Rabbi Dean Shapiro
NEW ZEALAND
Dean Shapiro is the rabbi of Beth Shalom: The Progressive Jewish Community of Auckland. He teaches to all ages, leads the congregation in prayer, officiates at life cycle events, and guides families in need. From 2011-2021 he was Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanuel, a Reform synagogue in Arizona. His writings have been included in Mishkan HaSeder: A Passover Hagaddah and Sacred Earth: Jewish Perspectives on Our Planet. He was a Global Justice Fellow (traveling to Central America and lobbying the US Congress with American Jewish World Service), and served on the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Working Group on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate. Rabbi Dean is an advisor to Blessed Tomorrow, a non-profit dedicated to religion and the environment, and a member of ARC – the Association of Progressive Rabbis and Cantors of Australasia. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Hebrew Union College.
SESSION INFO
SATURDAY 3.45-4.45pm
Difficult Discussions – Ageing, Illness, and End of Life with Rachel Korpus - Shabbat
We are all growing older. What’s more, many of us are – or will become – caregivers for parents as they age. This session will provide ethical and practical guidance on the journey that is caring and grieving, and real-world discussion on an essential question: how do we prepare for the most significant decisions of our lives?
SUNDAY 1.30-2.30pm
Christian Seders with Rev. Ivica Gregurec
Increasingly, churches and individual Christians are celebrating ‘Passover Seders.’ While they may do so in the spirit of connecting with Jesus’ experience, seder meals taken out of their social and religious context obscure the real meaning of the Festival and trivialise Judaism. The Anglican Church in Aotearoa NZ and Polynesia recently recommended Christians refrain from such events. How and why do some Christians use the seder meal for their own purposes and meanings? How did the Church come to take such a step?