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Statement of Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs Responding to the Mass Shooting in El Paso, TX
"Clergy colleagues throughout El Paso will faithfully and lovingly hold up the families of the slain and wounded. So too our hearts – indeed the hearts and prayers of all people of good conscience across the nation – are with those families."
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: “Israel’s Decision To Bar U.S. Representatives Is Wrong. Democracies Do Not Hide.”
Israel’s decision to bar U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country is wrong, full stop. Democracies do not hide; they can protect their security and well-being and also celebrate robust debate and engagement in the public square.
Reform Jewish Movement Decries Mississippi ICE Raid
“Yesterday, what we long feared finally came to pass: a mass immigration raid in Mississippi has led to the detention and possible deportation of nearly 700 immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This action highlights the cruelty and inhumanity of the federal government’s immigration policies."
Reform Movement Condemns Proposal Expanding Religious Exemptions for Federal Contractors
“By allowing federal contractors and subcontractors to discriminate in hiring and firing on the basis of their religious beliefs, the Department of Labor’s proposed rule authorizes government-funded discrimination against women, religious minorities, LGBTQ people, and other marginalized groups."
Reform Movement Decries Administration's Plan to Indefinitely Detain Children and Families
"Today’s decision by the Trump Administration effectively terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement puts untold immigrant children and families at risk for lifelong physical, emotional, and mental harm."
Wholly Jewish: Grace: Breaking Down the Gates of Queer Judaism
Being queer and Jewish means something different to everyone, and those differences deserve to be celebrated. This week, Grace Collins (they/them) talks about being a Jewish storyteller and teacher; their connection, as a Jew-by-choice, to Rabbi Akiva’s teachings;, repairing the world in an oppressive political climate; and the dangers of “gatekeeping” in queer and Jewish spaces.
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Stories We Tell: How Do You Use It
Have you ever had a great idea that wasn’t useful until you applied it? This week, join Rabbi Phyllis Sommer of Am Shalom in Glencoe, IL, as she tells the story of a rabbi and a soap maker who explore this idea and realize their professions have more in common than they might have thought.
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Stories We Tell: Zoo Seder
On this special Passover episode of Stories We Tell, Rabbi Mark Kaiserman, Rabbi of the Reform Temple of Forest Hills, tells the story of a little girl who’s excited for a very different Passover seder her family is planning and how a little imagination might be what we all need right now.
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Stories We Tell: My Havdalah Set
Have you ever seen yourself as the “most” important? Have you felt your contributions mattered more than others, only to find out it actually took a group effort to accomplish your goal? This week, we’re treated to an original story by Alice Myers, actress and daughter of Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, who talks about this idea from the perspective of a havdalah set.
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Stories We Tell: The Perfect Seder
What is the real meaning of Passover? Is it ritualizing the seder and reading the Haggadah, or is there something more? This week, Rabbi Esther Lederman, the Union for Reform Judaism’s Director of Congregational Innovation, tells a story about a rabbi, a water carrier, and the prophet Elijah, and asks what it means to truly celebrate this sacred festival.
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