Mechon Hadar, in conjunction with the Charles R. Bronfman Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation at Brandeis University, and with the support of a grant from the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, conducted a daylong mini-conference on Independent Minyanim and Contemporary Jewish Life. Below you can find audio files of the sessions, as well as some written pieces of the presenters.

9am     Welcome and Introduction

• Yehuda Kurtzer, Brandeis University/Washington Square Minyan

Opening Plenary - Creation Myths: Reflections of Minyan Founders & Leaders

• ​Yair Furstenberg, Hebrew University/Shalom Hartman Institute/Minyan Shivyoni Baka
• Amanda Milstein, Kol Zimrah
• Erin Thaler, Atlanta Chevre Minyan

10am     Institutional Frameworks

Tribes, Networks and Cohorts

• Tobin Belzer, USC
• Beth Cousens, Hillel International
• Nicole Samuel, Brandeis University/Cambridge Minyan
• Respondent: Shawn Landres, Jumpstart

Rabbis, Leadership and Questions of Authority: A Rabbinic Roundtable​

• Moderator: Elizabeth Kessler Sacks, Mechon Hadar
• Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, Hebrew College
• Marc Baker, Gann Academy/Washington Square Minyan
• Yehuda Kurtzer, Brandeis University/Washington Square Minyan
• Ethan Tucker, Drisha Institute/Mechon Hadar

11:30am     Ideological Frameworks

Minyanim and Jewish Communal Relationships: A Roundtable

• Moderator: Jon Levisohn, Brandeis University/Yedid Nefesh
• Suzanne Kling, PEJE/Washington Square Minyan
• Felicia Herman, Natan
• Carrie Bornstein, Mayyim Hayyim/Washington Square Minyan
• Bernie Steinberg, Harvard Hillel/Kennedy School of Government

Minyanim, Halacha, and Modern Orthodoxy

• Elitzur Bar-Asher, Harvard University/Minyan Urim: "Taking Halakhic Responsibility: A Case-Study"
• Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, Yale University/Minyan Urim: "Women's Involvement in the Halakhic Process"
• Shira Zeliger, Brandeis University/Minyan Tehillah: "Educating an Orthodox Feminist: Male and Female"
• Respondent: Jeffrey S. Gurock, Yeshiva University 

1pm     Lunch and Keynote Address

The Groomed and the Bloomed: Varied Paths to Engagement in Independent Minyanim (slides viewable here)

• ​Presenter: Steven M. Cohen, HUC
• Moderator: Michelle Shain, Brandeis University

2pm: Program Sessions 3: Leaders and Followers

Independent Minyanim and Havurot: A Dialogue on Precedents and Parallels

• Moderator: Deborah Skolnick Einhorn, Brandeis University/Washington Square Minyan/Minyan Shaleym
• Sherry Israel, National Havurah Committee/Newton Centre Minyan
• Joe Reimer, Brandeis University (read Joe Reimer's address here)
• Elie Kaunfer, Mechon Hadar

Independent Minyanim and Synagogues: Partnerships and Divergences

• Moderator: Dan Werlin, Forest Hills Minyan
• Bill Hamilton, Kehillath Israel
• Judith Hauptman, JTS/Ohel Ayalah
• Hayim Herring, STAR: Synagogue Transformation and Renewal/Darchei Noam (MN)
• Jaime Goldberg, PicoEgal

3:15pm     Closing Plenary

Minyanim and the Contexts of Contemporary Jewish Life​

• ​Moderator: Emily Shapiro Katz, Tauber Jewish Studies Program/Mission Minyan
• Elie Kaunfer, Mechon Hadar
• Sylvia Barack Fishman, Brandeis University
• Art Green, Hebrew College
• Jonathan Sarna, Brandeis University

Read about the conference in the JTA