Would you like to arrange a talk?
Jonathan Bergwerk gives talks and shiurs either as one-off events or as part of a series of talks. He is an experienced and engaging speaker to large audiences and facilitator of small groups.
You can choose the characters for the talks and the length of the talk can vary from 45 to 90 minutes. Many of the talks come with optional, attractive audio or visual presentations.
Each session stands on its own and participants do not need any prior knowledge.
For the seminar sessions, many of the characters lend themselves to debate and discussion. The lives can be used as an entry point into many ethical and religious questions. Some are accompanied by text study.
The list of people, Jonathan has given talks on is shown below.
To make an enquiry please email at jonathanbergwerk@gmail.com
| Are Jews really a special people? | What drives Jews to audaciously challenge the status quo and make groundbreaking advancements? | |
| God | How different ways Jews have thought of God through history. | |
| The Torah | The history and meaning of the first five books of the Bible. What are the key messages that the authors wanted to impart? | |
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Jacob |
The most successful Biblical patriarch, despite his family problems. He lived a life of crime and punishment. | |
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Judah |
Son of Jacob, brother of Joseph, the brave and inspirational man who put the ‘Ju’ in ‘Judaism’. | |
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Naomi |
The heroine of the Book of Ruth and a role model of female fidelity and lovingkindness. What is the book really about? | |
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Moses |
The leader of the Biblical Israelites and the most important character in Judaism. |
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King David |
The third monarch of the united kingdom of Judah and Israel. A memorable warrior, leader, sinner, and lover. |
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King Solomon |
The fourth monarch of the united kingdom of Judah and Israel and son of David. The leader in its golden age, and builder of the Temple, renowned for wisdom and justice. A ruthless womaniser. |
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| Elijah | The 9th century BCE Biblical Prophet and
miracle worker, who defeated idolatry and heard “the still, small voice” of God
before ascending to heaven. Why did he become the most popular prophet in
Judaism? | |
| Jonah | The reluctant Biblical prophet who had more sympathy for a plant than for people. What is the meaning of the story? Why it's not just about redemption. | |
| Queen Esther | The beautiful Jewish queen of King Ahasuerus, who heroically saved the Jews of Persia. Is she a feminist icon? What is her story really all about? | |
| Kohelet | The Biblical philosopher of the Book of Ecclesiastes who really wanted to make sense of life. Is it all just “Vanity
of vanities”? |
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Hillel |
A first century Rabbi, who became the greatest sage of the second Temple era and one of the biggest influences on Rabbinic Judaism. |
c110 BCE-c10 CE |
| Herod | The king of Judaea who rebuilt the Temple and imposed his will on the country. The last of the great Jewish kings. Was he a genius or a psychotic? | 74-4 BCE |
| Jesus of Nazareth | First century preacher, religious leader and the founder of a new movement within Judaism. Was he a rabbi, revolutionary or Messiah? | 4 BCE-30 |
| Paul of Tarsus | The obsessive Jew who did more than anyone else to create Christianity. | 8-63 |
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Akiva ben Yosef |
The leading 1st century Rabbi, revolutionary and martyr whose values and ideas on practice were a critical influence on how Judaism developed and how it is practised today. |
50-135 |
| Titus Flavius Josephus | The 1st century priest, politician, soldier and writer who deserted the Jewish cause, rejected its leaders as Zealots and became the first Jewish historian. Was he a traitor to the Jewish cause or a hero of moderation? | 37-100 |
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Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) |
Medieval French commentator; the most influential Jewish author in the last 2,000 years. |
1041-1105 |
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Abraham Ibn Ezra |
Radical writer and thinker of the Middle Ages. |
1089-1167 |
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Maimonides (Rambam) |
The most important medieval Jewish scholar who radically changed Judaism. |
1135-1204 |
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Nahmanides (Ramban) |
The medieval scholar who was the Jewish defendant in the disputation of Barcelona and a leading figure in the re-establishment of the Jewish community in Jerusalem. |
1194-1270 |
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Gracia Mendes Nasi |
Medieval businesswoman and philanthropist, the outstanding Jewess of her day. |
1510-1569 |
| Shylock | The fictional antagonist in The Merchant of Venice, who became a byword for anti-Semitism. Was that what Shakespeare intended? How should we understand the play today? | |
| Menasseh ben Israel | Portuguese-Dutch
rabbi who helped Jews return to England in 1655. How influential was he in making this come about? | 1606-1657 |
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Baruch Spinoza |
The radical 17th century thinker who dared to challenge traditional religious thinking and who got excommunicated by both Jews and Christians for his honesty. |
1632-1677 |
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Glückel of Hameln | A highly successful businesswoman and skilled diarist. A great storyteller and a devoted wife and parent. Was she the Woman of Character of Proverbs 31? | 1646-1724 |
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Moses Mendelssohn |
18th century German philosopher and instigator of Jewish enlightenment. The first modern Jew. |
1729-1786 |
