Motivated and Ready to Work: Mechina Prepares NFTY’s Leaders for the Year Ahead
The past several months have been very profound; the Charleston Church shooting, the attack on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore on the heels of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the Pope’s encyclical on climate change, the ruling by the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage in all 50 states, just to name a few. Our children’s world is shaped by a mix of crisis and opportunity. After attending NFTY’s Mechina, the four-day leadership training event for regional leaders held at URJ Kutz Camp, I remain hopeful. I’m hopeful because I got to meet, study and pray with amazing teens who are ready and willing to wrestle with the important issues of our time and the Reform Movement has what to offer to help them with that important task.
Prayers after This Week's Racist Violence against Houses of Worship
On Wednesday night, nine people were killed during a shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Chu
Guns and Talmud
America is facing a choice about guns that will have to be settled in public opinion, in Congress, in state legislatures, and in the courts. The question is whether it is right to place further restrictions on the possession and use of firearms.
Summer 2015: The Season’s Looking Bright
Newtown - A Reflection
How do we help children cope with tragedies that occur in our communities and in the news headlines?
What does Judaism teach us about helping our children to cope with terrible news that even we, as adults, find challenging to understand or process?
LGBT Pride Month: Do What’s Right and Don’t Make a Fuss
I did not know that June is LGBT Pride Month. I'm not gay, which may or may not be a valid excuse. That being said, gay rights is one of the critical issues in these beginning years of the 21st century.
A Glimpse into Hunger: My Week on Food Stamps
Most of us go an entire lifetime never feeling real hunger. Rather, we learn about the catastrophic impact hunger has on the human body and spirit, and understand intellectually that the present and future are bleak for millions who lack enough to eat.