"Using Judaism as a Cloak to Conceal Racism"
Figures show that an offensive statement against the Arab public is posted every 6 minutes, while a call for actual physical violence is posted every 27 minutes.
The Jewish Week's New "36 Under 36" List is Here!
Each year, the New York Jewish Week names 36 Jewish leaders under the age of 36 who are changing the face of the Jewish world. This year’s list was released today, and it features a few faces that are very familiar to those of us here at the Union for Reform Judaism.! Let us kvell for a minute by highlighting them here, and then check out the entire list from the Jewish Week.
The Core of the Matter: The Future of Jerusalem
Often, peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians have gotten stuck on the status of Jerusalem. Debates over the future of this holy city are often informed by deeply held views of history, religion, and politics.
In the Fields with Ruth on Shavuot
It was summer 2014, and Israel was at war. Tourists were sparse and so were volunteers. I was in a field outside Rehovot, picking daloriyot (butternut squash) alongside a dozen other visitors. And I was thinking of Ruth the Moabite.
In the Book of Ruth, which is read on Shavuot, Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem from their tragic sojourn in Moab, and Ruth goes to the fields to collect grain for herself and her mother-in-law. Leviticus (19:9-10 and 23:22) and Deuteronomy (24:19) state that the gleanings of the field belong to people who are poor, immigrants, orphans, or widows – and Ruth belongs to at least three of these categories. As a Moabite woman, whose husband died and who has arrived empty-handed in Bethlehem, Ruth is among the most vulnerable people in the land.
Focusing on Young Leadership: Fifteen Minutes with Jewish Leader Andrew Keene
We caught up with young Jewish leader Andrew Keene, a student at Drexel University, to talk about going global, being engaged, and serving as a young lay leader - and why it’s all so important.
How to Join the Fight for Voting Rights This Summer
Saturday, June 25 marks the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case Shelby County v. Holder. With a 5-4 vote, the Court struck down a crucial component of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, opening the door for states and localities with a history of restrictive voting practices to change their election laws, without first seeking preclearance from the federal government.
Renewing the Call for Voting Rights On the Anniversary of the Shelby County Decision
Saturday, June 25 commemorates the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Shelby County v.
Make Each New Song More Joyful than the Last
Recently, as I was leaving the sanctuary on Shabbat morning, a man who was a guest of the bar mitzvah family approached me. Warmly shaking my hand and thanking me for a “lovely service,” he asked several questions about the music I sang, during both the morning service and the Kabbalat Shabbat service the night before.
Parshat Behar: A Biblical Vision of Economic Justice
“(Every seventh year) that which grows of itself of your harvest you shall not reap, and the grapes of your vine you should not gather; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.