A Renewed Jewish Call to End Gun Violence – and What You Can Do
I will not mince words: the violence we witnessed this weekend is sickening. Join me in ensuring the period of “thoughts and prayers” without action is over – that instead, we prioritize real, lasting change to keep our communities safe.
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.
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.
Speaking out against 'the combustible combination of guns and hate'
Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein of Temple Israel-Memphis made these remarks at "Moms Demand Action", a vigil at The Church of the River in downtown Memphis on August 7, 2019.
In largest-ever lobby day, RAC-CA shows up for affordable housing and more
The more than 200 Reform Jews from across the Golden State who turned out for RAC California’s largest-ever lobby day at the State Capitol on Tuesday heard a common refrain from the elected officials in attendance: it was powerful to see the Jewish community turning out to support legislation tha
How We’ve Expanded the Brit Olam - and How You Can Get Involved
We;ve renewed and relaunched the Brit Olam with multiple entry points for communities to advance justice at the local, state, provincial, and federal levels, and to ground this work in Jewish text and tradition.
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."