RJ Blog

Here are just a few of the recent stories from across the webosphere that speak directly to (and about) Reform Jews. What Jewish stories have you been reading recently? Leave a comment and let us know! “Modern-Day Rabbi Must Be CEO, Teacher, and Spiritual Leader at Once,” Forward Are rabbis the new CEOs? Anne Cohen reports that “expectations have changed.” Rabbis are now required to read a spreadsheet as well as the Gemara. They need to be accessible, media-savvy public speakers; business-oriented entrepreneurs; fundraisers; program generators, and in touch with popular trends. To prepare rabbinical students for the challenges ahead, [...]

Here are just a few of the recent stories from across the webosphere that speak directly to (and about) Reform Jews. What Jewish stories have you been reading recently? Leave a comment and let us know! “His Father’s Murder Drives a Rabbi’s Pursuit of Gun Control,” New York Times This piece is actually a couple of weeks old, but it deserves ongoing attention. Rabbi Joel Mosbacher’s father was shot to death in a petty robbery in 1999. “I’ve carried this story with me, this anger, every day for the last 14 years,” says the rabbi, who serves Beth Haverim Shir [...]

Still not clear on the details of the ongoing dispute regarding women’s prayer at the Western Wall in Israel? Been following along so closely that you want to know even more about it? Last week, Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson, director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network, was interviewed by Timothy Michael Law, founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of The Marginalia Review of Books. The Women’s Rabbinic Network is the international support and advocacy organization for women in the Reform rabbinate. Just before Rabbi Ellenson’s scheduled appearance with Marginalia, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that recent detention of members of Women of the Wall members [...]

Mazel tov to the 36 individuals – including 10 Reform rabbis – included in the Jewish Daily Forward recently released list of America’s Most Inspiring Rabbis. The list includes 36 rabbis who, editor Jane Eisner says, are “shaping 21st-century Judaism.” Among them are following Reform rabbis, all nominated by their congregants and others with whom they work:

Awesome news! Last week, the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) and ARZA, the Association for Reform Zionists of America, announced that there are now 40 Reform Jewish congregations in Israel. New Reform communities in Megiddo, Gilboa, Shoham, Kibbutz Beit HaShitta, the Arava and Caesaria have begun meeting for prayer, study and activities, as well as have chavurot in Be’er Sheva, Haifa, and the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat HaYovel. Rabbi Bennett F. Miller, National Chair of ARZA, said of this development, “The fact that there are now some 40 Reform congregations in Israel represents a powerful shift in [...]

‎BBC Travel recently shone the spotlight on Israeli kibbutzim & their evolution over the years. The Reform Movement’s own Kibbutz Lotan, which celebrated its 30th birthday just last week, is highlighted as the “ultimate ‘eco-kibbutz.’” In “Kick Back on a Kibbutz,” BBC reporter Dan Savery Ray writes, The ultimate “eco-kibbutz” is Lotan, situated in the arid Arava desert, 51km north of the Red Sea resort town of Eilat. Guests can sleep in mud houses and learn about permaculture, sustainable building and geodesic domes on a four-week to four-month English-language “Green Apprenticeship”. The kibbutz, set against the backdrop of the red [...]

The Jewish Journal reported this week on the growing trend of teenagers exiting Jewish life once their b’nai mitzvah experiences come to an end – and what the Reform Movement is doing about it. Reporter Ryan Torok writes, When Isa Aron considers b’nai mitzvah today, she gets the impression that parents — and sometimes synagogues — care more about their son or daughter performing flawlessly when on the bimah than they do about their forming lasting connections to Judaism. “The moment itself is wonderful because the kid is up there performing and all that, but Jewish value of the moment [...]

Have you ever wondered which world nations have the largest Reform Jewish populations? In the new issue of Reform Judaism magazine, out now, you’ll find a list of The Top World Nations With Jewish Populations & Their Reform Congregations. The list includes 43 countries, the size of their Jewish populations, and the number and location of their Reform congregations. Because the term “Reform” is primarily used in North America, the list also names each country’s preferred terminology. So which countries make the list? Here’s a peek at the top 10:

“[F]or many American Jews, there is no substitute for the penetrating power of a brilliant sermon, or the comfort offered by a rabbi who knew the dying person before she became ill. There is no one else to mold and lead a religious community, to carry on and interpret our great tradition of scholarship, or to stand as a moral lighthouse in this foggy time. No one else to represent ourselves to ourselves, and ourselves to other people. Which is why defining and sustaining the role of the modern rabbi is one of the most vital challenges before the American [...]

Making new year’s resolutions is not necessarily a Jewish concept. After all, we marked the start of our new year months ago! But as citizens of a global society – who still have to write “2013″ on our checks, not “5773″ – it’s difficult to resist the allure of the traditions that accompany the start of the secular new year. Here, a few of the most common resolutions – and how the Reform Movement can help you achieve them in the new year! Lose weight. OK, so we can’t really help you with this one; you may need to join [...]

Deborah Dunton, a member of the executive committee of Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh, PA, recently wrote an op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about this month’s shootings in Newtown, CT. In “The First First Responders,” Dunton, a K-8 special education teacher, writes, After the unspeakable horror that occurred in Newtown, Conn., a few days ago, we were reminded that the first first responders at schools are the administrators, paraprofessionals and teachers. All at Sandy Hook Elementary School displayed courage. They did their jobs. The teachers acted instinctively to shield, hide and ultimately to save most of their students, with the heartbreaking [...]

American Reform Rabbi Elyse Frishman, who serves Barnert Temple in Franklin Lake, N.J., was detained last Friday as she prayed at the Western Wall while wearing a tallit, or prayer shawl. Following this incident, which occurred just before the last night of Hanukkah, Haartez published an op-ed by Rabbi Frishman recounting her experience. She writes, in part:

The storm has long passed, but the horrors it left behind still remain. This heartbreaking new video from Odyssey Networks tells the story of West End Temple in Neponsit, NY, which was badly damaged when Hurricane Sandy whipped through the area. In a walk-through of the water-logged synagogue, volunteers – including the rabbi, president, and staff – are moved to tears when they speak of the congregation’s history and membership. Says Rabbi Marjorie Slome, the temple’s spiritual leader, “This is a very resilient community, and for that I feel grateful.” If you would like to donate to West End Temple’s [...]

Just in time for Hanukkah, we at the Reform Movement are thrilled to announce a little something we’ve been working on – a new website! ReformJudaism.org is designed for Reform and unaffiliated Jews, as well as those wishing to learn more about Reform Judaism or Jewish life in general.