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July 1 is a Big Day in the Reform Congregational World
The first of July is the day you can engage both new and experienced leaders on your board, help ensure they do their jobs well, and play a meaningful role in leading the congregation. With your support and guidance, your trustees can lead with wisdom informed by our shared tradition, the history of the community, and the best expertise the Reform Movement has to offer.
Netflix’s Russian Doll Season 2: Nesting Trauma in Three Generations of Jewish Women
In this season, time is immutable. It can be questioned, but not changed. Family can be understood, but not altered. The self, in this case, the result of intergenerational trauma, must be accepted. In Russian Doll, the only way to see the good in the world is to stop looking back, to stop journeying inward, and to the wake up in the present.
URJ Ethics Accountability Update: May 2022
We are sharing this update on our ethics accountability work as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, protection of every member of our community, and to the implementation of recommendations from the Debevoise & Plimpton investigation report.
A Letter to the Jewish Community
I read a quote today by Sy Smith that said, "Black people in the U.S. are expected to keep on keeping on, no matter what..."
Awaiting the Final Decision: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Case Recap
Though a draft decision has already leaked, before the summer is over, the Supreme Court will issue a final ruling in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the most consequential abortion rights case in generations.
Reflecting on the Jewish Rally for Abortion Justice
As a young woman, I am frightened by the recent draft Supreme Court opinion that overturns Roe v. Wade. This opinion would abolish 50 years of court precedent that protects our fundamental right to privacy. I am shaken that my ability to make private medical decisions could soon be policed by people who will never experience the circumstances surrounding those decisions.
How Gun Violence is Changing Generations
For many people, it is easy to think about gun violence and its impacts a few times a year, either following a horrifying, high-profile story in the news or during Wear Orange Weekend (this year June 3-5). Unfortunately, that is not a reality for an ever growing group of people across the country.
What Female Scribes Can Teach Us about Transmitting Torah
I first inquired about becoming a soferet in my first year of rabbinical school in Jerusalem. I had come into rabbinical school with the technical expertise of a printmaker and a bookmaker, and I was eager to immerse myself in all things Torah, including its physical creation. Unfortunately, even in 2008, I could not find a sofer in Jerusalem who would train a woman.
Pride 2022: Celebrating and Fighting for LGBTQ+ Equality in June and Beyond
In the story of creation, the first story we read in the Torah, we learn that every person is created b'tzelem Elohim - in the holy image of God (Genesis 1:27). Discrimination against any person arising from apathy, insensitivity, ignorance, fear, or hatred is inconsistent with this fundamental belief. It is this principle that guides that Reform Movement's advocacy for LGBTQ+ equality.
Take Action to Stand Up for Abortion Rights following leaked Dobbs v. JWHO decision
Even as we knew the Supreme Court was likely to undermine and even overturn abortion rights, to see the words in print in last night's leaked draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is shocking and painful. Here's how you can take action now.