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February 18, 2020 | 23 Shevat, 5780
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By Chris Harrison, 2/13/2020
For so many North American Jews, Jewish summer camp is a pivotal and defining experience. Like every other aspect of Jewish life, however, we must ensure camp is as inclusive as possible for everyone who wants to be a part of it, including campers with physical disabilities and mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) needs.
Thanks to the Foundation for Jewish Camp, seven of our URJ camps have received grants to make their grounds and programming as accessible to as many campers and visitors as...
Read More By Sheri Denkensohn-Trott, 2/13/2020
Last summer marked the 29th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This monumental legislation effects the civil rights of individuals with disabilities and was groundbreaking when it was passed in 1990. Previous legislation, the Rehabilitation Act of 1978, required only the programs and activities of public institutions to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
The ADA broadened coverage to include accessibility related to employment, public accommodations, and later, with an addition to the Rehabilitation Act, websites and other technology.
The...
Read More By Rabbi Esther Lederman and Amy Asin, 2/12/2020
Current societal and religious trends offer Reform congregations in North America an urgent and unprecedented opportunity to reimagine their way into the future.
First, let’s review some key data: The Jewish community is dramatically more diverse than we once realized it was: One in every seven to eight Jews is a person of color; we have a sizeable LGBTQIA+ population; and the number of Jewish-adjacent individuals in our communities is growing. At the same time, religious...
Read More By Becky Oliver, 2/12/2020
This year has marked several transitions for Temple Beth Avodah in Newton, MA. Our suburban, 430-household congregation had a major building and renovation project and a number of staff transitions. We looked to the Union for Reform Judaism for help recalibrating and to gain an understanding of our areas of strength and opportunities for growth.
The URJ Congregational Benchmarking and Assessment Project did just that. Consisting of three evaluative tools –...
Read More By Rabbi Norman Patz, 2/10/2020
Puerto Rico has once again been struck by a natural disaster – a 6.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the island in the early morning on January 7.
More than 3,000 seismic events have since been recorded, and 30 earthquakes of varying strength have caused significant physical and emotional damage in parts of the island, exacerbating the still-unrepaired devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.
At Temple Beth Shalom, though the neighborhood still has continuing sporadic power outages, our new solar panels have worked as expected. San Juan is...
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Inside Leadership, the blog at URJ.org, is a source for Reform Jewish leaders to get the latest news and though-provoking articles about Jewish communal life.
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