Aron Hirt-Manheimer

Aron Hirt-Manheimer (he/him) is the Union for Reform Judaism's former editor-at-large, the former editor of Reform Judaism magazine (1976-2014) and founding editor of Davka magazine (1970-1976), a West Coast Jewish quarterly. His books include Jagendorf’s Foundry: A Memoir of the Romanian Holocaust (HarperCollins, 1991) and Jews: The Essence and Character of a People (HarperCollins, 1998) with Arthur Hertzberg. (Photo credit: Rose Eichenbaum)

Yes, There Is a Reform Divorce Document

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin
Today, the Reform Movement in the United States accepts civil divorce as completely dissolving the marriage and permitting the remarriage of the divorced persons. No get or any substitute form of religious divorce is required.
Marriage
Parenting

The Present Parent

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
Dr. Wendy Mogel, a clinical psychologist and educator, is author of The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children (Penguin, 2001). She lives with her husband and two daughters in Los Angeles, where they belong to Temple Israel of Hollywood. She was interviewed by Reform Judaism editor Aron Hirt-Manheimer.
cover of Kol Nidre prayerbook for the Jewish High Holidays
Yom Kippur

Sounds of Kol Nidrei

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
The melody that stirs the heart of Ashkenazic Jews is of unknown origin, but is part of a body of music known as "MiSinai melodies" that emerged in Germany between the 11th and 15th centuries.

Poland - In the Shadow of Memory

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
Jedwabne, Poland-July 10, 2001. The market square is like a movie set. A makeshift stage awaits the principal actor in this historic drama--Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of the Polish Republic. We join the international ensemble of reporters and cameramen who vie for positions behind police barricades.
Travel

Facts Make You Free

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
The Holocaust horror stories my parents told me as a young child forced me to shoulder a heavy emotional load. First I contemplated revenge against the Nazis. Later I tried escape into normalcy by blotting out painful memories. As the years passed, I discovered that going to the places where these terrible events occurred eased the psychic burden.
Travel