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Divine Violence and Abolition in Egypt
In Parshat Va-eira, we watch as God's message of freedom unfolds across Egypt and is ignored, scorned by Israelites and Egyptians alike. We watch as moral suasion, peaceful resistance, and God's word fail to bring about liberation and an end to oppression. In the wake of this failure, God visits 10 plagues on Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the first 7 of which appear in this week's portion.
Reflections on the 1-year Anniversary of the Atlanta Shootings
Around this time last year, I was preparing for my legislative assistant interview with the RAC when tragedy unfolded in Georgia. A racist and misogynist gunman, entered two Atlanta-area massage businesses and murdered eight people, including six Asian women spa workers.
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!
"Unite the Right" Organizers Lose Big in Court
Amy Spitalnick is the executive director of Integrity First for America (IFA), the civil rights nonprofit behind Sines v. Kessler - the successful federal lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the violent "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. I sat down with Amy, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, to get her views on the significance of this lawsuit.
Afterword
New from CCAR Press, The Social Justice Torah Commentary demonstrates that the Torah is a guide to addressing the most urgent challenges of our time. This excerpt is from Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center and Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism.
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
Shabbat Message: A Galvanizing Visit to Israel That Fills Me With Encouragement
In meetings with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli, and Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid, we discussed the crisis in Ukraine, the future of the Kotel, ensuring more funding and rights for non-Orthodox Jews, combatting racism, and stopping extremist violence against Palestinians, in addition to other pressing issues.
Working in Solidarity Against Anti-Asian Hate
In the past two years, the simultaneous spike in anti-Asian and anti-Semitic violence has brought my identity as an Asian American Jewish woman into sharp focus. In fact, here in New York City, I have keenly felt the sharp rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and against Jews.
Reform Jewish Movement Commends Biden Administration’s Plans to End Title 42
We welcome the Biden administration’s plans to end the inhumane, illegal Title 42 asylum policy by May 23, 2022.
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.