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! “Congregation Needs To Be Involved in Israel To Make a Difference,” The Jewish Daily Forward Rabbi Andy Bachman, the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, writes that the best way to discuss Israel is to convince his congregation to actually visit the country and to insist that people “roll up their sleeves and dig in.” “Bar Mitzvahs on the Beach,” Tablet Destination [...]

By Al Tanenbaum This week’s Torah portion, Chukat, is uncommonly rich with themes of life, death, leadership, and faith. Most often it is thought of for its nearly impenetrable and detailed commandment for using the ashes of an unblemished cow for cleansing those who have come in contact with the dead. Alternatively, scholars and students debate the harsh punishment that God handed down to Moses for his failure to speak to a rock, instead striking it twice. Chukat also furthers the narrative of the passing of a generation as we read of the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and the [...]

Today, in response to Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks Monday at the American Jewish Committee Global Forum, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the following statement: Secretary Kerry’s rousing address at the AJC Global Forum was a welcome reaffirmation of the Obama Administration’s commitment to Israel’s security and to a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as a reminder that the American Jewish community has a vital role to play in achieving both goals. For too long, the peace process has been a victim of confidence-sapping statements and actions. Yet as [...]

Israel’s Religious Services Ministry announced today that state-employed neighborhood rabbis may be phased out and funds would be given to communities for rabbis of their own choice, including non-Orthodox rabbis. The ministry plan also calls for the designation of the term “rabbi” to be used by the government to refer to non-Orthodox and female religious leaders. Learn more from JTA. Upon learning of this news, URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs made the following statement: “We are reading this decision with great interest and are encouraged by the conclusion that the current system is broken. We believe that there should be [...]

by Nechama Namal When my husband and I made aliyah, we set a goal of finding ways to be a bridge between the American Reform movement and the community in Israel. This has led to some of our most meaningful experiences in Israel. Last June, we went to Shabbat dinner at the home of a friend who is a tour guide. He, his wife, and their daughters opened their home to a tour group from Temple B’nai Or of New Jersey, and they invited us to meet and greet these visitors. As soon as we walked onto the patio, a [...]

by Rabbi Jonathan Biatch Editor’s Note:  This post is the second of two about Congregation Emet VeShalom.  Read the complementary post. The double air-kiss; you’ve gotta love it!  It is a European custom becoming more widespread in Israel, and it’s quite contagious.  You’ve seen it: once on the right side, then once on the left.  By the conclusion of my first worship service at Emet VeShalom, I had received many such kisses of warmth and friendship.  I quickly learned that the relatively small size of Emet VeShalom says nothing about its welcoming spirit, or its obvious passion, or its members’ [...]

by Sharon Mann Editor’s Note:  This post is the first of two about Congregation Emet VeShalom.  Read the complementary post. Reform Judaism and religious pluralism, which are taken for granted in the United States, are not axiomatic in Israel. As a member of Emet VeShalom—a Reform congregation in Nahariya, a peripheral area of Israel eight miles from Lebanon’s border—I know maintaining a non-Orthodox congregation is fraught with challenges. At present, one major challenge facing ours is that we do not have a rabbi serving as spiritual leader of our community. Our members are facing this challenge by stepping up and [...]

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 [...]

Kesher Taglit-Birthright Israel alum, Ben Zemmel, writes about his experience in Israel and what he found that surprised him.

by Micah Lapidus Jewish day school sustainability is about more than survival. It’s about maintaining a diverse, vibrant, dynamic, healthy, growing school community. The best way to achieve day school sustainability is by ensuring that we’re fully engaging our human resources.  What does it look like to fully engage our human resources? Here’s a case study. My school, The Alfred and Adele Davis Academy, Atlanta’s Reform Jewish Day School, is a school that loves Jewish music. Jewish singing permeates our school, most noticeably at holiday celebrations and at our weekly Kabbalat Shabbat gatherings. When I came to Davis five years [...]

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 [...]

Leaders of the Reform Movement issued a statement today about a recent ruling from the Jerusalem District Court that determined that recent detention of Women of the Wall members for their activities at the Western Wall was unjustified and for denying local police requests for restraining orders against the group. Haaretz has more on the ruling and its implications. URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs said of the ruling, We were especially pleased to hear the judge state that the Law of Holy Places, which gives visitors to the Kotel the opportunity to pray according to ‘local custom,’ does not mandate [...]

by Loui Dobin As I am writing these words, I am on a plane home from Israel. We took off a couple of hours ago and have just crossed the coast of France. Now that we are “feet-wet” over the North Atlantic, I have had a little time to think about my trip. I landed on the eve of Yom Ha’atzmaut and was picked up at the airport by Amira Bar-Shalom, during Yom Hazikaron (Israeli memorial day) just in time to stand in silence as all of the sirens in Israel sounded for two minutes to commemorate those who had died. That evening, I found my way on the [...]