On Shabbat, December 16-17, Cong. Rinat Yisrael will present Rabbi Dr. Michael Berger of Emory University as a Scholar-in-Residence. Dr. Berger’s speaking schedule will include a dvar halacha after Kabalat Shabbat; a talk at the Friday night oneg Shabbat at 8 p.m., entitled “Haredi in the Coal Mine: What the Ultra-Orthodox Teach Us About Being Religious in America”; delivery of the Shabbat morning drasha at the 9 a.m. service; and lecture after mincha on Shabbat afternoon about “Mai Chanukah? Rav Yitzchak Hutner on the Revolution of Chanukah.”

Rabbi Dr. Michael Berger is an associate professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University in Atlanta, where he teaches courses in Jewish studies and religion. He is the author of “Rabbinic Authority” and edited the rav’s “Emergence of Ethical Man.” Ordained by Rav Amital, zt”l, and Rav Levi of Yeshivat Har Etzion, he lectures nationally for the Wexner Heritage Foundation, and also serves as a program officer for the AVI CHAI Foundation.