Women of Reform Judaism

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 [...]

By Patricia Karlan-Newmann In every generation, Jews have understood the significance of the Torah in their lives. We have studied, 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 2007, the teachings of women scholars and Jewish professionals on the [...]

by Rabbi Mark Goldfarb The regular Torah reading cycle is interrupted this Shabbat with a special reading for the holiday of Sukkot, from the Book of Exodus. We read of the second covenant entered into between God, Moses and the Children of Israel – this covenant follows the incident of the Golden Calf and the [...]

By: Denny Norris Yom Kippur afternoon was winding to a close. There was a buzz of expectancy in the air since the High Holidays Contemporary Issues Forum wouldn’t be the usual panel discussion or featured congregant. Instead, Rabbi Laura Geller had reached out to California’s Governor Jerry Brown and asked him to speak about the state of [...]

by Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana Finally Home. The opening verses of this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, describe a ceremony of “first fruits.” Standing still in the wilderness, Moses envisions a time to come in which the people will be beyond war and want – a settled time when farmers can tend to their fields [...]

By: Cher Krichmar In this week’s Torah portion, Nitzavim, Deuteronomy 31:1-30, God instructs Moses about his death, as well as the succession for the people of Israel and the Promised Land. Moses will not see the Promised Land, but Joshua is instructed by Moses on how to lead the people. This parasha speaks to me as [...]

By:  Renee Morris Roth This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teitzei, is a list of seventy four laws given to the people. The topics of the laws address relationships between family, neighbors, members of society and even laws concerning animals. They speak to sexual misconduct, clothing, and forbidden relations. They address laws protecting the vulnerable, with special [...]

We’re now in Bemidbar or Numbers, the fourth book of Torah. Naso, the second portion in Bemidbar, is the longest portion in our Torah. Here are some interesting Naso facts: Naso has 176 verses. In the diaspora, it is always read on the first Shabbat after Shavuot. It includes the dedication/consecration of the tabernacle. Many [...]

By Rabbi Brad Boxman Some things are just meant to be.  I guess it’s what we call “b’shert.” Thirty-two years ago, I made a fateful decision to apply to the Rabbinic School at The Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.  Although I was raised in a Reform Congregation in Philadelphia, where my mom [...]

By Linda Zoll As I explored the varying aspects of this week’s parashah, Shemini (Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47), I found a myriad of interesting and important paths to be examined. I chose to study a path which led me to consider how we teach our children to be the best they can be. The story [...]