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Rabbi Rick Jacobs
President, URJ
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Rabbi Rick Jacobs is president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the most powerful force in North American Jewish life.
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman
Chair, North American Board of Trustees
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Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman, of Congregation B’nai Israel in Sacramento, has served on the URJ Board since 2003 in a variety of roles across all of the organization’s efforts, including as chair of the Commission on Social Action and chair of the Resolutions Committee.
Julie Levi Lerner
Executive Vice President
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Julie Levi Lerner is a strategic, dynamic, and galvanizing leader who has a proven track record guiding complex organizations to grow while keeping focused on the things that matter most.
Stories We Tell: The Bird Catcher
This week, Rabbi Simcha Bob tells the story of a woman who catches and sells birds for a living. One day, she comes across a beautiful bird who can speak and even promises her 3 pieces of wisdom if she releases him. Through this story. Rabbi Bob compels us to think about how well we listen to the advice of others and the ways in which we impart wisdom as well.
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Stories We Tell: Get Up and Go Early
We’ve all had days when we have so many things to do, but we just want to stay in bed and put our tasks off for later. This week, Rabbi Leora Kaye tells a story about a rabbi who faced that very same temptation head-on, showing us how we too can push through our temptation and “get up and go early.”
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Stories We Tell: What it Takes to Get in
Three souls are met by the Heavenly Tribunal as they approach the gates of Paradise: a learned rabbi, a pious man, and a tavern keeper. Each one makes their case as to why they should enter Paradise, but who among them instantly earns the Tribunal's favor?
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Stories We Tell: How Do You Use It
Have you ever had a great idea that wasn’t useful until you applied it? This week, join Rabbi Phyllis Sommer of Am Shalom in Glencoe, IL, as she tells the story of a rabbi and a soap maker who explore this idea and realize their professions have more in common than they might have thought.
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Stories We Tell: Zoo Seder
On this special Passover episode of Stories We Tell, Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, Rabbi of the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, tells the story of a little girl who’s excited for a very different Passover seder her family is planning and how a little imagination might be what we all need right now.
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Stories We Tell: My Havdalah Set
Have you ever seen yourself as the “most” important? Have you felt your contributions mattered more than others, only to find out it actually took a group effort to accomplish your goal? This week, we’re treated to an original story by Alice Myers, actress and daughter of Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, who talks about this idea from the perspective of a havdalah set.
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Stories We Tell: The Perfect Seder
What is the real meaning of Passover? Is it ritualizing the seder and reading the Haggadah, or is there something more? This week, Rabbi Esther Lederman, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Director of Congregational Innovation, tells a story about a rabbi, a water carrier, and the prophet Elijah, and asks what it means to truly celebrate this sacred festival.
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