RJ Blog

by Karen Humphrey In the last few weeks, our Torah portions have dealt a lot with the design and construction of the Tabernacle. In reading commentary on these portions, one of the things that caught my eye was the way the four cardinal points of the compass were used in the Tabernacle. I began to wonder how that related to the directions of the Native American Medicine Wheel and the Chinese Ba Gua. 

by Barb Shimansky, MSW I knew going into the Youth Engagement Conference that our Sunday morning trip to the First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church would be a highlight of the weekend. Learning how another faith organization engages their youth would surely provide some insight into how we as Jewish professionals can do the same. As we walked into the service, we were struck by church members who warmly greeted us outside on the sidewalk. This seemed like a no-brainer for creating a welcoming atmosphere until I put it into context for my own congregation in Wisconsin; standing outside the [...]

When more than 10,000 members of the faith community called their Senators on Monday, the halls of the Capitol were ringing with the voices of gun violence prevention advocates. With 75 religious denominations and organizations participating in an interfaith call to prevent gun violence, it was clear that members of the faith community are ready for change. The faith community has been an active participant in the national conversation about gun violence prevention legislation, mirroring the debates over this issue in Congress.  The RAC coordinated the gathering of religious leaders outside of the National Cathedral to mark the one-week anniversary [...]

by Rabbi Rachel Barenblat I wasn’t paying attention when I chose where to drop my bags and settle in, but by sheer luck I picked the side of the train which runs right alongside the Hudson. At this season the hills are a deep brown-purple and the water reflects the grey sky. The tawny reeds and grasses are the brightest, most colorful things in sight. A long low dark-green barge moves upriver, leaving ripples in its long wake. Every few moments our horn sounds. Warning people and animals off the tracks ahead, I guess. The train rattles slightly, shaking just [...]

I’ll never forget Sarah. Sarah was a young woman who sought me out for guidance and support during a very troubling time. She had had sexual intercourse for the first time. Not only was she devastated that afterward the guy revealed that he didn’t really like her as much as she liked him, but also she was nervous about being pregnant. They had had unprotected sex. As her rabbi, I held Sarah’s hand as she waited for the at-home pregnancy test to reveal its results. (Thankfully, it was negative.) As her rabbi, I counseled her about opening up to her [...]

Few symbols associated with our holiday cycle are as colorful and interesting as the sukkah.  Following the biblical command that we should dwell in this temporary and frail shelter for seven days, many Jews today will not eat under a fixed roof during the entire period of the festival, taking their meals in the sukkah and eating, conversing, singing—truly a moving experience. What is the meaning of this commandment? I offer one insight from a line in the Hashkivenu prayer, contained in each evening service, which reads: “Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha—Spread over us the sukkah of Your peace.”

Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, I noticed a woman wearing a traditional Muslim head covering on the packed platform of the train station in Scarsdale, N.Y. Her attention was focused on a billboard ad that announced “19,250 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11/01” and pre-empted those who might dispute that claim with the refrain: “It’s not Islamophobia, it’s Islamorealism.” I could only imagine what she was feeling. On another morning commute to Grand Central Terminal, I sat on the train with Yawar Shah, a Muslim friend from Scarsdale whom I met years ago at my synagogue when [...]

On August 6th, 2012, Wade Michael Page – identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as having ties to white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations – open fired at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights responded yesterday by holding a public hearing on “Hate Crimes and the Threat of Domestic Extremism.” This hearing came after the Sikh Coalition mobilized over 150 organizations – including the Union for Reform Judaism, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and several other Jewish groups – to write to the committee and request [...]

by Rabbi Paula Marcus I wrote this poem in the wake of this month’s shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and included them in the remarks I gave at a community peace rally last week to pledge against violence. I have been invited to speak at the local Sikh Temple within the next few weeks, and our congregation, Temple Beth El in Aptos, CA, is inviting someone from their community to speak at our synagogue. Our congregation has been involved in a number of interfaith activities that grew out of our community organizing with Just Congregations.

by Rabbi Evan Moffic In 1903 philosopher W.E.B. DuBois said the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. The problem of the 21st century may well be the problem of the religion line. The two are interconnected and feed off each other. This truth came into sharp focus last week in a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, where a white supremicist opened fire and killed six people at prayer. I am from Milwaukee, so this act felt especially painful. That it came in the wake of the Colorado shootings only compounded my pain and frustration. While both [...]

by Colin Hogan On Friday, I was finishing up a project I had meant to complete for a few months now. I had been asked by the Sikh Coalition to evaluate a film and curriculum they recently designed for students in grades 6-12 called “The Sikh Next Door.” The Sikh Coalition is the national organization for Sikhs to address issues of discrimination and to educate others about Sikhism. By Sunday, I was processing the senseless tragedy in Oak Creek, WI, that left six Sikh worshipers dead and others injured. Working with the Sikh Coalition over the past five years, I [...]

by Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser When members of a minority religion with a history of being persecuted are again victimized with baseless hatred and violence, decent people come to stand by their side. That is what I saw in 2003 when the cemetery of the congregation I served was vandalized. Last night, I tried to do something to return the favor. Back in 2003, a bunch of teenagers — kids with too much time and too little to do — decided to get some attention by knocking over a dozen stones in the congregation’s small cemetery. They also painted a swastika [...]

Some recent, angry exchanges between leaders of different religious traditions have led me to consider the principles that should guide us when reacting to disagreements with other faith groups. If I strongly disagree with a Christian or Muslim, I am free to say what I wish, of course, and there is an argument to be made that I should always say what I think. As a believing and practicing Jew, I do not hesitate to comment on, praise, criticize or analyze statements by any Jewish leader or Jewish group. Should I not be true to myself and my beliefs whenever [...]

Last night, Rabbi David Saperstein joined a panel of religious leaders (Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, founder of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights and Dean Robert Destro, Professor of Law at Catholic University of America) to address the ways in which religious law and American law intersect and to discuss the disturbing trends of state-level legislation that attempts to restrict the First Amendment rights of American Muslims.