Holidays for Heretics:

An Unconventional Tour Through the Jewish Calendar

with Tova Birnbaum and Zoe Fertik

Holidays for Heretics is an encore of Zoe and Tova's High Holiday series, "Pray with Transgressors." You can stream the episodes live or access all past episodes on your own time right here.

For each holiday of the Jewish calendar, Zoe and Tova bring their personal stories, the holiday's history, the relevant texts, and various perspectives that can add insight and meaning to your understanding of the cycle of a Jewish year. The classes include text, song, and story in order to reimagine and reconnect to the Jewish holidays. "Holidays for Heretics" is at the same time personal and unconventional, while also being based in a love for tradition and a desire to make tradition our own. 

The course topics follow the schedule of the Jewish calendar, so tune in every week or on your own schedule to learn about whatever holiday is coming up next!

Holidays for Heretics is presented by Tova Birnbaum and Zoe Fertik on behalf of the OFJCC and BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change.

Upcoming Shows

Stay tuned for a calendar!

Tova Birnbaum is the Director of Jewish Content at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. She was born in B'nai B'rak in an Ultra-Orthodox home and was one of the founders of the BINA Secular Yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Tova previously served as the Central Shlicha (emissary), Director of the North America Region, of the World Zionist Organization. She is a teacher of Talmudic Rabbinic Literature, a Judaic studies lecturer and a Theater Midrash workshop facilitator. She is also a secular Jewish lifecycle ceremonies officiant. Tova is an actress and a Jewish performance artist. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and Jewish philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree in theater from Tel Aviv University.

Zoe Jick is the Associate Director of Jewish Content at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. Previously, she worked at BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change, where she founded an English Beit Midrash for the Secular Yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Zoe studied religion at Wesleyan University and has a Master's Degree in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. She is also a proud alumna of several immersive Jewish learning and Israel programs, including EIE, Kivunim, Pardes, and Yeshivat Hadar. Zoe is a Wexner Graduate Fellow in Jewish Education and a member of The Schusterman Foundation's ROI Community.

BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change is an Israeli-born movement at the intersection of Jewish education and social activism. BINA works to advance democracy, pluralism and justice in Israel and the Jewish world through limud (study), ma’ase (action) and kehilla (community), emphasizing Jewish culture and values of tikkun olam (repairing the world).

As a hub for the Silicon Valley  Jewish Community, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center creates meaningful, inclusive and joyful experiences for everyone and explores innovative ways to integrate Jewish traditions and values into contemporary life. The Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life is a welcoming, innovative, multi-generational destination where individuals and families live, learn, play and connect.