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Making Soup, Making Shabbat
When I was a kid, my family did not keep kosher. The closest we got was the story my mother told about how, when she was growing up, her father once yelled at her as she poured a glass of milk to go with her BLT sandwich: “We don’t mix milk and meat!”
Why We Went: How 17 Reform Jewish Leaders Took a Stand for Civil Rights in Florida with Dr. King
A version of this post was published on the RACblog on February 12, 2014, in advance of the celebrations this summer around the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Left Out: News from the Western Wall
When I had the chance go to the Kotel, or the Western Wall, I was able to walk up to the men’s section, find an open section of wall, and run my hands over the coarse, grey stone that I’d heard about ever since I learned the letter aleph.
It's Elul: 6 Ways to Get Ready for the High Holidays
Elul, the Hebrew month that precedes the High Holidays, is traditionally a time of both rejoicing and somber reflection when we take stock of our spiritual selves and our lives. Elul rituals prepare us for the many acts of repentance and forgiveness that are hallmarks of the upcoming Days of Awe, starting with Rosh HaShanah.
Green Tevet Challenge: Recycle Your Electronics
Welcome to the Jewish month of Tevet and of course to the secular new year! I am anticipating a whole new year of personal, local, national and international environmental initiatives. Watching friends and family unwrap new phones, computers, TVs and new battery-operated kids’ toys this Hanukkah inspired me to choose but for reducing our waste output by recycling electronics this Tevet.
Responding Jewishly to Transphobia and Trans Suicides
This past Sunday, Leelah Alcorn, a trans teen from Ohio committed suicide. In a posthumous note on tumblr, Leelah cites her parents’ rejection of her gender identity, their refusal to let her transition and her feelings that things will not get better as some of the reasons for her suicide. While the work I do advocating on behalf of the Reform Movement for legislation that would grant legal equality to LGBT individuals is meaningful and important, this legislation alone cannot end the transphobia and rejection that Leelah faced; we must do this work as a community. In the wake of Leelah’s suicide, we should look within our communities, both Jewish and secular, to create spaces where individuals’ gender identities are affirmed rather than rejected.
2014 at the RAC: Our Year in Blogs
The (secular) New Year brings new opportunities and new challenges in the world of Jewish social justice. The 114th Congress will convene on January 3, 2015 at noon. As we look towards what 2015 will bring, let’s take a moment to look back at 2014 through 14 RACBlog highlights.
This list is a mix of our most popular blogs or the blogs that represent landmark moments in our programming or observances. Don’t see your favorite blog here? Let us know in the comments!
Over the Border, but Not Out of the Woods
In all of the excitement over President Obama’s executive action on immigration, we haven’t been hearing much about the plight of unaccompanied children coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, which experienced a notable uptick this summer. Yet, there have been a few new developments:
Shedding Light on Lima: #LightForLIMA
By Fletcher Harper and Paul Kaufman
OurVoices and #LightForLIMA
OurVoices has emerged as the leading international, multi-faith campaign supporting a strong climate agreement. We were busy during the UN climate meetings in Lima!
In fifteen countries on four continents, and in countries vital to the negotiations, OurVoices organized vigils in support of strong agreement. #LightForLIMA vigils took place adjacent to iconic locations (the White House, the Sydney Opera House, Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate). They attracted international media coverage. They performed powerfully on social media, with the vigil’s hashtag attracting almost the same number of shares as the hashtag for the entire UN conference during the week of the vigils.
High School Students Lobby for LGBT Equality at L’Taken
Last month, at L’Taken, Jason and Bailey of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas lobbied their members of Congress in support of comprehensive non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals, on the heels of an announcement by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Senate, that he intends to introduce comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination legislation in the next Congress.