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URJ Statement Regarding Synagogue Attack in Halle, Germany
We mourn the two lives lost, and painfully recognize that it’s only because the gunman was unable to enter the synagogue that even greater bloodshed was prevented.
Reform Jewish Movement Responds to Removal of U.S. Troops at Turkish-Syrian Border
"The humanitarian crisis triggered by President Trump’s sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Turkish-Syrian border is senseless, painful, and must end."
Union for Reform Judaism Statement on Connecticut Synagogue Bomb Threat
New York, NY; October 25, 2019 - Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement in response to today’s bomb threat called in to Congregation B’nai Israel in Bridgeport, CT, a URJ member congregation.
URJ Statement On Keren Kayemeth L’Israel Land Purchases in the West Bank
As the largest Jewish Movement in North America, we remain committed to a democratic and pluralistic Israel, and two states for two peoples. Accordingly, we emphatically and continually oppose all land acquisition by the Jewish National Fund (KKL) outside the sovereign borders of the State of Israel, known as the Green Line.
Reform Jewish Movement Condemns Decision to Allow Discrimination in Foster Care System
“We condemn the Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to allow federally-funded child welfare organizations to discriminate against foster parents based on their religion."
Reform Jewish Movement Responds to Removal of U.S. Troops at Turkish-Syrian Border
“The humanitarian crisis triggered by President Trump’s sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Turkish-Syrian border is senseless, painful, and must end."
Reform Jewish Movement Mourns the Death of U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings
"The Reform Jewish Movement mourns the death of U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings. Representative Cummings was a staunch advocate for racial justice and civil rights, working closely with the Reform Jewish community, in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., to address these and other critical issues, including relationships across lines of difference and a strong U.S.- Israel relationship."
On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah – Mishpatim: When Judaism Calls Us to Speak Out Courageously
Parashat Mishpatim presents a full catalog of laws, rituals, observance, and obligations that guide us in living a Jewish life of moral depth and courage. But, Rabbi Rick Jacobs asks, how do we, as liberal Jews regard these laws – which of them are we obligated to observe, and how?
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Stories We Tell: The Scholar and the Merchant
When a scholar boards a ship with a group of merchants, the merchants are confused. What does a scholar have to sell that could compete with their radiant perfume and beautiful scarves? When pirates storm the ship, they find out in this story retold by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. You can find a written version of this story, titled “The Sefer Torah,” in the book Three Times Chai: 54 Rabbis Tell Their Favorite Stories by Laney Katz Becker.
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Stories We Tell: Whatever You Do, Don't Bite Off the Pitom
Every year Moshe begs his father for an etrog, and every year, his father says they can’t afford it, until one special Sukkot when they scrimp and save and finally bring home an etrog. But what happens when Moshe can’t resist the pitom and Boris the Beet Borscht Baron from Belarus with very strong hands comes to bless the etrog? As Rabbi Steven Bob reminds us, “Whatever You Do, Don’t Bite Off the pitom”!
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