RJ Blog

For a long time the common refrain has been that “religious values” meant “conservative or traditional.” With the decline of the so-called Religious Right the monopoly on terms like “Values Voters” or descriptions that equate religion with only one set of beliefs and values about some contentious issues in civil society. So, when I saw this video from the Center for American Progress, I wondered if there’s a rising set of religious leaders who are asserting their values in the public sphere. Take a look after the jump.

by Rabbi Barry Block The disconnect is striking. “The Jewish vote,” we were told last year, is all about support for Israel. But here I am at the Consultation on Conscience.  Israel is on the agenda, to be sure. But it’s a crowded agenda. And our friends in Washington seem to “get” that better than the pre-election press. The Consultation’s keynote was a conversation between Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Ambassador Susan Rice. They talked about Israel. But they also struggled with Sudan and Syria. They emphasized international LGBT human rights. Senators and members of Congress of both parties are poised [...]

By Rabbi Lynne Landsberg In Berachot (34b), the Talmud teaches that a synagogue must be built with windows in the sanctuary. I believe this is so we can see who is outside and unable to join us. As Jews, we have to maintain “mental windows” everywhere so that we understand that those whom we refer to as “shut-ins” are not shut-in. They are cruelly shut out of the life many of us take for granted. We have to begin by helping our larger communities understand that we Jews have to change our attitudes. There is a saying in the disability community that [...]

by Rabbi Ron Symons There are certain verses that were placed as foundation stones of the Jew I aspire to be.  Growing up in Temple Emanu-el of Lynbrook, NY, under the leadership of Rabbi Harold Saperstein z’l, I learned that “You (plural) shall be holy, for I, Adonai your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19) serves as the foundation for the sacred community in which I grew up and towards which I lovingly labor to build on a daily basis with hundreds of members of our community. My professors at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem and New York taught me that [...]

By Sari Luck Schneider Q: What does early engagement look like for families and children with special needs? A: We say, “special needs children” in our country. In the part of Italy famous for its outstanding early childhood programming and family involvement, Reggio Emilia, people say, “special rights children.” I like that. Some children need more support than others as they begin life and the people in Reggio Emilia say they have a right to get special considerations. Our Torah teaches us that all people are created in God’s image. We want the children and families in our community to [...]

by Rabbi Michael Mellen “I am outraged,” cried Jewish Ethics after reports that some religious figures in the United States suggest girls should not receive the HPV vaccine. “Really, c’mon,” the notable Jewish leader exclaimed, “this is all about preserving life, caring for children, and stopping a killer when you have the opportunity.” “But what about the sexual implications?” cried out one attendee at a recent speaking engagement. “Sexual implications?” replied Jewish Ethics, perplexed for a moment by the connection. “Oh, you mean that getting the HPV vaccine implies that girls and women may have sexual relations outside of marriage?” [...]

by Rabbi Mary L. Zamore Many people mistakenly believe that keeping kosher is linked to healthy eating. Clearly, these people have never experienced highly processed, fat-filled delights like kosher chicken nuggets or Bamba. Yet, throughout history, scholars have tried to rationalize the totality of the laws of kashrut (kosher) by connecting them to health. There have been theories from Philo of Alexandria (early 1st century C.E.) and Maimonides (late 12th century C.E.) who both spoke of kashrut as teaching us to master our appetites, for food and other things; to Rashbam (12th century) who also associated health with kashrut; to [...]

By Rabbi Marc Katz My sister-in-law Lucia was born on September 11, 1991. Much younger than my wife, she was a kid when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. That day, as our country mourned, my in-laws baked a cake and celebrated their younger daughter’s 10th birthday. Now that Lucia is grown, she faces a similar challenge. What does 9/11—perhaps her generation’s most introspective and solemn day of mourning—feel like to her as she celebrates her birthday. How does she navigate the task of letting go and holding on, of self and society? This is a tension not just [...]

by Larry Rafes Let’s cover the basics first: About 11 years ago, I was diagnosed with kidney disease. Almost three years ago, I started dialysis. About a year and half ago, I got a kidney transplant. Now I’m about to embark upon Make a Splash!, a 10-day, 200-mile kayak trip down the Lehigh River to the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean. It is truly a miracle that I am able to even attempt the trip, but I have no doubt that I will accomplish it. The story of the movie “Shawshank Redemption” parallels the journey of my kidney disease [...]

by Rabbi Evan Moffic In 1903 philosopher W.E.B. DuBois said the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. The problem of the 21st century may well be the problem of the religion line. The two are interconnected and feed off each other. This truth came into sharp focus last week in a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, where a white supremicist opened fire and killed six people at prayer. I am from Milwaukee, so this act felt especially painful. That it came in the wake of the Colorado shootings only compounded my pain and frustration. While both [...]

The barista at my local coffee shop hands me an extra dollar and I immediately hand it back. I see someone struggling with a baby carriage trying to open a door and I rush to help. I make room for a car to enter my lane of traffic. I clean out my pantry and donate a few cans of food to the local food bank. These sound so mundane; behaviors that every “good citizen” should do. They’re also behaviors that I would label mitzvot.Would you? Perhaps we’ll up the ante… Last year I had cancer. People brought me dark chocolate [...]

by Erika Dreifus In 2006, Günter Grass’s confession that he’d been a member of the Waffen SS surprised me. But it didn’t depress me. It didn’t anger me. Grass seemed appropriately ashamed and regretful. I knew him to be an advocate for Germany’s recognition of its Nazi past. He wasn’t asking for my forgiveness, but he would have had it, anyway. I’d read the closing words of his 2002 novel, Crabwalk, as a regretful but accepting acknowledgment of the lasting reverberations of this past, for all of us. Those lines—“It doesn’t end. Never does it end.”—moved me so deeply that [...]

By Melissa Frey Bully, the movie, which is to open on March 30, is a stark portrayal of bullying that crosses ethnic, socio-economic, and gender lines. It is a documentary that followed the lives of several pre-teens and teens who had been victims of bullying from 2009-2010. There has been interesting dialogue relative to the movie’s age-appropriate rating. There is controversy because of strong language and parts of the storyline focusing on teen suicide. While an R rating would preclude the majority of the target audience from seeing the film, ideally we would want adults to see this movie with [...]

When the founders of modern Zionism hoped that having a country of their own would make Jews like all other nations, they didn’t think that the Jews would adopt any of the despicable traits of the anti-Semites among whom they lived in dispersion. The aim of Zionism was not only to liberate the Jews from their perilous existence as pariahs but also to enable them to live by the highest ideals of their tradition. Yet more than six decades after the establishment of the State of Israel that has indeed afforded Jews who settled here freedom from persecution  – and [...]