Communal Aid: How to Ensure No One Falls Through the Cracks
When we made aliyah in 1990, arriving at Shorashim, the community was a moshav sheetufi, a commune of 30 families. The economy was similar to a kibbutz – all salaries, whether from communal businesses or from work “outside,” went to the common bank account; each family received a house to live in and a monthly allowance based on family size. But not anymore.
Red and Blue and White: Being an American and a Jew
I know from conversations I have had with Israelis, they find it difficult, if not impossible, to understand how Jews can feel so at home, so safe, so self-assured in the United States. For so many of our co-religionists—those who were forced to flee from oppressive regimes in the former Soviet Union, or Ethiopia, or those whose parents and grandparents fled from or grew up in the ashes of state-sanctioned hatred—they cannot possibly understand how we can live so calmly and unafraid in this nation. They can’t quite understand what it means to be an American and a Jew.
Stand Up for Racial Justice This Fall by Taking Action on Voting Rights
Starting this summer, the Reform Movement will be taking action around the United States under the banner of Nitzavim: Standing Up for Voter Protection and Participation.
Five Jewish Texts Show us a Balance between Civil Liberties and National Security
As debate continues to swirl over how our government can continue to address the threat of terrorism in a way that upholds our civil liberties, it can be difficult to keep track of the many issues this basic question raises.
Amyloidosis? Yes, You Need to Know
As a communications director, it’s my job to tell other people’s stories. However, I’m not always so comfortable telling my own. Even so, I want to tell you my dad’s story. More than that, I need to tell you about amyloidosis, the rare disease that took his life, so we can help save others from the same fate.
Bobbing for Justice: A Mikveh Victory in Israel
For many years, the Orthodox Rabbinate's control over almost all public mikvehs in Israel has ensured the exclusion of anyone who doesn't meet their religious standards. To fulfill the mikveh requirement, converts had no choice but to immerse in the sea, out in the open, even in cold weather.
Leap Day and Adar II: An Extra Day, an Extra Month
This year of 5776 is a leap year and we are, right now, in the midst of the "extra month." This month is called Adar Aleph, and it only occurs in seven of every 19 years.
5 Jewish Texts to Balance Civil Liberties and National Security
While it is clear that not all of these texts are in agreement, together they communicate the need to pursue policies that balance national security and civil liberties.
Notes from My Recent Visit with Prime Minister Netanyahu
The prime minister has been generous with his time; in fact, I have had the opportunity to meet with him often since becoming president of the URJ.
Your Congregation is Facing a Transition: Now What?
Though I felt our rabbinic transition was going well, I knew it was too important to the future of the congregation to pass up the opportunity to learn whatever I could about making the transition as successful as possible.