I Spent the Last Day of Summer Break Lobbying My State Senator
I chose to spend the last day of summer before seventh grade participating in the 2019 Sacramento Lobby Day with the California Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC-CA).
Meet the 2019-2020 Eisendrath Legislative Assistants
How I’m Tapping into My Jewish Values to Help Save Lives
When 17 people were killed in a shooting at our school, we were devastated by the deaths of our friends and teachers, and we wanted – no, needed – to take action. Here's how our Jewish values continue to guide and inform that work.
Why It's Imperative for Us To Vote
On February 13, 2018, I turned 18. For the first time in my life, I had the right to show up at the ballot box, to raise my voice, and to cast my vote.
Resilience of the Soul Breaks Ground in Adolescent Mental Health
SAN DIEGO, CA—To help families and congregations offer teens a safe place to mature into adulthood, the Union’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns has published Resilience of the Soul – Developing Emotional and Spiritual Resilience in Adolescents and Their Families, A Resourc
What I Learned at an "Urban Kibbutz"
In a nondescript building in the north of Israel, 150 people are striving to create societal transformation as part of a burgeoning “urban kibbutz” movement.
High Holiday Lessons from ‘Orange Is the New Black’
Recuperating from a broken ankle this summer, I had time to catch up on my binge streaming. One of my current favorites is the popular Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, which began streaming its seventh and final season on July 26.
How to Help Ensure Israel Offers Equality for All
https://www.nifcan.org/get-involved/naomi-chazan-fellowship/
Critiquing Israel was not something I ever felt was appropriate for me to do, but there had to be more to the story than I knew. I needed to learn the facts about Israel.
Statement of Rabbi David Saperstein Before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
STATEMENT OF
RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN
DIRECTOR AND COUNSEL,
RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM
BEFORE THE
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE
JUNE 7, 2007
A Time for Building Up
Each year on Sukkot, we read these famous words of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet): “A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven. …a time for tearing down and a time for building up.” (Kohelet 3:1,3). To speak of building during a holiday dedicated to erecting a temporary structure seems fitting. And yet, the order the ideas in this verse is at odds with our Sukkot experience. Surely, “a time for building up and a time for tearing down” would align more closely with sequence of the holiday. So why this order? And what exactly are “we tearing down and building up”?