Gun Worship Is Blasphemy
Above all, let us remember this: Sensible gun control is a religious issue.
The indiscriminate distribution of guns is an offense against God and humanity.
Suicide Prevention and Awareness Is Our Communal Responsibility
Elul is upon us. The sound of the shofar reminds us that this silent epidemic must be addressed. Its cries echo those left in the depths of sorrow, feeling alone, believing that those who love them most would be better off without them. Our fear of mental illness must be replaced with a resolve to educate ourselves and others.
Reform Movement Horrified by CT School Shooting; Reaffirms Call for Sensible Gun Control
Laser: The Talmud teaches us, "He who takes one life it is as though he has destroyed the universe." The loss of so many lives, including children, is not just devastating - it is unacceptable.
Meet the 2016-2017 Eisendrath Legislative Assistants
The beginning of the program year is always an exciting time at the RAC, as we begin a new cycle of tikkun olam work.
Reform Movement Horrified by CT School Shooting; Reaffirms Call for Sensible Gun Control
One Week After the Newtown Tragedy, Reform Jewish Leader Calls for United Religious Response
Saperstein: "We are here, one week after a national tragedy shattered our complacency and aroused the dormant conscience of our nation, to assure our elected officials that the American people are ready for leaders who will take on sensible gun control measures."
After the Newtown Tragedy, Religious Response Must be United
Another Shooting Renews Call To Action
Elegy for Newtown
What does the murder of 20 of our most precious and most vulnerable creations and six of their teachers who loved them tell us about ourselves? What does it tell us about our society that we cannot even protect our children?
The External War and the Internal War
This week's Torah portion is called Ki Teitzei — meaning literally, "When you go out." It is a reference to violence and war. "When you take the field [literally, "When you go out"] against your enemies, and the Eternal your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive ... " (Deuteronomy 21:10).
This sentence is but a tiny portion of more than a thousand verses in the Tanach that deal with war. Our Holy Scriptures came into history in a world in which fighting was a normal and often necessary activity. The ancient communities of the Middle East were governed according to tribal custom and law, and each ethnic community was in a combative relationship with its neighbor. There was no United Nations in those days, no European Union designed to administer diverse people according to collective rules and laws. Some tribal federations such as the twelve tribes of Israel pooled their resources, but that was for protection rather than for advancing peaceful relations with the rest of the world. The harsh social-economic and political reality of the ancient world often triggered violent and deadly conflicts between communities and peoples, and it is rare that we read a comment such as is found in Judges 3:11: " ... and the land had peace for forty years."