RJ Blog

by Marv Kaminsky Okay, I’m an oddball: single, never been married, no children, live alone. I’m not even a doctor or a lawyer. My late father survived three concentration camps and went on to fight in Israel’s War of Independence. My brother’s an Orthodox rabbi. My Judaism – Reform Judaism – is the most important thing in my life. And I spent this high holiday season attending Reform services entirely online. There’s no Reform in the small city where I live; very little of any kind of Judaism. The nearest Reform congregation, 41 miles away, is ailing. I’m a member, [...]

by Seth KrollTemple Shalom, Newton, MA Youth are the best adopters of technology.  They generally seem to have a natural ability to conceptualize how technology works, implement it into everyday life, and then create new social norms for its use.  Last month the Youth Department at Temple Shalom (Newton, MA) threw away the “no cell phone” in class or service policy and in fact embraced the use of cell phones as an important tool and resources in learning and ritual efforts. The schedule of our High School program has been redesigned this year.  Students meet for class by grade three [...]

by Zion Ozeri(Originally posted on Jewels of Elul) For good or bad, digital communication has revolutionized and transformed our lives. We are now not merely spectators, but active participants empowered to reflect what we see and feel.  In the past, only a privileged few had the ability to influence mass media and movements.  Nowadays, amateurs and casual users have the ability to contribute content and impact society. The seminal founders of photography found true meaning through everyday encounters. Alfred Stieglitz photographed his lovers, Henri Cartier-Bresson tried to freeze a “decisive moment.” Ansel Adams studied nature; for Louis Hein it was [...]

by Bruce MaxwellPresident, Beth Chayim Chadashim I travel frequently, so occasionally find myself away from my community, BCC (Beth Chayim Chadashim), on special occasions. When that happens, friends will send me photos, and I’ll share my trip slideshow when I return. But sometimes there’s simply no way to capture the experience of being at BCC, which can be meaningful only in the moment. A few years ago on my way to Israel, I was on a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany, when my calendar reminded me it was Yom ha Shoah.  The irony of walking through the streets of the Third [...]

As the frigid temperatures that have gripped much of thecountry this winter ebb into the warmth of spring, it is finally time to getexcited about Passover. For me, every year Passover is about an Exodus: from my home to what my parents have long thought to be the Promised Land – LosAngeles. It is also about strict family tradition. For millions of Jews in North America, Passover is “the”home holiday.  We all eat the same foods, plus or minus something new fromsome magazine. We stuff our familyand friends into a space built for about a third of the people who [...]

by Rabbi Paul KipnesOriginally published on Or Am I? Not in order of importance… (cross posted on CCAR Convention Blog) 1. Six separate planned experiences of meeting with and conversing 1-to-1 (or in small groups) over important topics: visioning for the reform movement, creating new path for youth engagement, rabbis as techies, interfaith study of difficult texts with non-Jewish clergy, exploring real community and sharing what we would change about our URJ/CCAR/HUC. 2. I met, spoke with and learned from more colleagues than at any previous convention: younger colleagues (esp about deepening tech in the congregation), veteran colleagues (esp about [...]

by Jonathan Lam, Sean Thibault, Scott Hertz, and Jill PeltzmanURJ web team members Several of us on the URJ web team joined a few thousand other like-minded geeks in Washington, DC recently to attend NTC, the Nonprofit Technology Conference held by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). For three days, we immersed ourselves in learning about the myriad of ways that technology can be used for doing good. We were inspired by the conference itself, but an added benefit was spending an intensive amount of time with each other away from the office, networking, talking and thinking about what we do, [...]

by Bracha YaelBeth Chayim Chadashim, Los Angeles, CA I worked 60 hour weeks, did triathlons, served on 3 boards and traveled extensively; then suddenly it all ended. Eventually, diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome, I was bedridden and devastated. It made me realize how quickly I had become a stranger to myself and my community Beth Chayim Chadashim. My own need for connection prompted me to seek out others suffering with health and mobility challenges; which in turn inspired me to create community in a new way. Via telephone, we started weekly Torah study, Shabbat and High Holy Day [...]

by Brett Lubarsky(Originally published in Brett’s Blog and NFTY Convention Live!) Today was the traditional “catch-up on all the sleep I missed” day upon returning home from an amazing and reJEWvinating five days in Dallas for NFTY Convention and Youth Workers Conference. Here are just a few of the thoughts that have been on my mind: The NFTY and URJ Staff who helped make everything happen this week deserve to be commended for successfully incorporating some incredible technology into the mainstream programming for participants and staff alike. From text-based surveys to Visual T’filah, cell phones were used as tools to enhance programming and [...]

by Cantor Sally Neff Rabbi Hillel, a great teacher who lived from approximately 30 BCE until 10CE, taught us one of the most important precepts of our faith, “AlTifrosh Min Hatzibbur – Do not separate yourselves from the community.”Community is central to Jewish faith. Although we can pray alone, we can’t say some of our most important prayers without being in the presence of 10 other Jews – a minyan. We can study unaccompanied, but tradition teaches us that we won’t learn as well or as much as we would studying in hevrutah with a partner. In fact the Hebrew [...]

by Ira WiseOriginally posted on Welcome to the Next Level My friend Ilene urged me to post and expand my answer to her question about an article that appeared in the style section of yesterday’s New York Times. We have been friends since our sons Sammy and Harper were in the baby room at the JCC. I have learned over the years that you don’t spit in the wind, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and if at all humanly possible, you don’t say no to Ilene. It’s like yelling at the whirlwind. The Times article – Bar Mitzvah Studies [...]

by Natalie MillerURJ Congregational Technology Specialist The Union is currently accepting submissions for The URJ Techies, a social media and technology contest set up to recognize member congregations that are successfully utilizing and embracing social networks and technology. It will also inspire others to seek innovative ways to enrich their communities by engaging members online. Social networking and technology are extremely important tools to increase awareness about the work congregations do within a community. These tools can help leaders connect with members outside congregation walls and can create an online community that can supplement and enrich the offline community, offering [...]