Congregation Neveh Shalom and the Suher Family would be honored to have you join us for The 9th Annual Yoni Suher (z”l) Scholar-in-Residence
Rabbi Danny Nevins: Torah & Technology
May 8-10, 2026
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Friday, May 8, 7:30pm* | Dinner and Talk
Don’t Delegate Your Soul
Can You Outsource the Soul? Artificial intelligence can write, analyze, recommend, and decide. As machines begin to perform tasks that once defined human judgment and creativity, Jewish tradition invites a deeper question: what, exactly, belongs to us alone? Drawing on classical Torah sources and contemporary technological dilemmas, this session explores the boundary between assistance and abdication. Technology can extend human ability. It cannot replace human responsibility.
*Following the 6:15pm Kabbalat Shabbat Service
Saturday, May 9, During Shabbat Services | D'var Torah
Blessings and Curses: Finding Resilience in a Time of Traumatic Upheaval
No RSVP necessary.
Saturday, May 9, 7:00pm | Dessert and Talk
What Is “Natural”? Torah, Biotechnology, and the Future of Life From gene editing to lab-grown meat, modern biotechnology is reshaping the boundaries between species, bodies, and even the definition of food itself. As science gains the ability to modify DNA, engineer living systems, and create new forms of life, long-standing assumptions about what is “natural” begin to shift.
Drawing on classical sources and contemporary halakhic debate, this session explores how Jewish law responds when the categories it relies on: animal and non-animal, natural and artificial, permitted and forbidden, become less clear. As these distinctions blur, the questions extend far beyond any single innovation, touching on how Torah understands creation, human intervention, and the limits of innovation.
Sunday, May 10, 9:30 AM | Mother’s Day Brunch and Talk
To Life: Jewish Wisdom in an Age of Modern Medicine
Moms, chicken soup, and modern medicine - each, in their own way, sustain life.
How do we recognize and honor life, especially in moments when it becomes more complex to define? What does it mean to care for a person whose life is sustained in new and unfamiliar ways?
Modern medicine can support the body in ways that were once unimaginable, prompting us to revisit a question that Jewish tradition has explored for centuries: how do we define and uphold life?
Drawing on classical halakhic sources and contemporary medical realities, this session explores the deeply contested boundary between life and death. From ancient debates about the “breath of life” to modern dilemmas around brain death and organ donation, we will examine how Jewish law navigates one of the most urgent and ethically charged questions of our time—and what it asks of us as we care for life in all its forms.
Complimentary food or meals are provided at each talk with RSVP.
This event, including all meals, is underwritten by the Stan and Ethel Katz Briller Jewish Education Fund of the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation and the generous donors to the Yoni Suher Fund of Congregation Neveh Shalom.