Wisdom Without Walls: A New CAJE Partnership to Bridge Divides
Posted on 08/15/2025 @ 06:00 AM
A Reform rabbi, a Conservative rabbi, and an Orthodox educator walk into a virtual room. Nope, it’s not the start of a joke; it’s the beginning of something groundbreaking!
Meet Wisdom Without Walls: an online salon for Jewish ideas — the brainchild of three powerhouse Jewish thinkers — Dr. Sandra Lilienthal (Covenant Foundation awardee and beloved adult educator), Rabbi Ed Feinstein (brilliant storyteller and thought leader), and Rabbi Jeff Salkin (prolific writer and one of the most quoted rabbis in the U.S.).
L-R Dr. Sandra Lilienthal, Rabbi Jeff Salkin, Rabbi Ed Feinstein
Individually, they embody (respectively) Modern Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism, and Conservative Judaism.
Together, they tear down the silos within the Jewish world and build something new: a vibrant space for real conversation across denominations, backgrounds, and borders.
Flashback to January 2024: The Jewish world was still grappling with the aftermath of October 7th — wrestling with questions, searching for meaning, hungry for connection.
But in a time when we needed to be listening more to one another, most people were only hearing echoes of their own beliefs. That’s when these three bold thinkers decided to create something new.
Wisdom Without Walls is a nonprofit, nondenominational online community designed as a digital salon for Jewish thought — a place where learning isn’t just taught, it’s shared.
In just 18 months, they’ve already featured some of the biggest names in Jewish thought: Yossi Klein Halevi, Elana Stein Hain, Abigail Pogrebin, Rabbi David Wolpe, Liel Leibovitz, singer-songwriter Peter Himmelman, Professor Jonathan Sarna, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, and many more.
Why call it a “salon”? It’s a nod to the intellectual salons of 17th & 18th century Europe — where poets, philosophers, and artists gathered in living rooms for lively, meaningful conversations.
Fast-forward to today, and those living rooms have become laptop screens. Same spirit, new format.
Twice a month, Wisdom Without Walls goes live with a 90-minute, interactive online conversation.
Not lectures. Not monologues. Real conversations.
Rabbi Salkin puts it best: “We don’t have speakers. We have conversation leaders. And every participant gets to be part of the dialogue.”
Dr. Lilienthal adds, “We don’t just bring thought leaders to you — we invite you into the conversation.”
By partnering with Wisdom Without Walls, CAJE’s Adult Learning program is expanding the ways our community can engage with world-class Jewish learning.
While CAJE has separately launched an initiative to bring top Jewish thinkers to Miami for in-person lectures (stay tuned for Sages in the 305: Live Jewish Learning with Today’s Leading Thinkers), we understand that not everyone can attend in person.
This collaboration brings those thought leaders directly to your computer screen—expanding access to engaging, high-quality learning experiences for our online learners wherever they are.
It also enhances CAJE’s already rich menu of courses by adding dynamic, conversation-driven programs led by some of today’s most compelling Jewish thinkers.
For our learners, it means more opportunities to encounter diverse perspectives, deepen their knowledge, and join thoughtful, interactive discussions that transcend geography and denomination.
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To introduce Wisdom Without Walls to the CAJE community, we invite you to experience this exciting new dimension of CAJE Adult Learning through our upcoming High Holiday course, Soul Train: Getting Ready for the High Holy Days.
This two-session online series — presented together with Wisdom Without Walls — features two of its founding voices: Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin (Sept. 10) and Dr. Sandra Lilienthal (Sept. 17).
Held on Wednesdays from 12:00–1:30 pm (ET), the course blends insight, reflection, and dialogue to prepare your heart and spirit for the Days of Awe.
Registration is just $50 for both sessions — your front-row seat to a deeper, more meaningful High Holiday season.
Whether you’re a longtime CAJE learner or new to our programs, this is the perfect way to explore the interactive, community-centered learning style that Wisdom Without Walls brings to CAJE.
For more information about this or other offerings of CAJE Adult Learning, contact CarlaSpector@caje-miami.org
