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CAJE Partnership with the Hadar Institute

Posted on 01/16/2026 @ 10:23 AM

By Dr. Bella Tendler Krieger, Director of CAJE’s Department of Adult Learning and Growth

At CAJE Adult Learning, we are committed to bringing the very best Jewish learning in the world to Miami — learning that is intellectually rigorous, spiritually meaningful, and deeply responsive to the questions shaping Jewish life today.

 

We believe Miami deserves access not only to inspiring speakers, but to Torah learning at the highest level: serious, joyful, and transformative.

 

That’s why we are thrilled to announce a new, year-long partnership between CAJE and the Hadar Institute, one of the most dynamic centers of Jewish learning in North America.

 

We kicked off this partnership in the best possible way: this past Monday, CAJE Adult Learning welcomed more than 40 salon participants from across Miami to a special all-salons luncheon featuring Rabbi Dena Weiss of Hadar.

 

The afternoon was full of connection, laughter, delicious food, and outstanding Torah — an unforgettable start to what promises to be an extraordinary year of learning together.

Why Bring Hadar to Miami?

 

Hadar is a leading center of Jewish life, learning, and practice based in New York, known for building vibrant egalitarian communities rooted in rigorous Torah study, meaningful Jewish practice, and the values of kindness and compassion.

 

Through its flagship learning center, Yeshivat Hadar, Hadar has become nationally renowned for deep text study, intellectual seriousness, and a powerful commitment to gender equality and communal responsibility.

 

For CAJE Adult Learning, this partnership is a natural extension of our mission: to bring top-tier Torah learning to Miami and to ensure our community has access to the kind of Jewish education that doesn’t just inform but truly elevates.

Public Lectures and Facilitated Salons Featuring Hadar’s Top Scholars

 

As part of this partnership, Hadar is bringing four of its most celebrated educators to Miami as part of SAGES in the 305, CAJE Adult Learning’s exciting new public lecture series, generously sponsored by the Ganz Family Foundation in loving memory of Charlie Ganz, z”l.

 

Our first Hadar “sage” was Rabbi Dena Weiss, Hadar’s Rosh Beit Midrash, who taught a session on “The Rabbinic Art of Relaying Bad News.”

Her learning was smart, surprising, deeply human — and a perfect taste of what Hadar brings to the table.

Upcoming lectures include:

Rabbi Ethan Tucker — February 12 | 7pm (@Temple Judea)

 

Rabbi Ethan Tucker, President and Rosh Yeshiva of Hadar, is a visionary Torah scholar and communal leader whose work is reshaping the landscape of serious, egalitarian Jewish learning and practice in North America and beyond. His Miami lecture will explore a foundational question with enormous contemporary relevance: What is a Jew? Register at https://caje-miami.org/rabbi-ethan-tucker

Rabbi Shai Held — March 4 | 7pm (@Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center)

 

Rabbi Shai Held, President and Dean of Hadar, is a philosopher, theologian, and Bible scholar whose teaching has captivated Jewish communities worldwide. He is the acclaimed author of The Heart of Torah, Judaism Is About Love, and Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence. His Miami lecture will focus on one of Judaism’s most challenging—and most demanding—ideals: Loving Our Neighbor. Save the date!

Rabbi Avi Killip — April 22 (CAJE’s First Annual Yom Ha’atzmaut Luncheon)

 

We are especially excited to welcome Rabbi Avi Killip, a dynamic Torah teacher and Executive Vice President at Hadar, as the featured speaker for CAJE’s first annual Yom Ha’atzmaut Luncheon on April 22 Save the date!

In addition to these public events, Hadar has also sent Rabbi Dani Passow, Director of Community Learning at Hadar, to Miami as a guest moderator for all five of our salons, bringing Hadar’s signature model of rigorous, intimate learning into local spaces and deepening our salon experience in a meaningful way.

Bringing Hadar’s Project Zug Curriculum to CAJE Adult Learning

 

This partnership doesn’t stop with live, in-person events.

 

CAJE Adult Learning now also has access to Hadar’s extraordinary Project Zug curricula — one of the most exciting resources in contemporary Jewish learning today.

 

Project Zug offers beautifully crafted study units that invite learners into Torah in a way that is both accessible and deeply challenging: structured, text-based, and grounded in the kinds of questions that make learning feel urgent and alive.

 

This spring, we’re thrilled that two of our outstanding faculty members will be teaching new online courses using Hadar materials:

 

 

We hope you’ll register and learn with us this spring!

And if you are a rabbi or educational director interested in bringing Project Zug materials into your own community, CAJE has been authorized to share Project Zug curriculum with CAJE-affiliated congregations. Please reach out to bellatkrieger@caje-miami.org for more details.

Looking Ahead

 

CAJE Adult Learning is honored to partner with Hadar, and we truly could not be more excited about what this collaboration will bring to Miami in the year ahead.

 

By combining Hadar’s national reputation for serious Torah education with CAJE’s deep commitment to local community-building, this partnership will broaden and deepen Jewish learning across our city — helping Miami become a place where Torah, practice, and thoughtful Jewish life thrive.

 

We can’t wait to learn with you!