January Dialogue: Finding Flexibility in our Religious Traditions – How Much is Too Much?


Our next dialogue will be held on Sunday, January 19th, 2020, beginning at 2:30 p.m., at Temple Rodef Shalom (2100 Westmoreland St., Falls Church, VA).   It will be entitled “Finding Flexibility in our Religious Traditions – How Much is Too Much?â€
Some people view progressive/liberal religion as an oxymoron, others as an antidote, and still others as a little bit of both.   In this session, four diverse panelists will share their perspectives on this issue.   The two Jewish panelists are congregational rabbis who come from very different backgrounds.   Rabbi Uri Topolosky, the current President of the Washington Board of Rabbis, serves as the rabbi of Kehilat Pardes, a modern-Orthodox Jewish community in Aspen Hill, MD.   Rabbi Hannah Spiro, rabbi and song leader of the Hill Havurah Congregation in Capitol Hill, was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.   The two Muslim panelists are similarly diverse.   Imam Mohamed Abdullahi, the imam of the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, MD, was born into the Muslim tradition and memorized the entire Qur’an by the age of 11.   Dr. Margaret Johnson, sociologist and President of the Board of the Ezher Bloom Mosque, is a convert to Islam who has found inspiration from her faith as a woman and a feminist.   JIDS is very much looking forward to what these four outstanding panelists have to say.   However, since JIDS is a dialogue society and not a speakers’ bureau, it will as usual reserve plenty of time for participation – not merely questions – from everyone in attendance.