Rabbi Laura Geller in Conversation With Judith Rosenbaum

About Moments That Matter:

Moments That Matter: Marking Transitions in Midlife and Beyond offers a fresh perspective on life's later chapters, transforming them into opportunities for personal growth, meaning, and renewal. With warmth and wisdom, Rabbi Laura Geller and Rabbi Beth Lieberman explore the unique challenges and joys of midlife and beyond, from launching children to launching oneself anew, navigating retirement, downsizing and moving, facing illness and caregiving, and embracing love at any age. The chapters weave Jewish wisdom with practical rituals, interspersed with personal stories and ways to adapt each ceremony for a communal setting. Moments That Matter empowers readers to embrace these milestones with creativity and intention, offering tools to craft personalized and deeply moving rituals that honor the complexity of this rich stage of life.

About Rabbi Laura Geller :

Rabbi Laura Geller, rabbi emerita of Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, was the third woman in the Reform Movement to become a rabbi. Named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America and by PBS’s Next Avenue as a 2017 Influencer in Aging, she was a cofounder of ChaiVillageLA and is the chair of the Synagogue Village Network. She served on the Corporation of Brown University, from where she graduated in 1971, and on the board of the Jewish Women’s Archive. Currently she serves on the boards of CoGenerate (CoGenerate.org; formerly Encore.org), and the Active Aging Resource Network (ActiveAgingNetwork.org; formerly B3/The Jewish Boomer Platform).

About Judith Rosenbaum:

Judith Rosenbaum is CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive, a pioneering national organization that documents Jewish women’s stories, elevates their voices, and inspires them to be agents of change.

An educator, historian, and writer, Judith served for nearly a decade as JWA’s Director of Public History and Director of Education, developing its major programs and educational initiatives.

Judith earned a BA in History from Yale University and a PhD in American Studies from Brown University with a focus on women, gender, and social movements. She won a Fulbright Fellowship to study women’s collective communities in Israel, and received a dissertation grant from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study to pursue research on the women’s health movement. Judith teaches, lectures, and publishes widely on Jewish studies and women’s studies. She has also served on the faculty of the Bronfman Fellowship and is a Schusterman Senior Fellow. In 2025, she received Hebrew College’s Esther Award for Courageous Women’s Leadership.