Women of Reform Judaism

Last month I was incredibly fortunate to be part of the WRJ Centennial Trip to Israel and Berlin. What an amazing experience! I still haven’t finished processing all that we saw and did as we went to so many interesting places and learned so much about how WRJ supports the work of Progressive/Reform Judaism in [...]

by Cherie Half At the core of Parashat Acharei Mot is the question of change. This week’s Torah parashah discusses the foundation for laws affecting sexual relations and the separation of women, which is termed the “holiness” code of Leviticus.

by Judith O. Rosenkranz The parashah for this week (Tazria-M’tzora, Lev. 12:1-15:33) opens with these words are, “Adonai spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus.” This phrase keeps coming back to me for it empowers Moses to relay to the entire Israelite people what he has been told. This empowering of leadership, [...]

by Ellen A. Pollack This week’s parashah (Sh’mini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47) describes the ritual on the day after Aaron’s ordination ceremony, the story of the fire from God that kills Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s oldest sons, and concludes with dietary laws.

By Blu Greenberg In every generation, Jews have understood the significance of the Revelation of Torah in their lives. We have studied and written and taught about the meaning of Torah and its relevance to contemporary circumstances. With the publication of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary in 2008, the teachings of women scholars and Jewish professionals [...]

The themes of Passover have broad resonance with many of the most critical social justice causes of the day: reading about Israelite slavery reminds us of those who are not free today, focusing on our food calls our attention to those who are hungry and hearing about forced labor in Egypt brings our attention to [...]

by Helene H. Waranch This week we read the last two portions of Exodus: Vayak’heil and Pekudai. The Israelites have received the second set of the Ten Commandments and Adonai now believes they are ready to build the Tabernacle, the portal sanctuary for worship.

by Lyn Feldman This week’s Torah portion, T’tzaveh, talks about the construction of the priestly garments, particularly the clothing of the high priest Aaron, that are to be worn in the Tabernacle. The parashah also describes the ordination of the priests, a necessary step before the Tabernacle can start to function, and discusses the sacrifices [...]

by Janet Buckstein This week’s Torah portion is Yitro, Exodus 18:1-20:23. Personally, this parashah has always been one of my favorites. Just think about what is happening: First, Moses’ father- in-law Jethro (Yitro) advises Moses to delegate. Who among us, as sisterhood leaders, has not seen the advantages to delegation as a way to reduce [...]

by Rabbi Avi Schulman The Torah depicts the extreme peril our ancestors faced when they left Egypt. Gathered at the shores of the Sea of Reeds with Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them, God performed a miracle by splitting the sea in two. The Israelites crossed over on dry land and then saw their foes [...]