Rabbi Victor S. Appell(he/him/his) is the Associate Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Westfield, NJ. He lives with his husband, Colin Hogan, and their two sons, Avi and Lev.
While Judaism does not have an equivalent to the secular Mother’s Day, Reform Judaism has been at the forefront of including women in religious life as equal partners.
Many have incorporated new rituals as part of the Passover seder. Many seder plates include an orange, which is attributed to Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College. Heschel included an orange in recognition of gay and lesbian Jews, and others who are marginalized in the Jewish community.