Why "UN COP 21 Paris" Matters for Reform Jews and the World
World leaders, environmentalists, faith leaders and activists will soon gather in Paris, a city so recently plagued with violence and terrorism, to create a framework to reduce the grave dangers of escalating clim
How We Commemorated Kristallnacht in the Western Galilee
In the Western Galilee where I live in northern Israel, the population is diverse – about half is Jewish with the other half a combination of Muslim, Christian, and Druze. Although many of us live in different cities and villages according to faith or culture, some of our communities are mixed, so we share many of the same entertainment venues, businesses, and institutions. We live and work together and must afford one another respect and understanding.
Why I Am a Zionist for Black Lives Matter
As an Israeli citizen and white citizen of the United States, I believe that Black Lives Matter – and that no American of good conscience can simply opt out of engaging with the pervasive issue of racism in America. If we will it, it is no dream.
Sheltering in Place: Tents and Torah
My boys are making forts using all the pillows in the house. They strong-armed my husband into setting up our camping tent outside, and they sit there as the day grows hot. They are slinging blankets over couches, pulling mattresses off the frames: they are sheltering in place...
Promised Land Delayed: Meet the Jewish Suffragist Who Changed History
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States this year, Rabbi Carole Balin, Ph.D., is sharing eight chapters of an "alternative Book of Numbers” designed to tell the stories of Jewish women who combined civic engagement with Jewish values in a 40-year
The Future Looks Hopeful: Five Insights on Next Steps for Start-Up Synagogues
Jewish pundits love to predict the eventual demise of the synagogue, decrying its dearth of deep ideas, shortage of spiritual inspiration, and absence of meaning.
Holding One Another On Our Shoulders
This passage is excerpted from a d’var Torah shared at the URJ Biennial convention's Shacharit service focused on tikkun olam, repair of the world.
The poet Naomi Shihab Nye tells this story:
In Place of God? In God’s Place?
After a natural calamity or terrorist attack an understandable question presents itself: Where is God in all this?
Resolution Urging the Israeli Government Not to Carry Out Unilateral West Bank Annexation
As a proud Zionist movement, we hold the value of Ahavat Yisrael – love for the people, the Land, and the State of Israel – as core to who we are as Jews. Our abiding commitment to the security of Israel, to the special relationship between Israel and both the U.S. and Canada, to the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel, and to the importance of Jewish values in shaping our policies and priorities lead us to express our alarm at the possible unilateral annexation by Israel of areas of the West Bank.