RJ Blog

It was just two short summers ago that URJ Camp Harlam had a teensy little garden. It was a sweet plot of land with some colorful perennials and herbs for Havdalah, plus a few rows of juicy tomato plants and other green veggies basking in the summer sun. But this summer we decided to put a stake in the ground – literally! – and declare with our sweat and muscles that we are fully committing to “greening” and “growing” at camp. It has been our Jewish vision to commit ourselves to teaching about tikkun middot and tikkun olam. This means [...]

A human ribbon of remembrance formed on the lawn just west of the Capitol. Donning green shirts, which represented the school color of Sandy Hook Elementary, those gathered marked the six-month anniversary of the shooting in Newtown, CT. Despite public outcry and a groundswell of support for proposed legislation, our nation has yet to realize our promise to decisively act to prevent gun violence in the wake of this year’s tragedies. In the six months since Sandy Hook, more Americans have been killed by firearms than were killed in Iraq. You know the statistics. On average, each day 33 Americans [...]

The very first Pride Parade took place on June 28th, 1970 in commemoration of the first anniversary of the Stonewall raid in New York City. The parade, almost a year in the making, was an opportunity for gay men and women to step out of the proverbial closet and respond as a community to the horrific attacks at the Stonewall Inn by proclaiming loudly and proudly that the gay community cannot be brought down. The courageousness and sheer strength of will in organizing this first Pride Parade cannot be overstated, as our country’s gay rights record in 1970 was not [...]

On NFTY Mitzvah Day, NFTYites volunteered to pick up trash, donate useful items and walk for a cause that has effected themselves or a loved one. For one NFTY Southwest teen, NFTY Mitzvah Day volunteered with his very own literacy foundation.

I recently saw the video “I am Brianna Couture” (with thanks to the Ruderman Family Foundation blog Zeh Lezeh for bringing it to my attention). It’s a video meant to open our eyes to the notion of invisible disabilities. After watching, I got to thinking: This is a great, eye-opening opportunity to re-frame our perceptions of disability. I want to ask you to engage in an exercise. Say (or think) the word “disability” and write the first five words that come to your mind (or draw what you think of, or say five words into a recording device – whatever [...]

Mr. Mayor, I have no illusions that my eloquent letter of invitation is what brought you here this morning. First, it helps to know someone at City Hall. My wife and I are blessed to know and love your First Deputy Mayor Patti Harris, who graces us here today and has contributed so much to your administration, this city, and our family.

But I suspect that a significant reason the mayor is here this morning is because of his long and close collaboration with my wife, Susan Freedman, to bring exhilarating public art to NYC, like the “NYC Waterfalls” and this year’s “Discovering Columbus.” Mayor Bloomberg has been an extraordinary supporter of the arts, especially the public kind that all New Yorkers and visitors can experience.

by Rabbi Rachel Timoner and Rabbi Joel Thal Simonds What does it mean to be part of a movement? What could it look like if we actually moved together? On Thursday May 23rd 42 Californian Reform Jews answered that question as we gathered in Sacramento for a day of lobbying and learning. A beautiful mix of clergy and community members, we took our message of justice and equality to the State Capitol. Our day was filled with individual lobby visits to 30 Assembly Members and state Senators as well as a meeting with Governor Brown’s office and with Senate President pro [...]

At the RAC’s recent Consultation on Conscience, I met an incredible faith leader, Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice lobby. Last week, I joined Sister Simone and others for the kick-off of Nuns on the Bus, a coast-to-coast immigration reform campaign that will land them in San Francisco after nearly 6,500 miles of travel and immigration reform advocacy. The kick-off was truly stirring, and I hope many of you will be inspired to get involved with this important cause when the bus comes to a city near you. I recently visited with professional and [...]

Yesterday, rabbis from across America came to Washington D.C. to raise their voices in support of comprehensive immigration reform. The rabbis participating in the advocacy day spoke with key legislators about the bipartisan Senate immigration bill introduced last month, expressing their support for the legislation, offering ways to continue to strengthen it and discussing strategies for advancing this issue in their home congregations. They also highlighted key priorities for Reform Jews in the immigration reform process – a comprehensive approach to keeping families together, humane and balanced border protection, a pathway to citizenship and workplace protections for all. Rabbis in [...]

All eyes are on Grapevine, Texas today as the Boy Scouts of America begins the annual meeting of its National Council. Earlier this year the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would postpone a reconsideration of its policy prohibiting gay scouts and scout leaders until the meeting this week (see the letter that Rabbi Saperstein sent to the BSA in response to that decision). Today the 1,400 person National Council, including representatives from across the country, will vote on whether or not to lift this ban and make the organization a more inclusive one.

On May 2, Rhode Island’s governor signed a marriage equality bill, making it the tenth state to take this important step.   Shortly afterwards, Delaware and Minnesota also passed marriage bills, making this a remarkable spring of advancement towards equality. I composed the following reflection after the last critical step in the long process of advocacy and legislative debate, the hearing held by the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee in March. The prescribed biblical reading for the beginning of Passover includes Exodus 12:42…in describing the end of the 430 years of oppression, the text describes that final night as a “leil [...]

As a fellow Eisendrath Legislative Assistant, Raechel Banks, wrote yesterday, “There are many ways to ‘share our bread with the hungry’ (Isaiah 58:7).” She discussed a very tangible  way of helping to combat hunger in our midst (I still have blisters on my fingers from cutting potatoes for 3 hours straight). Today, however, I want to talk about a way of sharing with the hungry that is more difficult to conceptualize, but has no less of an impact on millions of lives – international food aid. There are nearly one billion people around the world with insufficient access to food. [...]

Rabbi Michael Namath, Program Director here at the RAC, tells a story to our L’Taken students: One day, as a few people were walking by the riverside, they saw babies floating down the river.  Several people jumped into the river and started pulling the babies out to try to save them, but more and more babies kept coming faster and faster. One of the men jumped out of the river and someone screamed to him, “Where are you going?”  He said, “I am going to see who is putting the babies in the river and try to stop them.” (Version [...]

This week the RAC hosted Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, Chief Imam of the All India Imam Organization. The All India Imam Organization is the largest imam organization in the world, representing half a million religious leaders and over two hundred million Muslims living in India. Imam Ilyasi has distinguished himself as a leader who powerfully addresses issues of religious extremism and global terrorism and frequently reaches out across religious lines. In particular, he has done considerable work bringing together Muslim and Jewish leaders in the Middle East and around the world and has been recognized internationally for his achievements in [...]