10 Ways to Welcome Teens at the High Holidays
Looking for innovative opportunities to engage your teens around the High Holidays? These 10 ideas come directly from the source – youth professionals across North America.
God as Matchmaker: A Reflection on Adoption
Galilee Diary: Suburban Sprawl
On a recent perfect early spring day (warm sun, cooling breeze, brilliant wild flowers) we took the children and grandchildren on a short hike to the mountainside adjacent to Shorashim, picnicking under an olive tree. On the way, we encountered toads, lizards, a scorpion, and caterpillars; our lunch was serenaded by the muezzin of the village of Shaab, with the backup chorus of the jackals that live in the open areas.
Honoring Your Parents as You Empty Their House
Jews have blessings for almost every occasion. I recommend we recite one before emptying the contents of our parents’ home after they die.
Why the Ten Commandments Are Just What America Needs
Stricter adherence to the Ten Commandments might be just what America needs to restore trust in government and civility in political discourse.
Give Peace a Chance: Why All of Us Must Be Part of the Process
Israel’s peace process is frustrating, but if we are to survive here, it must be the one place where identity politics cannot shred our democracy.
What We Need to Know About Welcoming the Stranger
Like those Abraham welcomed into his tent, many in today’s world are without homes. Our Torah doesn’t allow us to pretend they are not our problem.
What Do Jews Have to Do with Jazz? Plenty!
If you love jazz and Jewish culture, as I do, it seems only natural to seek out connections between the two. That’s exactly what a select group of jazz lovers in New Jersey did this past fall and winter, bringing to the fore the exceptional exhibit, Jazz, Jews and African Americans: Cultural Intersections in Newark and Beyond. The show was a collaboration of the Institute of Jazz Studies (Rutgers University-Newark), New Jersey Performing Arts Center, WBGO, the Jewish Museum of New Jersey, New Jersey City University, and Congregation Ahavas Sholom, an historic synagogue in Newark that houses the museum.
How My Jewish Values Inspired My New Business
When I think of the many factors that helped shape me into the woman I am today, I think, in particular, of lessons from my mother. Her wisdom inspired me and imbued me with a strong voice and commitment to social justice. That commitment led me, in part, to the business I recently started.
Need a New Way to Teach Jewish Values to Your Kids? Shaboom! Is the Answer
Last spring, the team at BimBam (formerly G-dcast) approached the URJ’s Families with Young Children staff in their effort to ensure that Shaboom!, the company’s new videos for families accurately reflect Reform Jewish values and philosophies. My colleagues and I were happy to help.