RJ Blog

by Allison Bernstein “As a returning resident born and raised in New Orleans post hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it has been a struggle to rebuild our Historic Lower 9th Ward Community. I am truly grateful to Patti Vile and Volunteer Expeditions and the many wonderful volunteers she continues to bring every year to help rebuild our lives, homes, churches, gardens and neighborhoods in the City of New Orleans…Their work is priceless!”       Warrenetta Banks, Volunteer Coordinator of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development Inspiring work comes from many places. One such place is the Union for Reform [...]

This time of year, as we start to clean out the Chametz, pull out the Seder plate and get the timbrel down off its shelf – as I ready my home and heart for my favorite holiday – there is also a tinge of sadness to our preparations. Justin’s name, which comes up not infrequently all year, will be mentioned more in the weeks to come – by me, by my wife Tina, by our son. As we unpack the Passover boxes, I know there will be items in there that I will find myself just holding, as I stare [...]

by Cantor Alane Katzew A congregational seder is a wonderful way for a small congregation to build community while sharing the experience of the Exodus. While it can be daunting for one person, when the work is shared and delegated among many according to their interests and abilities, the results can be awesome, educational and fun. We developed this easy to use guide specifically to provide small congregations with the basics. Of course, contact us if you’d like to discuss in more detail, and discuss below what ingredients you would add to this recipe for your community. Ingredients of the [...]

Congregations can help reduce the number of suicides and lead people who struggle with depression toward help when we teach our youth, youth group leaders and parents how to monitor and respond to despairing text messages, Facebook postings and tweets. People of all ages can experience severe depression, and probably one in five adults or teens in our congregations are suffering from a psychiatric condition at any given time. The unremitting pain of untreated major depression can lead to suicide. And those who have suffered a severe loss, experience of shame or deep disappointment are more prone to an impulsive [...]

It’s been a while since last I posted. Between some personal and professional travel and responsibilities at work, it hasn’t felt like there was a lot of time. But the truth is, I’ve procrastinated – a reversion to an old negative pattern which, for the most part, I’ve been able of late to keep at bay. I think the reason I couldn’t do so this time is because of the topic on which I knew I wanted to focus my next entry – the topic of control. I love control. I thrive on control. I have built my life on [...]

by John Shalett In my role as MRJ Executive Council Member and member of the URJ Commission on Outreach, Membership and Caring Communities I am dedicated to helping our members to help to build and to benefit from congregational communities that help each of us to feel strengthened, needed and supported. In a meaningful and positive manner. Men of Reform Judaism is working closely with Rabbi Edythe Mencher, Caring Congregations Specialist, in efforts to create greater awareness and sensitivity to both individual and family concerns that effect and potentially take a great toll on each of us as family members. [...]

Caring Committees are a great beginning but are even more effective when our congregations are communities in which everyone provides care. Some congregations have gotten everyone involved in caring activities by asking each family to volunteer to be available for one or two days each year. They can trade days with another family as necessary, and they can select the ways in which they feel most comfortable helping. Nobody is ever forced to participate, but every family can be asked to offer one or two days when they might deliver a basket to welcome a new baby; bring a meal [...]

by Leanna Cossman Sinai Temple sent a small, but hearty, group of volunteers to Harrisburg, IL on Sunday, March 4th, 2012 to assist with debris removal after the town was demolished by an F4 tornado. Our day started at Sinai Temple at 3:40 a.m. and we were on the road by 4 as the morning volunteer shift Harrisburg started at 8a.m.  Safe and comfortable transportation was provided, free of charge, by Piattran out of Monticello.  They sent a small bus and a driver and we can’t thank Piattran and Lisa Olson enough for keeping us safe on this long drive. [...]

by Andi Rosenthal Four years ago, at the age of 37, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. It was the souvenir of a long, near-fatal, crushing bout with MRSA that didn’t respond to anything until I was given a three-month course of twice-daily, intravenous antibiotics. These finally did the trick, but what the specialists didn’t tell me was that when antibiotics are given the task of wiping out an infection, they often take your immune system down in the process. Already prone, via heredity, to the autoimmune disorders that run rampant throughout both sides of my family tree, RA was [...]

by Rabbi Julie Pelc Adler This morning I received a text message from my Aunt Linda saying, “I am doing well… love being home after three weeks in the hospital and rehab.” I almost replied, as if on rabbi auto-pilot, “I’ve been praying for your recovery” but instead wrote, “I’ve been thinking of you a lot!  You’re so strong!” Some might argue that my aunt was able to recover from the infection in her hip replacement, surgeries to remove the new hip and clean the prosthesis, and to begin rehabilitation all over again because God heard the prayers of the [...]