Jews traditionally study Torah on Shavuot (David Diskin)

Five steps to studying and learning
from the Torah

By Dasee Berkowitz

If we study the Torah the way a child plays with a toy -- repeatedly and open to the possibility of discovering something remarkable -- then perhaps we can discover something remarkable. Read more »

CELEBRATE SHAVUOT!

May 26-27: Shavuot is the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

• All Night Study (Tikkun Leil Shavuot)
• Activities for Teens
• Activities for Toddlers
• Social Action Guide
• Pinterest Shavuot Board
• Ten Minutes of Torah
  Sign up to have weekly Torah study delivered straight to your email.
• Learning is Hot This Summer!
  August 8-12, Cincinnati, OH: Enjoy one of two vibrant, community-building learning opportunities at the URJ Summer Learning Institute. Kallah participants study intensely with rabbis, cantors, and Jewish professionals; Schindler Fellows learn best practices to create a welcoming and supportive environment for interfaith couples and families. 

Discussions on RJ Blog

• Tweet #Torah to the Top!
• Shavuot, Sinai and Ruth: A Renewal of Reform Jewish Outreach
• Milkshakes at Mt. Sinai
• RAC Blog: Shavuot: A Reminder of Hunger in America
• URJ Eisner Camp: Next Time You Have a Chance, Hug a Torah
• URJ Camp Newman: A Shavuot Harvest

In the News

• Putting the Ten Commandments on Display (JTA)
• Can it Be That Only Men Were at Sinai? (eJewishPhilanthropy)
• Why I Love Jews-by-Choice (Jewish Journal)
• Jews-by-Choice and Shavuot (Jewish Exponent)
• Montclair Joint Shavuot Sleep-Over and Study Session (North Jersey Record)
• Shavuot: The Story of Now (Petosky News)

Special Shavuot Offer from
URJ Books and Music

Get 10% off the Commentaries on the Torah including the traditional, women's, travel or Russian versions. The Book of Ruth is also included in this special offer. Use code Shavuot at URJ Books and Music.

See also: From WUPJ: Celebrating Shavuot with the newly published Plaut Torah Commentary in Russian

ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY RESOURCES

Shabbat: D'var Torah, Bmidbar:
The Evolving Law of the Firstborn

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

VIDEO: Bullying Ends With Us

Teen leaders of the world's largest Jewish youth movements, including NFTY, come together to put an end to bullying.

Discussions on RJ Blog

Reform Day School Externship:
The Business of Building JDS Advocates

This capacity-building project for the movement will impact not only Reform day schools, but every day school that seeks to welcome Reform affiliated families.

Jewish Rituals and Camp:
10 Years of Cornerstone Fellows

Teaching counselors how to infuse Jewish ritual into camp activities.

The Jew I Want to Be

High school junior Susan Klau talks about the influence of camps and NFTY on informing her Jewish identity.

It's All About Relationships

URJ Youth Specialist Craig Rosen discusses the importance of relationships and mentoring in youth engagement.

Spaces are still available for campers and staff at URJ Camp and Israel programs, including NFTY Mitzvah Corps, the Reform Jewish service learning program for teens!

40 Years of Women on the Bimah

Throughout May, the URJ is paying homage to the role of women in the rabbinate in advance of the 40th anniversary of the ordination of Rabbi Sally Priesand.

Discussions on RJ Blog

Change is Inevitable; Growth is Optional: Cantor Susan Caro discusses the expanding role of women cantors.

A Jewish Mother's Lasting Influence Rabbi Larry Karol talks and sings about the importance of women in the Reform Movement.

Women in the Rabbinate:
Equal Leaders in our Community
Rabbi Mary Zamore contends that discrimination against women rabbis has "diminished, but not dissipated."

Dreams Can Come True
Cantor Deborah Katchko Gray describes the Women Cantors’ Network serves "as a beacon of light and hope, song and story, love, and laughter for us all."

Women of Reform Judaism: Shaping the Culture of URJ Kutz Camp and NFTY

In the News

Women questioned for wearing prayer shawls at Western Wall (JTA)

Pioneering women to gather for historic forum (NJ Jewish News)

UPCOMING EVENTS
& OPPORTUNITIES

Yoga Shalom June 5 12:30 - 1:30 Take a video yoga class with URJ and Cantor Lisa Levine

Leadership Training:

• June 16: Small Congregations Kallah in Harrisburg, PA
• July 22-26 Mifgash Musicale A Musical Happening! in Cincinnati, OH
• Aug. 8-12: Summer Learning Institute in Cincinnati, OH
• Aug. 8-12: Conference of Jewish Communities of Latin America in Buenos Aires
• Aug. 26-28: Going Beyond Memory:  A Conference on Synagogue Archiving in Cincinnati, OH

REFORM MOVEMENT AND
JEWISH WORLD NEWS

Summer Issue of
Reform Judaism Magazine
The God Survey
Does God exist? What does God do or not do? Last Yom Kippur Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro sent a survey to his congregants at Sinai Temple, Springfield, Massachusetts to find out what they believe. Read the surprising results.

Take the Survey on God
What do you believe about God? How do your beliefs compare with others in the Reform Movement? Be counted.

Synagogue: Strengthening Community with Social Media
Five ways to use social media to engage members and potential members. Sign up for Social Media Bootcamp!

Twenty Reform Congregations Receive URJ "Incubator Grant" for New Ways to Engage Members

In the News

The Jewish State Needs to be More Jewish by Rabbi Eric Yoffie

Is the Israeli Rabbinate reconciling itself to non-Orthodox Judaism? (JTA)

Brooklyn Congregation Beth Elohim wins $250,000 preservation grant (JTA)

Allergic to Judaism? How to Reach Outside the Walls (Jewish Week)

Union for Progressive Judaism in Melbourne Launches Religious Action and Advocacy Centre (J-Wire)

Panelists stress themes of unity, diversity at Philadelphia conference (Cleveland Jewish News)

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