Related Blog Posts on Jewish Values, Social Justice, Torah Study, and Worship

a tree with light behind it
Summer Youth Experiences

Taking a Breath for Life: the Union for Reform Judaism's Actions to Build Resilience

Ruben Arquilevich
On Tu Bishvat we celebrated trees and a season of new growth. I've been doing lots of thinking about trees, as I frequently do, and the role they play in providing oxygen for the planet. At the Union of Reform Judaism, we provide oxygen to our communities by creating compassionate spaces for our participants to grow and thrive. We can respond to current and future challenges by fostering resilience that reflect our Jewish values.
new years day fireworks
Jewish Values

A Jewish Take on New Year’s Resolutions

Dasee Berkowitz
New Year's Day and the traditional resolutions that accompany it invite us to take stock of our lives. Are we living our lives to the fullest? Can we imagine a future in which the commitments we make for ourselves (e.g., healthier habits around eating and exercise) actually come true? What will it take this year to really change?
arnow_exodus
Jewish Values

Choosing Hope in Times of Trial

David Arnow
From Covid and climate change to the erosion of democratic norms and the decline of a shared sense of truth (and the list could go on), two things are clear. First, are we living in an age that tests our ability to sustain hope. Second, if despair dominates hope, we will be unable to meet the challenges that beset us.
Dasee Berkowitz family Hanukkah menorahs
Hanukkah

Reimagining Hanukkah Gift-Giving

Dasee Berkowitz
There are a lot of creative ways to make Hanukkah meaningful when we pause to ask ourselves a few good questions before automatically going into shopping mode.
Hand holding cell phone with icons visible
Jewish Values

Cultivating a Shmita Mindset with our Screens

Dasee Berkowitz
Limiting the time we are on our devices and setting an intention about what we do there are small steps that can alter our relationship to the digital world. By committing to these changes in our day-to-day lives, we can more readily guide our kids to do the same.
sally preisand
Torah Study

The More Torah, The More Life

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand
When I became rabbi of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, NJ, I quickly discovered that some people in our community thought we were a church. Mail was addressed to “Monmouth Reformed Temple,” and letters were addressed “Dear Pastor.”
hands open to receiving
Torah Study

Creation, Chaos, and Children

Dasee Berkowitz
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. God said: “Let there be light.” And there was light.
40 days of teshuvah - a story of bringing hewish spiritual practice into the fight for racial justice
Social Justice

Why We Need a “Spiritual Co-conspiratorship” for Justice

Yolanda Savage-Narva
During the 2020 uprising for Black lives, Yehudah was the lead organizer of the 40 Days of Teshuvah action that created a space of mourning the destruction of Black communities and crying out to the Heavens for spiritual co-conspiratorship in the fight for racial justice.