Here, in an exclusive interview for RJ.org, Michelle sits down with Molly Kane, a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR to discuss Michelle's new Chanukah video sensation "Pass the Candle", her involvement in Reform Judaism, and more. Click below to listen in, and watch the video after the jump.
It is all over the news: Dothan is looking for a few good Jewish families. Blumberg Family Jewish Community Services is offering Jewish families $50,000 and other perks to pick up and move to Dothan, Alabama. Anna Blumenfeld, assistant director of the Union's Meetings and Conventions department grew up in that small Alabama town and she is excited to see all of this coverage. She spoke with RJ.org about this offer and why she hopes people will answer the call to live in her hometown.
I spoke with Cathy Rolland, director of Early Childhood Education, late last week about an exciting new book, Songs for a Jewish Head Start. This book incorporates the music of Rita Gold adapted by Peter and Ellen Allard. Along with a team of other Jewish singer/songwriters, the Allards took these universal educational songs and made them perfect for a Jewish audience. Click play to listen into our conversation.
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.
Yitz Jordan, aka Y-Love, brings people together with his "Torah Centered hip-hop." He writes at ThisisBabylon.net and you can hear his latest album at ylovemusic.com. Jordan, who is a black, Orthodox convert, sat down with RJ.org to talk about Jewish communal unity and music for this podcast.
The G8 Summit begins this week in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to the arrival the world's top political and economic leaders, religious leadership from around the world gathered in Kyoto and Osaka to discuss issues of the environment, ethnic conflict and religious liberty. Rabbi Marla Feldman, director of the Commission on Social Action was there. Listen in to her report by pressing the play button below.
The floods in the Midwest have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, destroyed billions of dollars of crops and business and the clean-up is only beginning. Rabbi Lane Steinger is the regional director for the Union's Midwest Council. Between filling sand bags along the Mississippi and helping the congregations hardest hit by the floods he joined us by phone to give us an update from St. Louis.
This week the j. jewish news weekly of northern california published a story about how Congregation Sha'ar Zahav was instrumental in expanding health care coverage to thousands of people in the city of San Francisco. How did they do it? Through Congregation Based Community Organizing. I sat down with Lila Foldes, assistant director of Just Congregations to learn more about Congregation Based Community Organizing.
Digital Torah
June 11, 2008
(11 Comments)
Over the past 22 months, Cantor Alane Katzew, director of Music Programming for the Union, has headed a project to digitally record every line of the Torah. Using the same cantillation and tone throughout the entire project of the 5,845 verses, Cantor Katzew and her 22 expert chanters completed the project the Friday before Shavuot.
Cantor Penny Kessler, one of the chanters, is pictured (right) in the "Cantor-in-a-box" recording studio at the Union's offices in New York.
Press play to hear a digital recording about the digitization of the Torah.
Green Camp
June 10, 2008
(1 Comment)
At a meeting of URJ Camp directors in early March the Reform Jewish summer camps took the first steps as a system in partnering with FUSE (Faiths United for Sustainable Energy) to work to make camp "greener." Since that time, many camps initiated a partnership with FUSE to demonstrate this commitment to the environment. Lisa David, associate director of URJ Camps explains some of these projects in this new RJ.org podcast.
Micro-philanthropy is changing the way causes raise money. Naomi Abelson, manager of Congregational Relations for the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, heads the Union's Nothing But Nets campaign. Raising money for insecticide treated bed nets, this project has launched a new cohort of young philanthropists that were recently featured in the New York Times. Click below to listen into how Nothing But Nets is saving lives and transforming charitable giving for young people.
Al Vorspan and 16 rabbis spent a summer night in jail thanks to St. Augustine, Florida police department in 1964. He was booked for ordering lunch. Needless to say he didn’t get to eat his sandwich. Listen into his side of the story.
Al Vorspan is the senior vice-president emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism and founding director of the Commission on Social Action. He has authored and co-authored many books including Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice with Rabbi David Saperstein.
read MORE
Thirty years ago keeping posted, the predecessor to Reform Judaism magazine, was devoted to “What is Reform Judaism?” Editor Aron Hirt-Manheimer wrote that Reform Judaism “is often described in negatives.” Here he talks about the changes since 1978.
You may know 
Al Vorspan and 16 rabbis spent a summer night in jail thanks to St. Augustine, Florida police department in 1964. He was booked for ordering lunch. Needless to say he didn’t get to eat his sandwich. Listen into his side of the story.
Thirty years ago keeping posted, the predecessor to Reform Judaism magazine, was devoted to “What is Reform Judaism?” Editor