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Pursuing Racial Justice on Shabbat Tzedek
U.S. Reform congregations will soon commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the annual celebration of Shabbat Tzedek, taking the opportunity to reflect on the progress that has been made in advancing civil rights in the past half-century and to rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of racial justice.
Butterflies, Birds, and the Poetry of Freedom
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, Mark Ludwig, executive director of the Terezin Music Foundation (TMF), has created “an artistic memorial” to the 15-20 million people who died or were imprisoned in the Third Reich’s more than 42,500 camps and ghettos. Terezin served as a Nazi propaganda ploy to showcase how well Jews were treated in the camps, for example, by allowing musical and theater productions.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis: We’re Doing What Our Beliefs and Values Tell Us to Do
On Rosh HaShanah, I asked our congregation this question: “Who do we want to be in this new year?”
Lost in Translation
Recently I took the train down to Tel Aviv to attend a conference on the place of the Arabic language in Israeli culture and society. The topics of the lectures sounded interesting, addressing a number of questions that I had been thinking about for years, living here in the Galilee where 50% of the population are Palestinian Arabs.
A Cantor Goes to the Movies
When I was a kid, there was nothing better than hanging out on the couch on Saturday afternoons watching movies. I loved gladiator films, British horror flicks, westerns, and movies about faraway places. I had a massive kid crush on the god-like actors, and I desperately hoped to grow up to look like Joan Collins.
8 Tips for Managing Your Congregation’s Rabbinic Transition
At some point, every congregation faces a time of rabbinic transition – and the process is inevitably an emotional one. Here are eight tips for managing that process.
The Man in the High Castle: A World Where the Unthinkable Is an Afterthought
In The Man in the High Castle not only revisits Nazi fascism but realistically explores the consequences of its victory.
Canadian Jewish Community Welcomes the Country's First Syrian Refugees
Similar to governmental leadership on this issue, the Jewish community in Canada has taken great strides in their response to this crisis.
Major Progress in Campaign against Death Penalty in 2015
2015 was a year of major milestones in the campaign against the death penalty in the United States.
How the URJ Can Help Congregational Leaders Inspire Sacred Action
Each congregation has its own way of cultivating leadership. To assist this sacred work, the URJ offers a variety of programs that enable leaders to learn, network, and worship together, all of which are specifically designed to meet the needs of leaders of different positions and take into consideration different ways of rising to leadership.