RJ Blog

Of all the parashot in all the Torah scrolls in all the world, that one – Sh’mini – had to walk into my life this year – not once, but twice. Because our Reform observance does not include the extra days added by the Sages for communities outside the land of Israel, we spent an extra week on this portion. Much of the content is focused on kashrut. But the parashah includes as well one of the few narrative events of the entire book of Vayikra (Leviticus) – the tale of the death of the two older sons of Aaron. [...]

by Rabbi Lucy H. F. Dinner This year, I have the pleasure of studying the Book of Exodus together with the lay-led Hebrew Bible study group at Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I serve as senior rabbi. This d’var Torah draws on comments and realizations from members of the study group, including Theresa, Maxine C., and Rose. Years ago, during my first week at Temple Beth Or, I received a request to add a prayer for healing to the congregation’s Shabbat worship. A member of the congregation had been in a car accident. I knew it would be [...]

I am a person of liberal convictions, and I spend most of my time with other liberals. Many of my friends share my liberal political views but recoil from my liberal religious beliefs. The reason that they give most frequently is that “religion is divisive and conservative.” My answer is always the same: “You are absolutely right.” Religion, I tell them, is divisive because it deals with important matters — above all, the search for holiness and God and the struggle to determine the ultimate values that guide our lives. As human beings contend with these questions, they will offer [...]

I had a difficult childhood. I joined a synagogue when I was 30, and I attended services fairly regularly, but I hated God. For me, God was the Old Man in the Sky, distant and remote, and constantly demanding praise. How could I pray? How could I thank a God who had given me my particular childhood? When I was 40, I moved to Sacramento. My son was in fifth grade at the time, and my daughter was 2. Every Sunday morning, I would drive my son to religious school – it seemed like it was 100 miles from our [...]

by Elizabeth Dunsker(originally posted in Ten Minutes of Torah) Very often, I find myself unexpectedly in conversations discussing God’s omnipotence and omniscience in relation to our free will. While there are many wonderful and very deep works written on the subject, for the sake of time and energy, I generally boil it down to two sentences. “We have complete free will. Also, God knows which choices we are going to make and maintains hope that we will make the better choices.” The reasonable next question is always about punishment. There are plenty of moments in the Torah where one can [...]

by Rabbi Rex PerlmeterURJ Worship and Spirituality Specialist andDirector, URJ Congregational Consulting Group If you’re a baseball player or fan, and you hear someone speak of “The Show,” you know it can mean only one thing – the big leagues. In synagogue life, I suspect if someone used that phrase, we wouldn’t have to strain too hard to guess what they intended. By no means do I suggest that we should think of the High Holy Days as an entertainment or sporting event. On the other hand, considering the effort and thought that go into them and their prominence in [...]