By dcc Last week Iri Kassel, executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, sent the North American Reform Movement a thank you note for starting the Movement wide IMPJ Emergency Campaign. On behalf of the entire IMPJ he thanked us for coming through in the clutch to help save the Reform Movement in Israel.
In just the first few weeks of this project, we have raised $225,000 to support our growing Israeli Movement. The economic hardships of the IMPJ could not have come at a worse time, explains Kassel. As he mentions in his letter, we have a closing window of opportunity to increase the presence and strength of the Israeli Reform Movement, both socially and politically.
So on behalf of all of us here in North America you are welcome and thank you for your work to further the cause of Reform Judaism in the Jewish State. (Letter after the jump)
By Jennifer Gubitz As a child, I was never much of a hugger. I preferred to neither give nor receive much affection from my immediate family, except for from my mom's mother - Bubbe Schwartz. I'd like to say that I remember vividly that we were inseparable, although nearly 20 years later I cannot be sure if my memories are accurately my own or if they are simply reconstructions of snippets of information I was told.
My Bubbe died when I was in second grade and in her absence, I eventually learned to hug other people. Ironically, a strong and warm hug is something I have begun to crave throughout my adulthood. When parting ways with my parents before a long flight or leaving my siblings after a short visit - I sometimes return three even four times for one last hug. It has to be just right and until it is, I feel unable to walk away without looking back.
For much of my adult life I have studied, taught and worked on King David Street in Jerusalem. It is certainly no ordinary work address. World leaders stay there - in recent months we have played host to Bush, Blair, then Bush again, Blair, Rice, Blair Carter, Sarkozy, Blair (I'm beginning to think that man has nothing better to do), Brown, Mc Cain, Obama - and that doesn't do justice to the tens of less famous officials - Fishing Ministers from Ruritania and Tax Inspectors from Uzbekhistan.
Then there are the Life Cycle Events. Families compete with each other to hold the most opulent and often gaudy events: barmy Bar Mitzvahs, wild weddings, and far from circumspect circumcisions.
The fall of the U.S. dollar in the last few months put the IMPJ, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, into a financial crisis. RJ.org spoke with Peter Weidhorn, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Union for Reform Judaism, as he and the other major North American initiated a major campaign to raise $500,000 in the next six weeks. To learn more about how you can help please visit the Union's IMPJ Emergency Campaign site today.
By Judy Gangel Until last week (July 10/11, 2008), I had, and still do have, many blessings to recall and for which I was and still am thankful ...but last week brought an incredible Shehecheyanu experience/blessing unlike any other...a moment that my former rabbi might have referred to as a liminal one...I floated back and forth over the threshold of the time of my youth (I am now 65, almost 66) when I was deeply involved as a proud member and regional officer of NFTY, and the present.
The experience/blessing came upon me during the live streaming broadcast from the HUC in Israel and from Masada, where my 16 year old grandson was a part of a NFTY in Israel experience (NO, it's not just a "trip").
By Larry Kaufman From my first visit to Israel, some thirty-three years ago, one of my strongest memories is the guide telling our group at the beginning of the tour, "You come to Israel as tourists; you will leave as pilgrims." And so it was.
We Jews have given new meaning to the phrase, the wandering Jew. Last year we went around the world - this year we want to go somewhere else. That's why you can walk off a cruise ship in Sitka, Alaska, into a jewelry store where you will be greeted by a Frank Meisler Chanukah menorah.
By JanetheWriter Every night when I was growing up, after I'd said goodnight to my father, my mother tucked me into bed. When she did so on this date 32 years ago, she said, "Today is a great day to be an American and it's a great day to be a Jew."
By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie I have just returned from a week in Israel. I met privately with Foreign Minister Tsippi Livni, Leader of the Opposition Benjamin Netanyahu, and a half dozen other ministers and Knesset members. I also joined a small delegation of Jewish Agency leaders for a meeting with Prime Minister Olmert. In addition, of course, I had extensive meetings with leaders of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism.
A few impressions: In many ways, Israel's situation has never been better. Unemployment is the lowest in 20 years. The economy grew at a rate of more than 5% for the first quarter of 2008. The hotels are full and tourism is at an all-time high. Reform congregational groups are everywhere, and I was delighted to meet Reform congregational leaders and rabbis wherever I turned. On the political front, a ceasefire is in place in Gaza, Israel is negotiating with Syria, and there has been quiet on the northern border for almost two years.
By David A.M. Wilensky As readers ofReform Judaism magazine will recall, the RJ magazine's summer 2008 issue included a series of important questions regarding the Reform Movement and their answers as given by 30 adult members of the Reform Movement.
I'm currently at the URJ Kutz Camp with a group of people who will be the future lay and professional leadership of the Reform movement in North America. I'll be using many of them as well as many of the younger Kutz staff members this summer in a series of posts here on the RJ.org blog, in which I will be asking Reform high school and college students (and perhaps a few 20-somethings) for their take on Reform Judaism via questions similar to those used in the magazine.
Josh Levin lives in Sarasota, Florida. He is a senior in high school. This year Josh will be the Religious and Cultural Vice President for the North American Federation of Temple Youth's Southern Tropical Region. Josh has three summers of experience at the Kutz, NFTY's Campus for Reform Jewish Teens. Next year, he plans to attend the University of Florida.
By David A.M. Wilensky As readers of Reform Judaism magazine will recall, the RJ magazine's summer 2008 issue included a series of important questions regarding the Reform Movement and their answers as given by 30 adult members of the Reform Movement.
I'm currently at the URJ Kutz Camp with a group of people who will be the future lay and professional leadership of the Reform movement in North America. I'll be featuring many of them as well as many of the younger Kutz staff members this summer in a series of posts here on the RJ.org blog, in which I will be asking Reform high school and college students (and perhaps a few 20-somethings) for their take on Reform Judaism via questions similar to those used in the Magazine.
Jade Sank is a 17-year-old recent high school graduate. In the fall she will attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Jade was a member of NFTY-GER, serving as the 2007-2008 NFTY-GER Secretary. She attended the URJ Kutz Camp in the summer of 2006 and the Urban Mitzvah Corps in the summer of 2007. This summer, she is hard at work as a member of the Avodah staff of the URJ Kutz Camp.
What has belonging to a congregation (or a Temple Youth Group or a Kesher group or going to a URJ camp etc.) that is part of the larger Reform Movement meant to you? Belonging to my congregation, my TYG, NFTY, Kutz, and Urban Mitzvah Corps has meant everything to me. My eyes have been opened by the millions of ways that I can get involved and make connections not only on a North American scale but a world scale. By becoming involved in many different ways I have achieved small goals that will eventually help the Reform Movement become stronger. The best part about being part of the larger movement is that through the small things I do, I will see the results on a larger scale.
