis at Kabbalah Experience.

She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Binghamton University (S.U.N.Y), and Masters in Social Work and Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Melanie has pursued additional Judaic and spiritual studies at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, the Conservative Yeshiva, and, most recently, Kabbalah Experience.

Melanie is married to Rabbi Salomon Gruenwald and is mom to three children, Koby (z”l), Hannah, and Micah.