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The Rothschild Family |
19th century bankers and philanthropists; the richest and most influential Jewish dynasty. What made them so successful? |
1744-1868 |
| The Rothschild Women | The wives and daughters of the bankers, who shaped events despite restrictions imposed on them. Supreme hostesses and social activists. How did they use their intelligence and determination to overcome discrimination and create their own destiny? | 1752-2005 |
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Moses Montefiore |
The legendary British Jew of the 19th century who liberated countless Jews from oppression. |
1784-1885 |
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Benjamin Disraeli |
19th century British Prime Minister, who despite converting, was still the most important British Jew of his time. Was he good or bad for Jews? |
1804-1881 |
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Karl Marx |
Revolutionary 19th century economist and socialist. The most controversial Jew of modern times. How Jewish is his work? |
1818-1883 |
| Fagin | The fictional criminal mastermind in Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. What is his character all about, and how anti-Semitic is the portrayal? | |
| Solomon Schechter | The greatest scholar, teacher and leader of his generation within English-speaking Jewry, the creator of 20th century American Conservative Judaism and the dynamic force behind the Genizah collection. | 1850-1915 |
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Sigmund Freud |
The founder of psychoanalysis. How does psychology permeate Judaism and the Bible? |
1856-1939 |
| Louis Brandeis | “The People’s Attorney” who defended civil liberties, and fought big business. The first Jewish justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. A key Zionist leader. | 1856-1941 |
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Eliezer Ben-Yehuda |
One of the first Zionist leaders and the idealistic driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew language. |
1858-1922 |
| Claude Montefiore | A founder of Liberal Judaism, scholar of Christianity and opponent of Zionism. | 1858-1938 |
| Sholem Aleichem | A popular Russian-Yiddish novelist who wrote hundreds of stories including Tevye the Dairyman, which was turned into Fiddler on the Roof. He was called The Jewish Mark Twain. Who was the man behind the myth? | 1859-1916 |
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Henrietta Szold |
The American founder of Hadassah and a leading force in social and child welfare. |
1860-1945 |
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Theodor Herzl |
The journalist, writer and inspiration of modern political Zionism: "If you will it, it is no dream." |
1860-1904 |
| Abraham Isaac Kook | The first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Palestine. A visionary writer, original thinker, mystical tzaddik and messianic Zionist, who provided a way for ultra-traditional Jews to engage with modernity. | 1865-1935 |
| Emma Goldman | A Russian born
anarchist, writer and political activist. Why does she still inspire feminists
today? | 1869-1940 |
| Chaim Nachman Bialik | The most important modern Hebrew poet and an inspiring advocate for Zionism. | 1873-1934 |
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Rabbi Leo Baeck |
Leader of German Jewry in the 1930s. |
1873-1956 |
| Harry Houdini | The world-famous illusionist, stunt performer and showman. He overcame poverty, bigotry and self-doubt to live the American dream. But how did he really do his illusions? | 1874-1926 |
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Chaim Weizmann |
Zionist, chemist and the first President of Israel. How and why was the Balfour Declaration signed? |
1874-1952 |
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Martin Buber |
20th century philosopher, Zionist and creator of the ‘I-Thou’ idea. |
1878-1965 |
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Leon Trotsky |
Marxist leader, revolutionary and writer. |
1879-1940 |
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Albert Einstein |
Brilliant physicist, an avowed pacifist and Zionist. |
1879-1955 |
| Jacob Epstein | An American-British artist who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He produced many controversial works which outraged some and inspired others. How much of this was due to anti-Semitism? | 1880-1959 |
| Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan | An American rabbi, intellectual, writer, orator, educator and co-founder of Reconstructionist Judaism. One of the most important Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. | 1881-1983 |
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Franz Kafka |
A literary genius, giant of 20th century literature, and prophet of the horrors and angst of totalitarianism. |
1883-1924 |
| David Ben-Gurion | The first Prime Minister of Israel. What is the story behind Israel’s Declaration of Independence in1948 and how has that influenced how Israel is today? | 1886-1973 |
| Franz Rosenzweig | A German theologian, writer and translator who famously decided not to convert to Christianity on Yom Kippur. What drove him to that decision? | 1886-1929 |
| René Cassin | The French lawyer who
co-authored the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and received the Nobel
Peace Prize. | 1887-1946 |
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Marc Chagall |
The most famous Jewish artist of the 20th century who created his own style of modern art, based on Jewish Eastern European folk culture. A visual treat. |
1887-1985 |
| Irving Berlin | The greatest American songwriter. A classic rags-to-riches story of a Jewish immigrant to America from Russia who made good. A musical extravaganza. | 1888-1989 |
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Groucho Marx |
The American comedian, writer, stage, film, radio, and television star. One of the Marx Brothers. |
1890-1977 |
| Jack L. Warner | The driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios - the most radical in Hollywood. The instigator of the biggest family row in Hollywood. They made the first talking movie, The Jazz Singer, about whether to be American or Jewish. | 1892-1978 |
