Blog

This week, we read my favorite portion in Genesis, Parashat Vayishlach (“he sent”). Among the other stories in Vayishlach, we read about the brothers Jacob and Esau’s first meeting since Jacob stole his brother’s birthright and fled in Parashat Toldot. Jacob sends messengers to Esau and discovers that Esau is coming, along with four hundred men, to meet him. Jacob is scared that Esau will come to kill him and prepares gifts to dull his anger. Yet when Esau sees Jacob, he runs to embrace him, and they are overcome with emotion (Genesis 32:3-33:12). Jacob’s fear of his brother always stuck with me, as we see Jacob, who is often so creative and cunning, in a situation where he is helpless. Esau, always the stronger of the two, knows where Jacob is, and Esau has a much bigger contingent traveling with him. Jacob cannot prevent his brother from doing what he wants, so Jacob can only hope that Esau’s anger has subsided since his birthright was stolen.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Young v. United Parcel Service, a pregnancy discrimination case that has significant implications for working women across the country. Supporters of the plaintiff, Peggy Young, gathered before the Court to protest pregnancy discrimination, sharing stories to highlight that the discrimination Young faced is not unique but rather a widespread injustice for working women. Speakers shared stories of cashiers fired for requesting a stool to alleviate the fatigue of standing and of women who stocked shelves fired for carrying a water bottle to stay hydrated on duty. They shared stories of their own and stories from their mothers’ generation and before, wondering aloud “why we’re here,” 36 years after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978—the law in question in Young—was created to require reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers.

This week, talks have begun between global leaders and civil society in Lima, Peru on what an international commitment to mitigating the harmful effects of climate disruption and reducing our worldwide greenhouse gas emission footprint could look like. In the past month, President Obama has made several historical moves as a global leader on climate change.

According to a state audit, murder cases in Nevada in which prosecutors seek the death penalty can cost nearly twice as much as those that seek a lesser punishment. The Nevada Legislature just released a 105 page audit focusing on the cost of death penalty and non-death penalty murder cases in two counties between 2000-2012. The audit was conducted as part of the Legislature’s oversight responsibility for public programs in order to improve state government. The audit took 18 months to conduct and looked at the price of trials, appeals and jail time for 28 Nevada cases.

Dear Friends, Today is #GratitudeWednesday.  Ok.  Maybe I just made that up.  But what else should I call the day that comes after #GivingTuesday? There is so much to be grateful for. When our friends at the 92nd Street Y invited the RAC to partner with them on #GivingTuesday, we had little idea about what we were getting ourselves into. Nonetheless, we jumped in feet first.  And I am so glad that we did. For all of us at the RAC, this #GivingTuesday was so much more than a simple fundraising effort.  It provided an opportunity to good and to encourage others to do the same.

Dear Jacob, It was good seeing you in Washington on Tuesday. Thank you for your activism. We’ll work together, Sherrod I received this handwritten letter from my Senator, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, nearly six years ago. He wrote it after I travelled with my confirmation class to Washington, DC in order to participate in the RAC’s L’taken Social Justice Seminar. To this day, I keep that letter framed in my room to remind me of the pivotal experience I had that snowy weekend in winter 2009.

By Rabbi Jack Luxemburg This morning, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Young v. United Parcel Service, a pregnancy discrimination case that has far reaching implications for working women. These remarks were delivered at a rally before the Supreme Court in support of plaintiff Peggy Young and pregnant workers like her.

As we get ready for the new Congress, it’s time to start thinking about how to continue to fund the important programs that keep our government thriving and operating. From fiscal year (FY2010) to FY2014, 19 out of 131 programs that are especially helpful to low-income and vulnerable people have seen decreases after adjusting for inflation. We also need to ensure that the next budget includes extensions related to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  This federal credit applies to low and moderate income workers by encouraging work, offsetting federal income and payroll taxes, and ultimately increasing family income. These programs are effective – in 2012, the EITC lifted 6.5 million people, including 3.2 million children, out of poverty.

In this age of intersecting social justice imperatives -- when advocates are looking for important overlaps between traditionally defined policy areas -- it's important to remember one key issue that has serious repercussions for both our public school system and the separation of church and state: vouchers. Vouchers (and some private school tax credits), known to some as "school choice" efforts, essentially take money away from public schools and funnel it towards private, often parochial schools. The public schools system epitomizes the American values of opportunity and equality, and the Jewish people have historically been major supporters of our public school system in keeping with the values laid out by Maimonides who wrote that "any city that does not have a school in it shall be cut off [all contact] until they find a teacher for the children" (Hilchot Talmud Torah 2:1).