Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama can't get on the same page about Iran -- and their divisions keep spilling into public view. Read more »
Evan Traylor, 17, was elected national president of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) on Feb. 19 at the organization's national board meeting in Utica, Miss. Read more »
The Israeli Council of Progressive (Reform) Rabbis recently drafted an emotional letter to US President Barack Obama pleading with him to release Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard. Read more »
UTJ Knesset member blasts Reform Movement reps presenting women's exclusion report for being 'anti-Semites'; finds himself removed from meeting over 'unacceptable behavior. Read more »
The yeshiva found itself supported by NBA insiders such as ex-Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, Texas elected officials, sports columnists, cheering girls with surnames of Gomez and Valdespino, rival schools and the Union for Reform Judaism. Read more »
Noah Fitzgerel, a NFTY teen, writes about the Invisible Children, a group that raises awareness about atrocities committed in Uganda. Fitzgerel first learned about the Invisible Children at NFTY Convention. Read more »
Longtime Sierra Club member Jan Freed of Los Angeles has for years been making efforts to conserve energy and reduce his environmental footprint. But the former high school science teacher had a larger vision: that his synagogue, Temple Sinai in Glendale, California, go solar. Read more »
"The Torah's words were familiar: 'V'asu li mikdash, v'shachanti b'tocham.' And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. This verse from Exodus 25:8 took on entirely new meaning as I sat, Shabbat morning, in a Reform service in Budapest, Hungary." Read more »
"The first thing we decided to do was learn about Judaism together. We signed up for a four month Union for Reform Judaism course. I joked that I could teach it, but once it started I was surprised at how little I already knew."
Read more »
Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman, also the first female rabbi to serve at Congregation Emanu-El and the first female spiritual leader of the Reform Union Temple in Brooklyn, where she now serves, will officially become the first female president of the New York Board of Rabbis. Read more »
Women of Reform Judaism national President Lynn Magid Lazar said she could not have picked a better time to lead the almost 100-year-old organization. Read more »
The question for Russia going forward is whether Vladimir Putin will crack down on protesters or whether the newly empowered opposition constituency will be able to wring some concessions from their old-new president. Read more »
Activists and academics came together over the weekend to talk about how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a colonizer-settler relationship. Read more »
Rabbi Rick Jacobs is on a trip across North America to meet with Reform Jews in their schools, sanctuaries, homes and social halls. He shares reflections on the first few visits. Read more »
There is nothing that could have prepared me for Purim in Israel. I quickly learned that the Purim celebrations in Israel are similar to those at home, but even grander. Read more »
The Sabbath, as a weekly source for renewing those unique divine gifts, has the potential to unlock the culture that marches us to the incessant beat of the drummer to turn every person into a superlative in every area. Read more »
This month, the URJ highlights Early Childhood Education resources and the Movement's efforts to help congregations reach today's families with young children. Read more »
The future of our Movement will depend on drawing young families and their children through the doors of our synagogues and into warm and welcoming congregational communities... Help ensure this future by contributing to the Fund for Engagement of Jewish Families of Young Children. Read more »
By engaging families at early stages in their
development and in their relationship with the synagogue
and reconnecting at each milestone along the way, we go beyond the usual series of programs to create children
and entire families who are invested, connected, and involved. Read more on Page 4 in Torah at the Center »
When Benny the Mitzvah Bear arrived in Short HIlls New Jersey, the children in our Kindergarten class were beyond excited. They had been expecting this special visitor and were well prepared for his arrival. Read more »
Deadly tornadoes recently swept through the Midwest and southern United States, leaving behind dozens of deaths, hundreds of injuries and structural damage to many homes and cities. URJ recommends contributions be made to these local partners: Nechama and the Jewish Community of Louisville. Read more »
Rabbi Edie Mencher discusses the need to balance teaching children independence and teaching them that there is no shame in asking for help when you need it. Read more »
Seder Songs features 22 fantastic tunes for the Passover seder including traditional Ashkenazic and Sephardic melodies, as well as new songs from today's hottest artists. The songbook includes sheet music and two CDs--one with complete songs and another in sing-along format. Get 20% off by using coupon code SederSongs at checkout.Read more »
In this fun-filled parody of The Book of Mormon, HUC-JIR Year-In-Israel students tell the story of Mordechai's fortitude and faith, as well as Esther's feminist courage, in rescuing the Jewish people from their dire fate.
Congregational rabbis and presidents and experts discuss innovative ways of creating a sacred partnership between rabbi and temple president grounded in respect, cooperation and purpose. Read more »
Registration is now open for the most popular URJ training opportunities:
Summer Learning Institute - August 8-12, 2012, in Cincinnati, Ohio: Choose from Had'rachah for lay lead services; Kallah, a Jewish text study program; or the Schindler Fellows for Interfaith Certification to work with interfaith members.
To unsubscribe from this e-mail, please send a note to optout@urj.org. Please know that the Union for Reform Judaism does not sell, market or distribute e-mail addresses (see the privacy policy at
urj.org/privacy).
Multimedia: 