Where Miami Comes to Think
Posted on 02/06/2026 @ 10:23 AM
By Dr. Bella Tendler Krieger, Director of CAJE’s Department of Adult Learning and Growth
SAGES in the 305 is in full swing—and the momentum continues.
Over the past year, CAJE has welcomed hundreds of learners from across South Florida to SAGES in the 305, our signature public lecture series bringing today’s most compelling Jewish thinkers to Miami.
These evenings have become a gathering place for serious ideas, thoughtful conversation, and community across generations.
Generously sponsored by the Ganz Family Foundation, the series is dedicated in loving memory of Charlie Ganz z”l, whose passion for Jewish learning and communal life continues to guide and inspire this work.
To ensure the highest level of scholarship, CAJE Adult Learning has partnered with the renowned Hadar Institute, a leading center of Jewish thought and practice, to bring world-class teachers directly to the 305.
Up Next: Rabbi Ethan Tucker President & Rosh Yeshiva of the Hadar Institute
Our next SAGES in the 305 program features Rabbi Ethan Tucker, one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of our time.
As President and Rosh Yeshiva of Hadar, Rabbi Tucker has helped shape a new generation of Jewish learning that is rigorous, spiritually alive, and deeply rooted in tradition while fully engaged with the moral challenges of the modern world.
Rabbi Ethan Tucker in conversation with his stepfather Sen. Joe Lieberman (Watch on YouTube)
Rabbi Tucker holds a Ph.D. in Talmud and Rabbinics and received rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
His scholarship focuses on Jewish law, ethics, prayer, and egalitarian practice, and he is widely respected for his intellectual honesty and moral clarity.
Rabbi Tucker (and his colleague Rabbi Shai Held) are on the list of the most innovative Jews of the past 50 years in the most recent issue of Moment Magazine.
Many also know Tucker as the co-host of Responsa Radio, (Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube) a popular podcast exploring contemporary ethical dilemmas through the lens of Jewish tradition.
Son of Rabbi Gordon Tucker and Hadassah Lieberman, Ethan Tucker is also the stepson of the late U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, widely regarded as the Jew who came closest to the White House as the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2000. These influences have shaped his lifelong engagement with Jewish identity, peoplehood, and public life.
Join Us Next Thursday for “What is a Jew” And Why Does It Matter?
In this timely and provocative lecture, Rabbi Tucker takes on one of the most urgent questions shaping Jewish life today. Is Jewish identity rooted in faith, peoplehood, or covenant? How did modernity pull these strands apart—and why are younger Jews and their elders experiencing those tensions so differently now?
Thursday, February 12 | 7:00–9:00 PM Temple Judea, Coral Gables
Free and open to the community (registration required)
https://caje-miami.org/rabbi-ethan-tucker
Looking Ahead
The series continues on March 4 with Rabbi Shai Held, President and Dean of Hadar and acclaimed author, speaking on Loving Our Neighbor—a searching exploration of one of Judaism’s most demanding ethical ideals @ Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center | 7:00–9:00 PM