| George Gershwin | The American composer and pianist who wrote Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris, Porgy and Bess, Swanee, and hundreds of songs for musicals with his brother Ira. | 1898-1937 |
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Golda Meir |
Pivotal to the founding of Israel and its fourth Prime Minister. She was said to be both "the best man in the government" and at fault in the Yom Kippur war. What is the real truth about her? |
1898-1978 |
| Richard Rodgers | One of the most significant popular American composers of the 20th century, writing first with Larry Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein. A musical feast. | 1902-1979 |
| Isaac Bashevis Singer | The prolific Polish-American novelist, critic and journalist, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote in Yiddish about the lives and culture of East European Judaism. How real were his descriptions of shtetl life? | 1902-1991 |
| Dorothy Fields | The most successful female lyricist in the golden age of the American musical, who wrote songs such as The Way You Look Tonight, A Fine Romance and Hey Big Spender! | 1904-1974 |
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Lillian Hellman |
A
modern American dramatist, screenwriter, socialite and communist, a leading
defendant against McCarthyism. |
1905-1984 |
|
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel |
20th century rabbi and a model for compassionate social action. |
1907-1972 |
| Abraham Maslow | A visionary American psychologist, best known for creating the Hierarchy of Needs, a widely used theory of psychological motivation. Is it possible to be ‘self-actualized’ within Judaism? | 1908-1970 |
|
Isaiah Berlin |
The liberal philosopher and one of the finest minds of the 20th century. How should people live a moral life in a time of uncertainty? |
1909-1997 |
| Danny Kaye | The
versatile American entertainer, who excelled as an actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. The first ambassador-at-large of UNICEF. | 1911-1987 |
| Abba Eban | An Israeli diplomat and politician who became one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century. | 1915-2002 |
| Arthur Miller | The renowned American playwright, author of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, which explored contemporary ethical issues. Husband to Marilyn Monroe. | 1915-2005 |
| Moshe Dayan | The Israeli army
commander and Minister of Defence during the Six Day War. Was he hero or
villain? | 1915-1981 |
|
Leonard Bernstein |
The American composer, conductor and pianist. A maestro of both classical music and popular musicals and the composer of West Side Story. |
1918-1990 |
| Jerome Robbins | The American choreographer and director of West Side Story and the creative genius behind Fiddler on the Roof. | 1918-1998 |
|
Primo Levi |
An Italian survivor of Auschwitz and one of the first to write about his experiences. |
1919-1987 |
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Rabbi Louis Jacobs |
British Jewry’s most prolific and controversial rabbi and its only world class scholar. What really went on in the Jacobs' affair? |
1920-2006 |
| Rosalind Franklin | An English chemist, whose work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA;. Was she airbrushed out of history because she was a woman? | 1920-1958 |
| Aaron Beck | An American psychiatrist, a prime originator of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). How Jewish is CBT? | 1921-2021 |
| Yitzhak Rabin | A military commander, diplomat and politician and the fifth Prime Minister of Israel. He signed a peace treaty with the Palestinians, won the Nobel Peace Prize and was assassinated. What is his legacy today? | 1922-1995 |
| Stan Lee | An American comic book writer, editor, publisher of Marvel Comics, and film producer, who created the flawed model of the superhero, such as Spider-Man and The Thing. How Jewish were these characters? | 1922-2018 |
| Rabbi John Rayner | A rabbi-scholar, teacher and role model, who was for forty years the foremost Progressive rabbi in the UK. | 1924-2005 |
| Simone Veil | A survivor of the Shoah, who was responsible for establishing the law legalising abortion in France and became the first President of the elected European Parliament. | 1927-2017 |
| Burt Bacharach | An American composer, record producer, and pianist and ‘the king of easy listening’, with hits such as What the World Needs Now Is Love, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head and Walk on By. | 1928-2023 |
| Stanley Kubrick | An American photographer and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, who changed the way movies looked. Is 2001: A Space Odyssey the greatest film ever made? Joint session with Rabbi DY. | 1928-1999 |
| Elie Wiesel | A Romanian-born American writer, teacher, political activist, and Nobel Laureate for peace, who more than anyone else, was responsible for the widespread knowledge about the Holocaust. Where was God in the Holocaust? | 1928-2016 |
| André Previn | The German-American pianist, composer, and
conductor in jazz, and classical music. He won four Oscars, but didn’t
always get others to play the notes in the right order. | 1929-2019 |
| Rabbi Lionel Blue | An unconventional British Reform rabbi, author, cook, liturgist and broadcaster, famed for his wry sense of humour on Thought for the Day – the God slot. | 1930-2016 |
| Rabbi Hugo Gryn | A British Reform rabbi, Auschwitz survivor, educator, interfaith advocate and national broadcaster. How did he live his life as an “ethical nuisance”? | 1930-1996 |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg | An American lawyer, pioneering advocate for gender equality and judge on the Supreme Court. What did she achieve for women’s rights? Is Judaism inherently sexist? | 1933-2020 |
|
Leonard Cohen |
Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. What is the real meaning
of his Jewish-inspired songs, including, Story of Isaac and Hallelujah? |
1934-2016 |