Reform Movement Welcomes House Passage of Inclusive VAWA; Looks Forward to Swift Enactment
Weinstein: "Although it has taken far too long to reach this day, we commend both chambers in Congress for passing a reauthorization bill that includes better training for law enforcement, victim service providers and personnel; improved protections for women in t
Reform Movement Leader Condemns Calls for Sharon's Assassination
Yoffie: We refuse to remain silent, again, when rabbis pervert Jewish law to legitimize assassinations against Israel's democratically elected leader.
Galilee Diary: The Neighbors
Whoever saves one life in Israel [i.e., of a Jew] is as if he had saved an entire world.
– Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5
Whoever saves one life is as if he had saved an entire world.
Vassar College Powerfully Responds to the Westboro Baptist Church
Ki Teitzei: When You Go Out as a Warrior
Parashat Ki Teitzei includes a rich and varied collection of directives that serve as a partial blueprint for behaviors and norms to create the emerging covenantal culture. As Professor Adele Berlin notes, “Issues pertaining to women are prominent in this parashah. . . .
Chancer, a Service Dog Who Offers Healing Through Fur-Covered Spirituality
In 1999, my husband and I created a family when we adopted two unrelated babies, just 16 months old, from Russia. Like all parents, we had dreams for our son, Iyal, and daughter, Morasha, to grow up happy and healthy. The future held such promise!
How Tikkun Olam and Pikuah Nefesh Will Help Me Prepare: A #BlogElul Post
Last week I had lunch with a rabbi friend who told me he’s in the midst of preparing four different sermons for the upcoming High Holidays.
Syrian Refugees
With more than 500,000 people displaced to neighboring countries by the violent civil war in Syria, the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR) has opened a fund to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees.
Galilee Diary: Purim
Strange Fruit
After seeing the infamous 1930 photograph by Lawrence Beitler, which depicts the mob lynching of two young black men, a Jewish high school teacher named Abel Meeropol wrote a haunting poem titled "Strange Fruit." The poem was first published in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union magaz