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This Tishah B'Av, Act as if There is No God
Tishah B'Av is a day of mourning, commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. In recent years, it's also a day to mourn other tragedies that have darkened Jewish history - the Romans putting down the Bar Kochba revolt, mass murders of Jewish communities during the Crusades, expulsions from England, France, and Spain in the Middle Ages, and the Holocaust.
13 Jewish Stories about Moms for Mother’s Day
This Mother’s Day, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite stories about moms to share with you. We hope you’ll read them, enjoy them, relate to them, comment on them, and maybe share stories of your own mothers. Happy Mother’s Day!
Letter from Jerusalem: Trump, Netanyahu, and the Fight for Tolerance
As we Israelis wait on outcomes from today’s meeting between Netanyahu and Trump, we cannot let growing incitement and discrimination remain the new normal in Israel.
Ghetto: A Poem
the path that we now follow / is the Exodus our ancestors never chose / flooding with pain they died not to swallow / the past spills into the river and flows
Traliant Compliance Training Classes Now Available
As part of our ongoing efforts to create safe, respectful, and equitable workplaces, the URJ requires all staff to regularly participate in sexual harassment prevention training classes, provided by Traliant Compliance Training. Now, through the Reform Movement Marketplace, the URJ is making Traliant Compliance Training classes available to our affiliated congregations at a reduced cost.
How Esther and Vashti Can Help Us Challenge the Abuse of Women
The Purim story not only illustrates the role of women in our ancestral societies, but also highlights how women combated unfair gender expectations.
What a Trip to Israel Taught Two Faithful Progressives
Last week, we traveled together to Israel and the Palestinian territories with a remarkable group of Black civil rights leaders and Reform Jewish leaders, including those who sit at the intersection of being Black and Jewish. We imagined that there would likely be bumps along the way, and there were. However, our group knew one another from our ongoing social justice and racial equity work in the United States, so there was a reservoir of goodwill and commonality that served us well.
Reform Movement Deplores Rollback of Transgender Rights
The Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism condemn President Trump's decision, and resulting actions by the Offices of Civil Rights of the Justice and Education Departments, to overturn a federal rule making the nation's public schools welcoming and safe for transgender students.
Crying with My Baby: Opening Up about Post-Partum Depression
Somehow, I was able to switch my functioning self on and off, smiling and rabbinic at work but in howling despair at home. Finally, my OB/Gyn diagnosed me with postpartum depression.
Important Message on Ethics Accountability
In recent weeks, there have been several public reports of leaders in our Reform Jewish Movement who have engaged in abuse, misconduct, and sexual assault. The pain endured by the victims is heartbreaking. We hope the reports of these brave victims will empower others who have suffered in silence to come forward so that there can be both accountability and healing. We commit without hesitation that the Union for Reform Judaism (the URJ) will address all reports of misconduct appropriately and transparently, centering the survivors as we move forward.