RJ Blog

Boil eggs Peel eggs Place eggs in vessel Add mayo and Dijon mustard until right Salt, pepper, and paprika, to taste Paprika on top for color For years, this simple recipe dominated our pre-Yom Kippur preparation. Since I left the URJ a few years ago to move into the private sector, my wife Abby and I have hosted break-the-fast for our Jewish friends who were stuck far away from family on the holiday. It started small, with about 10 people (a dozen eggs) we collected at services who had no where to go, and it ballooned to about 35 people [...]

by dcc(originally published on Jewschool) dcc seen at age 10 My first year at camp as a kid was great: Sports, Arts and Crafts, Lake Front, Advanced Swimming and, of course, the coveted first dance with a girl. All of this was set against the bucolic setting of the NJ-YMHA-YWHA Jr. camp, Camp Nah-Jee-Wah. Two years later I would be off to California with my family but Camp Nah-Jee-Wah has always held a special place in my heart and so did that dance with Rachel Cohen-Stien-Berg-Steen (clearly it was much more important at the time). All kidding aside, Jewish summer [...]

by Peter J. WeidhornChair, URJ Board of Trustees Even as you prepare to fire up the backyard grill, dive intothe cool, clear water of a swimming pool or escape town for the upcomingholiday weekend, the URJ is putting into place a thousand and one different detailsfor its 71st Biennial convention,where the Reform Jewish community will come together in greater Washington, DCfrom December 14-18, 2011. Ask anyone who’s ever been to a URJ Biennial and you’ll hearall about learning and sharing with experts in such areas of Reform life as education,prayer, synagogue management and more.

by dcc The headline was clear: Court Upholds Decision Banning Worship Services At Public Schools.  But the message is complicated. The majority judges say the action of renting the space is a violation of the Establishment clause. The dissenting judge noted that barring the Church in this case from renting the space, was a violation of its freedom of speech. I am conflicted.  As a liberal Jew, I am all about the separation of Church and State.The Establishment clause is super-duper clear: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. That is it. No state or federally run [...]

As the frigid temperatures that have gripped much of thecountry this winter ebb into the warmth of spring, it is finally time to getexcited about Passover. For me, every year Passover is about an Exodus: from my home to what my parents have long thought to be the Promised Land – LosAngeles. It is also about strict family tradition. For millions of Jews in North America, Passover is “the”home holiday.  We all eat the same foods, plus or minus something new fromsome magazine. We stuff our familyand friends into a space built for about a third of the people who [...]

by dcc It wasn’t such a long, long time ago that I could remember a time without cell phones. It also wasn’t such a long time ago that I could pick my mom up at the gate when she came home from a business trip. I can also remember a time when the nightly news was important. Yet I don’t remember a time without Debbie Friedman. While I did not know her and only met her a handful of times, Debbie’s music invited me into a community that was warm, welcoming and undeniably Jewish. Growing up in the Reform Movement [...]

by dccOriginally posted on Jewschool By now you all have heard of the Princeton referendumbeing offered by a group of concerned students at the Ivy League campusin New Jersey. Sabra Hummus has been declared an enemy of Palestine andshould be banned from campus there should be other options for students to purchase when they desire a creamy Middle Eastern dip. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for meaningless political action incollege; after all I was an elected member of the student senate back incollege, so I know all about that. But when it comes to an eliteinstitution of higher [...]

by dcc Putting aside the miraculous longevity of the oil, can anyone tell me why Reform Jews celebrate Chanukah? This festival, which was a belated Sukkot celebration, delayed due to a war, has become the second most celebrated and clearly most recognized Jewish holiday of the calendar in North America.  But the FULL story line should cause Reform Jews to ask serious questions about the continued celebration of the excommunication and murder of forward-looking, assimilating Jews by a group of ultra-religious warriors. So the Jewish community was trying to deal with the wicked King Antiochus who wasn’t so good to [...]

by dcc This extremely well-done hysterical interview presented in the style of This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show, follows the Debbie Friedman cover band “Not By Might” as they discuss their love of Debbie, music and playing for the Jewish community. Please enjoy and try to find “Not By Might” in a Temple near you! (Click through to see the video .)

by dcc This is a great country. The United States of America provides everyone with an unbelievable amount of freedom, protection and space to be whoever it is we are.  A country built on the backs of immigrants and made stronger in every generation by new blood from an old world.  My paternal grandfather fought against and my maternal grandfather escaped Hitler. Both of these men were proud Americans. I am both a proud Jew and a proud American. But living in this country makes it possible to have both. In other free countries around the world, especially in Western [...]

I was recently asked by someone I very much respect to address “the” question. So I started to write the answer in a post… about five times without any luck. The “Why does a 20-something join a Reform Congregation” question. I have no kids and am Jewishly connected in my life, so why join a congregation?  Some may say it is a legitimate question. I say you are missing the point of congregational life. The myth that young Reform Jews are not joining a temple because they don’t find it useful or meaningful is bunk. The real issue is that Reform Jews [...]

by dcc A group of Reform Jews from around New York spent yesterday in Albany as a part of the Reform Jewish Voice of New York State‘s annual Advocacy Day. From the Sages of the Talmud to leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, the Reform Jewish Movement has a long history of and commitment to Social Justice. While I wouldn’t put myself in any category with sages or civil rights leaders, I am a member of the Steering Committee of the RJV, so at least I get a cool title. Over the years we have worked in our congregations and [...]

by dcc (Originally published on Jewschool) It is no secret to those of us who live much (or most or even too much) of our Judaism online that there needs to be a fundamental change in the way we understand community and peoplehood in North America. It is also not surprising that people often overreact–in both directions–saying that we must come back to the synagogue-old-world model and abandon this new-fangled-interwebs or that we should move to some new idea that uses a bunch of hyphens and words like “post” and “neo” or “proto” all strung together and pretends to be [...]

by dcc It is pretty hip right now to care about sustainability and care about the future of Jewish delis.  But they don’t really go too well together.  So Saul’s Restaurant and Deli in Berkeley (where else would they be?) has a joint mission of bringing sustainability and Jewish deli together.  They hosted a “Referendum on the Jewish Deli Menu.” This “Referendum” features chefs, owners, customers and the omnipotent food thinker Michael Pollan addressing how to deal with bringing these issues together. Take a watch and let’s see if there is a way to have a “Referendum” on how we [...]