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! “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 [...]

In the wake of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, the Reform community continues to come together to offer prayers and hold special services. At urj.org/bostonmarathon, you’ll find resources for you and your community to cope with this tragedy, including resources on Jewish mourning, for use in the aftermath of a communal tragedy, and guidance for parents trying to talk to their children about death. These resources include: Prayers for Current Events Prayers for Mourning A Prayer for Those Affected by the Boston Bombings A Prayer in the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing What Israeli Resilience Can Teach Us [...]

As the entire country struggles at make sense of the acts of terror that took place yesterday in Boston, the Reform Movement sends our thoughts and prayers to all of those affected by the bombing. We pray for the victims of this senseless crime and for everyone’s safety and healing. Throughout the Boston area, Reform Jewish synagogues are planning special services to allow the local Jewish community to grieve and pray together. For more information on any of the services below, click through to the congregation’s website or Facebook page for event details. Boston: Temple Israel, services at 7pm Brookline: [...]

A unique gathering happened this morning at the Western Wall. During Women of the Wall’s usual Rosh Chodesh prayer service in the women’s section of the Kotel, we were fortunate to be supported by some very special visitors. Veterans from the IDF’s famed Paratrooper Battalion 66, the men who liberated the Western Wall in 1967, were with our supporters in the men’s section. These men are living legends and among Israel’s modern heroes. It was only after the prayer service was over and the paratroopers had left that the police detained ten women, including myself, for committing the crime of [...]

In response to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense this past November, a historic partnership was created between the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). The Reform Movement, the Federation system, and several other Jewish organizations joined together to have one coordinated campaign to raise relief funds for Israel. To date, the JFNA Terror Relief Fund has allocated and distributed $5 million dollars to provide relief, rescue, and resilience training to communities throughout Southern Israel that have been affected by bombings from Gaza. The Israel Movement of Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) has received [...]

by Harold S. Geller Just a week after the unspeakable mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I traveled to Newtown, CT, to help organize a musical evening of remembrance and healing in support of the community. This event took place at Congregation Adath Israel, Newtown’s Conservative synagogue, and featured artists and cantors from throughout the country. More than 200 people attended. Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel started the evening with a Havdalah ceremony, offering a moving description of the elements of the service: With the candle we bring new light, and new hope, at a moment where [...]

Although it has been several days since the horrific events in Newtown, CT, our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families and community members whose losses seem to be more than we can contemplate. Even before the healing begins, we know that it will be a long time until the raw, open wounds close and that for many, the scars of trauma and loss will remain forever. The URJ has resources available that can help you and your entire synagogue community address the many facets of this tragedy.  We encourage you to use this information and to return [...]

On Friday, 20 children and eight adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School. These children, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, family, friends and teachers are just the latest victims of senseless and preventable bloodshed. The recent tragedy in Newtown, CT is a devastating reminder that over 30,000 Americans die each year as a result of gun violence. The number and severity of violent shootings in recent years can only be described as an epidemic. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting forces us to address the crippling nature of gun violence. It serves as a clarion call to action: “If not [...]

Last Friday morning, Israeli police detained four women as they prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The group of 138 men and women was organized by Women of the Wall, an organization that fights for women’s right to pray freely, while donning prayer shawls and other religious articles, at the Western Wall. Among those detained was Reform Rabbi Elyse Frishman, senior rabbi of Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, NJ, the oldest synagogue in New Jersey and editor of the Reform Movement’s siddur (prayer book), CCAR’s Mishkan T’filah, used in over 700 North American congregations. (Rabbi Frishman is also married [...]

Our prayers and hearts are with those whose lives have been so tragically altered by the school shooting today in Newtown, CT. In our tradition, immediately following a death we know that no words of comfort can yet be heard, so we offer instead our presence and our empathy as we honor and try to meet the most immediate needs of the bereaved. The circle of grief, horror, and fear is far wider than those who live in the vicinity; every one of us and every one of our children need support and care at this time. We urge people [...]

by Rabbi Erin Boxt I received an email from a congregant yesterday morning expressing anger and frustration. He had just heard CBS News explain that the “situation in Israel and Gaza began yesterday with the killing of a high ranking Hamas leader.” His frustration is shared by me and many, many others. What was really behind his anger was a request for what to do next. How should he respond? Well, I recommend writing letters, emails, tweeting, and sending Facebook messages/links. We need to respond in as many ways as is possible – as long as we are also being [...]

On a recent visit to Capitol Hill I found myself outside of Senator Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) office. Senator Lautenberg is one of only a handful of Senators left who served in the U.S. military during World War II. Outside of Senator Lautenberg’s office is a sign that reads: “As a World War II veteran, Senator Lautenberg wants to make sure we honor the sacrifice of America’s service men and women and created Faces of the Fallen for that purpose.”  Around this sign are placards with small pictures of every U.S. soldier who has died in the wars in Iraq and [...]

We may have closed the book on 5772, but here’s a piece of last year’s news worth mentioning: JTA named Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the URJ, one of its top 10 Jewish “newsmakers” of 5772! Rabbi Jacobs made the list “for trying to invigorate America’s premier liberal Jewish denomination in new ways.”

It’s been seven years since Hurricane Katrina’s made landfall over Louisiana, causing destruction, devastation, and death throughout the Gulf Coast region. This week, JTA tells a story of hope and rebuilding in the post-storm years. It’s the story of Modern Orthodox Congregation Beth Israel and our own Congregations Gates of Prayer in Metairie, LA, the former hard hit by the force of the hurricane. Ultimately left without a home to call their own, Beth Israel has leased synagogue space from Gates of Prayer for the past seven years and recently purchased land next door to the Reform congregation upon which [...]