RJ Blog

Next Wednesday, May 23, will be a big day for our family. That night, my wife, Dana Gershon, the outgoing president of The Rashi School’s board of trustees, will be honored at the school’s annual dinner. Dana has been president of the board for two years and, with four daughters, all of whom are Rashi students, we spend a lot of time at 8000 Great Meadow Road in Dedham, where we’re all part of the wonderful kehillah that is Rashi. Needless to say, between meetings, classes, sports, parent-teacher conferences, plays, t’filah, and more, it’s very often where our family hangs [...]

The candidates and pundits engaged in the 2012 presidential campaigns promised that this campaign would feature a serious and laser-focused commitment to the core issues that face America: the economy, jobs, our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So imagine my surprise as the campaigns have spent entirely too much time debating a woman’s right to privacy, a woman’s right to receive contraception as part of her healthcare plan, a couple’s right to decide if, when and how to raise a family, and yes: a woman’s right to decide if an abortion is the right decision for her without interference by [...]

So What Is Prayer? It doesn’t have to be services or words, though it can be both. It can be a feeling that God is present. It doesn’t have to include asking for anything. It can be just awe or wonder, or a wave of affection breaking over you. It can be like plugging into an electric current. It can change while you’re praying. It can be surprise. It can be… Fill in the rest from your own experience. — Rabbi Lionel Blue and Rabbi Jonathan Magonet On Monday, I taught a lesson on tefilah to the students in our [...]

I have just returned from eight days touring the sites of Judaism in Central Europe with six teenagers and one soon-to-be HUC student. When I first interviewed at my current congregation, I was asked, “Rabbi, what do you think about our Confirmation trip to Europe?” As I had looked at the synagogue website before the interview and noticed that it highlighted two things – the Confirmation trip and the Adult Education program – I knew that this was an important question. I started with, “I’m not sure why the trip doesn’t go to Israel…” When a murmur ran around the [...]

by Hope Chernak, MARE, RJE Temple Shaaray Tefila has taken another step toward strengthening our congregation’s ties to the land and people of Israel. We have a new partnership with Kehilat Ohel Avraham, a Reform congregation in Haifa that is closely associated with the Leo Baeck Education Center. So, what is a partnership? According to Wikipedia, a partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. If you asked our two teen leaders who were part of our delegation that went to Haifa this past December about it, they would respond with, “our partnership is like [...]

Across the nation, the role that religion and personal faith play in America’s history and in our elections has become front-page news.  A new report from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that over a third of Americans (38%) think there has been too much expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders while 30% of Americans believe there has been too little. By comparison, when the same question was posed in 2001, only 12% thought there was too much religious expression from political leaders and 22% thought there was too little. The campaign trail is [...]

This time of year, as we start to clean out the Chametz, pull out the Seder plate and get the timbrel down off its shelf – as I ready my home and heart for my favorite holiday – there is also a tinge of sadness to our preparations. Justin’s name, which comes up not infrequently all year, will be mentioned more in the weeks to come – by me, by my wife Tina, by our son. As we unpack the Passover boxes, I know there will be items in there that I will find myself just holding, as I stare [...]

by Emilia Diamant Sheila Goldberg David Sherman Fran Niberg Todd Markley Rachael Bregman David Wolfman These are only six of many Jewish educators who shaped me during my formative years. They taught me at Sunday School, in youth group, in my Hebrew High School program, as Principals, and as mentors. They are people who I see now at URJ Biennials, when I go to Shabbat services at my home congregation, or as they post on Facebook. I may be in touch with them regularly or rarely, by email or through my parents. What ties them all together is that I [...]

by Cathy Rolland Many of our congregations with early childhood centers are  currently facing similar challenges: enrollment numbers are down; families are experiencing financial and emotional set-backs, and our communities continue to face new competition from the secular world of early childhood education. Though at first glance, this may appear rather discouraging, at the same time it offers us an excellent opportunity to take a close look at our current structures and ask ourselves some difficult questions:  What does our early childhood program really stand for?  What is our identity?  How are we REALLY connected to our synagogues?  What’s unique [...]

by Dana Rosenbloom, M.S. Ed. Each August early childhood program teachers, and teachers of all ages, keep an eye on their mailbox or their inbox for the roster of children who will be in their class the coming year. Are there any children we know? Parents we’ve had before? Children with special needs?  As an educator who works both in a school and in the home, I advise parents to let their school and teachers know if their child is receiving special services.  Parents often respond with, “Will they hold it against my child?” “Will my child be labeled?”  I [...]