Reform Jewish Movement Condemns Low Refugee Admissions Ceiling
Reform Jewish Movement Opposes Changes to Public Benefits Use for Immigrant Families
Reform Movement Laments Senate Judiciary Committee’s Vote in Favor of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice
Reform Movement Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Racial Justice, Condemn Movement for Black Lives Platform Language on Israel
Washington, D.C., August 4, 2016 – In response to the release of the Movement for Black Lives Policy Platform, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, issued the following statement on behalf of the Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, ARZA: The Association of Reform Zionists of America, the American Conference of Cantors, Men of Reform Judaism, Women of Reform Judaism, and the North American Federation of Temple Youth:
Reform Jewish Movement Launches Nationwide Initiative to Protect Voting Rights
Washington, D.C., August 9, 2016 – With general election season well underway, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) is launching a new nonpartisan initiative to promote voter protection and participation across the country, beginning with a joint kick-off event with the NAACP on August 18 in Raleigh, NC.
Jewish Community Groups Join in Opposition to Predatory Lending
Washington, D.C., August 12, 2016 –This week, 20 Jewish groups together submitted comments coordinated by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule regarding predatory payday lending. The comments reflected the organizations’ shared commitment to helping build a society where lending is used as a step toward opportunity, rather than as a stumbling block. The full text of the letter follows:
Reform Movement Statement on the Murders of Imam Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin
Contact: Max Rosenblum or Barbara Weinstein
202.387.2800 | news@rac.org
Reform Jewish Movement Launches Nationwide Nonpartisan Initiative to Protect Voting Rights
Media Contact
Max Rosenblum, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, MRosenblum@rac.org, office: 202-387-2800
Monotheism and the Problem of Truth
"You shall have no other gods beside Me!" This is the first of Aseret HaDib'rot, literally the "Ten Declarations" or "Ten Commandments" found in this week's parashah, Va-et'chanan (see Deuteronomy 5:2-18; we recited a slightly different version earlier in the year in Parashat Yitro, Exodus, chapter 20). Aseret HaDib'rot lays out the central terms of an exclusive covenant between God and Israel. After a brief prologue in which God self-identifies as the One who freed Israel from Egyptian bondage, the first declaration occurs in the form of a command that Israel take no other gods in addition to the God of Israel: "You shall have no other gods beside Me!"
If Then, You Really Listen and Heed My Commandments
"V'haya im shamoa — If then, you listen, yes, you really heed My commandments that I enjoin upon you this day, loving the Eternal your God and serving [God] with all your heart and soul, I will grant the rain for your land in its season. . . . "
This section of our Torah portion is known as V'haya im Shamoa, and is included in the daily and Shabbat morning service in traditional prayer books right after the Shema and V'ahavta prayers. Reform siddurim omit it, perhaps it because it feels a bit simplistic. The message seems to contradict our understanding of nature and weather: if you obey God's commandments nature will be good to you, but if you stray and serve other gods the Eternal will punish you through acts of nature.