Rabbi Brad HirschfieldRabbi Brad Hirschfield

Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis,” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers and Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield serves as the President of Clal–The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a training institute, think tank, and resource center nurturing religious and intellectual pluralism within the Jewish community, and the wider world, preparing people to meet the biggest challenges we face in our increasingly polarized world. An ordained Orthodox rabbi who studied for his PhD and taught at The Jewish Theological Seminary, he has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs an ongoing seminar, and American Jewish University. Rabbi Brad regularly teaches and consults for the US Army and United States Department of Defense, religious organizations — Jewish and Christian — including United Seminary (Methodist), Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (Modern Orthodox) Luther Seminary (Lutheran), and The Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) — civic organizations including No Labels, Odyssey Impact, and The Aspen Institute, numerous Jewish Federations, and a variety of communal and family foundations. Hirschfield is the author and editor of numerous books, including You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism, writes a column for Religion News Service, and appears regularly on TV and radio in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to Fox News Channel. He is also the founder of the Stand and See Fellowship, which brings hundreds of Christian religious leaders to Israel, preparing them to address the increasing polarization around Middle East issues — and really all currently polarizing issues at home and abroad — with six words, “It’s more complicated than we know.”

VIDEO: Is The UK Really Independent After Brexit?

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After an historic vote in the UK whether to leave or remain in the EU, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield considers what it means to have independence, to be dependent, and whether there is room for interdependence. Whatever your views on Europe “this as an opportunity to improve on our relationships, whether national, international or personal.”

Listen To The Names Of The Victims First

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As the country reels from the shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida over the weekend that left 49 innocent people dead, Brad asks that we take the time to let our hearts break in an effort to reflect and get out of our “ideological cul-de-sacs” in order to see a way forward.

Sex With God

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A new study says those who are religious can either have great or lesser sexual satisfaction based on how they live out their sex lives. But the lessons in this study go beyond religious identity.

VIDEO: It’s Time To Remove The Politics From The Death Penalty

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This week U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the Department of Justice will seek the death penalty for Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine people at a Charleston, SC church last year. Whether you believe in the death penalty or not, says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, decisions around the death penalty should not be driven by politics, but rather “by the awareness of what it means to take another life because the life we are taking has taken yet other lives.”

The Bright Side Of Selfies

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This week’s big psychology headline: “Selfie-Takers More Likely to Overestimate Their Attractiveness, Study Finds”. But what if there was more to the story than just narcissism?