San Diego Renewal Rabbi Wayne Dosick will give a dozen talks on topics ranging from death to money to ethical living as this year’s North Peninsula Jewish community scholar-in-residence from Jan. 28 to Feb. 10.

The series, which is free and open to the public, kicks off with “Dancing With God When Life Hurts,” a lecture at Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School in Foster City at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28. Other lectures will be held at the school, the Peninsula JCC and various Peninsula synagogues; a full schedule is available at www.tinyurl.com/pjcc-dosick2016.

Rabbi Wayne Dosick

“My core principle teaching is that I’m here to help people create a deep, personal, loving, intimate relationship with God,” said Dosick, the founding rabbi of San Diego’s Elijah Minyan and author of nine books, including “Living Judaism” (1995) and “The Real Name of God: Embracing the Full Essence of the Divine” (2012).

“The rabbinic and lay leadership of the North Peninsula Jewish community are thrilled to welcome Rabbi Dosick as our sixth annual scholar-in-residence,” said Rabbi Lavey Derby, PJCC director of Jewish Life. “He’s been described as a ‘rational intellect with the soul of a mystic,’ and called one of the most gifted teachers of our generation. Rabbi Dosick understands the spiritual and ethical challenges people face today and provides guidance that is both intellectually and spiritually nourishing.”

The Peninsula scholar-in-residence program was launched in 2011; previous scholars have included Rabbi David Saperstein, a U.S. at-large ambassador and former director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and Rabbi Naomi Levy, founder of Nashuva, a Los Angeles spiritual community.

Dosick said he hopes his talks about how spiritual tools can address crucial life issues will help those active in the Jewish community, as well as encourage them to reach out to non-affiliated Jews.

“My hope is that I can enhance and enrich their Jewish experience and at the same time give them the tools to go out to the Jews who never set foot in a synagogue, a JCC or anything Jewish and see if Judaism can bring them the kind of satisfaction and enrichment that the people who do walk in the doors have,” Dosick said.  — drew himmelstein

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Drew Himmelstein is a former J. reporter who writes about education, families and Jewish life. She lives with her husband and two sons.