RJ Blog

by Steven Portnoy The mission of the Men of Reform Judaism’s (MRJ) Reform on Campus (ROC) committee is “to assist students in creating meaningful Reform Jewish experiences on campus that will lead them to being active and involved Reform Jews for life.” Because I have been an involved member of this committee for eight years, the last five of which I have served as chair, I am intimately familiar with the committee and its work.

I was thrilled to participate in Reform Judaism magazine’s winter cover story, “Forum for the Future,” a symposium that provides Jews in their 20s and 30s a platform to speak candidly about what young adults want and need to find their home in the Jewish community. Historian and Brandeis University professor Jonathan Sarna sets the stage, shedding light on what history can teach us about the challenge of engaging the next generation of Jews and what to make of young Jewish leaders who are questioning and disrupting the establishment. And then, the panelists:

I was on the phone a few months ago with Marshall Einhorn, executive director of Brown-RISD Hillel, discussing a talk I was asked to give at Brown, where my younger son is currently a junior and of which my older son is an alumnus. As an aside, I asked Marshall who would be leading the campus Reform services for the High Holy Days. When he said he had asked a number of people but without success, I offered to help. “That would be great!” Marshall said. “Let me know if your networks surface someone interested.” “No,” I told him. “Maybe [...]

Throughout Jewish life there are many benchmarks. Some are optional, and some come with tradition. The path I have taken has definitely been one of structure.

So you’ve just graduated from high school. First of all, mazel tov! But… now what? Moving from high school to the next phase of your life is an exciting time and there is much to do. Living away from home or attending college may be the first opportunity you have to make decisions about how you want to live and learn Jewishly.  Will you celebrate Jewish holidays away from home? How do you meet other Jews like yourself? The Union for Reform Judaism wants to be there for you as you begin to choose your own Jewish path by keeping [...]

By Jason Levine “Rabbi Hanina taught: ‘I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but from my students I have learned most of all.’” A few days ago, I had the honor of serving as a staff member for a group of 40 college students from the Hillel Foundation at Miami University and UConn Hillel on a whirlwind 10-day journey with Taglit-Birthright Israel. While the students had a tremendous time, I want to assure them and all others that they taught me far more than they realize. “May it be your will, our God and God of [...]

by Missy Goldstein Last fall, as a junior attending the University of Florida (UF), I was considering all the possibilities for the upcoming spring break.   I know that typical UF students spend their spring breaks on cruises and at beaches, drinking and getting awkward tanlines.  I was not excited by the prospect of getting sunburned or putting myself in a bathing suit.  Sure I could visit my parents in Texas, but since it was a recent relocation, there would be no friends there for me and sitting on the couch all week just sounded boring. I thought about my Jewish [...]

by Rebekkah Karp (As part of her Netzer Year, Rebekkah spent two months training and volunteering with Magen David Adom – the Israeli Red Cross – while living in the city of Karmiel.) I ate fast food or a chocolate sandwich for lunch nearly everyday, I drank an average of four cups of coffee everyday, I walked to and from work everyday (yes, there’s an uphill both ways) – sometimes even in the rain.  I yelled at my roommates to keep it down when I had to go to sleep way earlier than them.  I once spent five hours watching [...]

by Tyler Benjamin Tyler Benjamin, a third year John V. Lombardi Scholar at the University of Florida, just returned from a three-week study opportunity in South Africa. Read Part One of his unforgettable Shabbat experience, and enjoy Part Two, below. Let me start out by saying the food was delicious and the company, excellent. But as always, it the conversation made the night. I present to you, the cast of characters from my chance Shabbat, an America in South Africa: Chips Chips’ real name is Ivan, but only his father ever called him that. All the friends and family he’s [...]

by Steven Portnoy For five years–the last two as chair–I have had the privilege and honor of serving on MRJ’s Reform On Campus (ROC) committee. Let me start by giving you a little background about MRJ, of which ROC is a part. Now almost 90 years old, MRJ began as the North American Federation of Temple Brotherhoods. In 2007 we became Men of Reform Judaism, a name that reflects the changes that have occurred in the organization during the last 85 years. In the 1990s MRJ began the Reform On Campus initiative, which for almost 20 years, has succeeded in [...]

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 John Wofford “I’m way out of my league,” I think to myself as I sing the Sh’ma with a congregation of devout Jews. Though I’ve long said goodbye to Christianity, I know the faith well. Honestly, you could transplant me back to the Bible Belt and I could easily recapture my old rhythms. When you’re a preacher’s kid, certain things come naturally no matter the distance or time elapsed. I may be a Michigan student and Jew-by-Choice, but I’m a Georgia son who spent more years than I care to admit on the front row of a sweaty Pentecostal [...]

by Elliot Kort My liberal Jewish guilt was really starting to bug me. In the wake of the 2008 presidential election, I reflected on how I perceived the nation was changing. In doing so, I faced a cold, hard truth; I hadn’t done anything but vote. I hadn’t pledged my time, volunteered to go door-to-door, lobbied friends and neighbors on a certain issue, or helped to register other voters. In essence, I hadn’t done a single thing beyond showing up and casting my ballot. By saying that, I can already sense people recoiling. I can hear them saying, “But voting [...]

by Aliza Gazek(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Reform Voices of Torah) As I walked up to my freshman dorm this September, carrying a metal-frame backpack and sap-infested clothes from my wilderness orientation program, I heard people shout, “ALIZA!” The welcome cheer that followed my name is but a blur, overshadowed by my amazement that these people–whom I later learned are my resident advisors–knew my name and pronounced it correctly even though we had yet to meet. “I’m a-LEE-za, like an alligator,” I say as I press my palms together in front of me and make snaking motions [...]