Trying to endure loss in isolation is more than painful; it puts our lives at risk. Rambam understood that when he described the consequences of not being connecting to Am Yisrael at times of trauma, including our fast days.
When their parents returned to Iraq, Sima and Oded decided to continue living in Israel as practicing Jews. Despite their efforts throughout the years to obtain Israeli citizenship, their requests were always denied.
Even as structure and routine begin to crumble, ritual observances don’t stop for the virus. As did many generations of Jews before us, we must adapt ritual to this unprecedented way of life, and Shabbat services, a mainstay for nursing home residents, necessitated creative adaptation.
This summer, just in time for Pride Month, ReformJudaism.org is proudly releasing season two of Wholly Jewish, which will focus on members of the Jewish LGBTQ+ community.
When I returned from my sixth Jewish humanitarian mission to the island of Cuba at the beginning of February, little did I know that the entire world would be in quarantine only a month later. It now feels like a miracle that we were all able to be together.
Hatred of Jews and Judaism is the world’s oldest social pathology, and Andrew Goldberg’s PBS-TV documentary Viral: Anti-Semitism in Four Mutations (airing in the U.S. on May 26,) presents important new insights into this omnipresent odium.
We at the Israel Religious Action Center are eternal optimists.
During this time of social isolation, when we cannot physically be together, we are continuing to think about and plan for the day after.
Frankly, I was skeptical about attending services online – but it was the occasion of the yahrzeit (anniversary of death) for my wife’s brother, and this was our only option for respecting her wish to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish with our Jewish community.
Together, we will champion the lessons of Passover by bringing greater wholeness, justice, and belonging to our world.