Women of Reform Judaism

By Jodie Gordon In honor of WRJ’s Centennial Celebration, HUC-JIR students were invited to submit a 1000 word original essay for the WRJ/HUC-JIR Essay Competition on the topic, “Celebrating Our Journeys: My Spiritual Path to Reform Jewish Leadership.” WRJ received dozens of moving, well-written essays from each of the four HUC-JIR campuses and degree programs. The decision [...]

by Myra Feiger Parashat Chukat discusses the grim reality of death in the wilderness, the necessary succession in leadership, and the approach of the journey’s end. Repeatedly in this parashah, healing and new life follow death. The circle of our lives includes death, which follows life, not the other way around.

By Toba Strauss Sisterhood women have had an incredible impact on my life. I am largely a product of the religious school system, of NFTY and URJ camping, all of which are opportunities afforded to me through sisterhood support. I feel fortunate to be a student at HUC-JIR, an institution that ordains women like me, [...]

by Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker On Sunday, June 2, I attended the wonderful WRJ Centennial Symposium in NYC.  I was delighted to be with WRJ on this occasion because of my long and rewarding connection to Sisterhood.

By Lori Kotlen Stark The first time I ever heard of Kibbutz Yahel, I was a high school student, temple youth grouper and newly elected regional officer of MAFTY, now NFTY-MAR (Mid-Atlantic Region of Temple Youth). Within a short period of time, it seemed the whole North American Reform Movement was infused with the excitement of building Reform Jewish [...]

By Rebecca Kobrin In partnership with The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, WRJ has engaged 15 scholars to research various aspects of WRJ’s history and its impact on the North American Jewish community. This Ten Minutes of Torah is an excerpt of one of the articles, which will appear in a [...]

by Rabbi Michele Lenke Among the many gifts we find in this week’s Torah portion, B’haalot’cha, is the prayer for healing that Moses and Aaron offer to the Holy One on behalf of their sister Miriam. Her brothers pray “El Na R’fa Na La,” O God, please heal her! (Numbers 12:13). These five words are [...]

By Rabbi Marla Feldman I was blessed to have had the opportunity to become a rabbi and serve the Jewish community in a time when the doors to the rabbinate were open to women. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sally Priesand’s ordination, I am acutely aware that this was not always the case. Rabbi [...]

by Dana Herman, PhD Although there are many benefits to working at The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) in Cincinnati, OH—the largest, free-standing repository dedicated to preserving the history of American Jewry—one of the most delightful has to be meeting and interacting with the visitors to our facility who conduct [...]

by Marcy R. Frost When is the last time you saw Hamlet? After more than 400 years, it remains popular and poignant. I never cease to be amazed by how much of Hamlet has found its way into our modern language. Of course, there is the obvious, “To be or not to be” line. Ever [...]