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, [...]

May is Jewish American Heritage Month, which is a great impetus to talk about congregational heritage preservation. These days, communities are rapidly changing and Jewish communities are no exceptions: Congregations that were once large and thriving now find themselves with dwindling membership rolls; meanwhile other congregations are experiencing unexpected growth and are faced with the positive challenge of growing their physical space along with their membership size. With all of these changes, it is more important than ever to implement an archiving plan to ensure the rich history and traditions of your synagogue endure after all the changes and for [...]

by Rabbi Hara Person As we all try and process the horrors of the Boston marathon bombing, we must remember to stop and appreciate the good works that often gets overshadowed by the seemingly endless parade of horrible we read about each day. Almost six months ago almost the entire east coast was rocked by Superstorm Sandy.  While many of us have picked up and moved on, two New York-area congregations, Temple Sinai in Massapequa and West End Temple in Neponsit, are still picking up the pieces.  Like many coastal-area homes and businesses, the synagogues suffered severe storm damage which [...]

Every camper has their own spark, something that makes them tick, their burning passion. An ineffable desire that makes them excited to wake up each morning. One action item for the counselors is to help each camper find and ignite their spark.

by Rabbi Everett Gendler An e-mail arrived from the indefatigable Art Waskow reminding us that April 4th was the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The reminder included a photo from a demonstration at the Arlington National Cemetery along with valuable excerpts from King’s prophetic remarks about Vietnam delivered at Riverside Church. The photo showed Rabbi Heschel to one side of King, and this prompted me to look at another photo of that demonstration. In this fuller one, King is flanked on the other side by Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath carrying a Torah, [...]

by Rabbi Yair D. Robinson Last Shabbat, we commemorated the birthday of someone very special. A red-headed and red-bearded rabbi, a scholar, a prince of the Reform Movement who is inarguably one of the most important Reform rabbis — nay, one of the most important rabbis, period — of North America. Amazingly, I’m not speaking about myself (though last Shabbat was my birthday, too), but rather of Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of the Reform Movement we take for granted, who was born March 29, 1819. Wise was a great publisher of scholarly texts, a Jewish paper, the American Israelite, still published [...]

By Rabbi Jan Katzew At the 100th anniversary celebration held in Cincinnati, OH, WRJ leaders were hosted for dinner at the American Jewish Archives. As we each were asked to introduce ourselves, I said that I felt it appropriate to bring another person into the room, someone not physically present, but whose presence helped to make the centenary celebration possible – Jane Evans. Everyone agreed. Jane was there. Jane Evans was my friend, and therefore, what follows is more memory than history, more of a subjective portrait than a verbal photograph. Jane was a diminutive giant. She was living proof [...]

by Rabbi Steven A. Fox Immigration is an age old topic that we as Jews have been considering from the beginnings of our history.  Welcoming the stranger is not a new concept for us.  We know that the Torah commands us “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Exodus 2:20).  For Jews in particular, we understand and empathize with “welcome the stranger” as we are a people oft denied basic liberties throughout our history in the Diaspora. Now fast-forward thousands of years.  Many of you, like me, are the [...]

by Rabbi Andy Bachman “This series of pictures should strike a deep emotional response in the heart of every Jew.  No matter how far we have traveled from the observances that were practiced by our fathers, we have a feeling of reverence for the ceremonies themselves, and a respect for those who feel that these Jewish ceremonials constitute a necessary part of religion.” [From the English translation of Dr. Leopold Stein's Oppenheim Pictures, originally published in Frankfort, Germany in 1886] As Richard Cohen has pointed out, in Jewish Icons, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, one of mid-nineteenth century German Jewry’s most famous [...]

By Kevin Proffitt From January 21-23, 1913, one hundred fifty-six women representing fifty-two UAHC member synagogues and sisterhoods convened at the Sinton Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, in conjunction with the UAHC’s 23rd Council, the founding and first general convention of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods took place. Carrie Simon, wife of Rabbi Abram Simon of the Washington Hebrew Congregation, was elected the first president of NFTS. In the late 19th century, women’s groups, known as sisterhoods, began developing in American synagogues. These sisterhoods were a manifestation of an emerging public identity for American Jewish women of that time. They [...]

by Rabbi Robin Nafshi Serving as the rabbi in the small community of Concord, NH, I receive so many emails and calls from people exploring Judaism, those who are nominally Jewish or estranged from Judaism, and more. For each email and call there is a story – usually compelling in some way – and an excited or anxious person who owns the story. A few weeks ago, such an email came my way, with the subject line, “Reestablishing.” The writer began, “I am very interested in rediscovering my Jewish faith. My dad was Jewish and my mom was Protestant. I was [...]

by P.J. Schwartz Jewish tradition tells a story where Alexander the Great, during his conquest through the known world, encountered the High Priest of the Temple of Jerusalem. As Milton Steinberg notes, this meeting is probably part of the numerous legends that are based in truth within Judaism. Yet, this story foreshadows what would be to come: the Jewish people would come face to face with the Greek militia and would ensure a future for the sacred Temple. History explains that when Judea became a Greek province, some Jews objected to the Greek way of life. They feared the prospects of being hellenized, completely [...]

by Ilana DeBare We took advantage of our empty nest status to take a week-long trip to Spain this month, the first time in almost 20 years that we could travel at a time when schools weren’t on vacation. In Toledo, we have been staying in a delightful small hotel called La Posada de Manolo that, for me, is as evocative and fascinating as any of the official sights in this historic medieval city. The Sanchez Nunez family turned their 500-year-old home into a hotel that celebrates Toledo’s three religious heritages — Moorish (Muslim), Jewish, and Christian. In a detailed [...]

by Stacey Zisook Robinson This poem was written in memory of Kristallnacht (Nov. 9-10, 1938) in honor of those who suffered. Stars littered the ground Crystal fire Shards of ice Glass The smoke of a thousand thousand years Ascended Coiling upwards, twisted With the memory of a People Chosen once in light Chosen again In darkness In ashes and in blood