Seven years ago, just as I began my tenure as president of the Union for Reform Judaism, I stood before our Movement at the Biennial and shared the following:
“We are poised at one of the most critical and dramatic crossroads in all of Jewish history.
Rabbi Rachel Cowan, who died last week, was a spiritual master, a practitioner and teacher of contemplative Judaism, and my friend. I cannot imagine contemporary Jewish life without her.
As we continue this journey together in 2018, we look forward to your steadfast engagement, your activism, and your support.
This movement’s task, in this moment, is to nurture the natural waterways that connect us. To keep our congregations the strong sources of life they have always been and will always be.
Last week, the URJ had the privilege of hosting Dr. Avraham Neguise, Knesset member and chair of the Knesset Committee on Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs.
“If I survived, it must be for some reason.” Elie Wiesel spoke those words in a New York Times interview in 1981. Throughout his life, Wiesel lived with purpose and lent meaning to his survival. As a witness to the most extreme atrocities and in his lifetime as an activist, he changed the way we think about human rights and the way we understand our responsibility to each other.
Arie Gluck , the longtime director of URJ Camp Harlam in Kunkletown, PA, died this past week at the age 86.
Should we avoid prickly subjects at the seder? Steer clear of talk about candidates, platforms, policies and anything potentially objectionable for the sake of a happy holiday?
ReformJudaism.org, the flagship website of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) reaching more than two million visitors annually, has launched a new weekly podcast entitled On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah.
Featuring URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the engaging and entertaining podcast is available now for download and subscription on iTunes, RSS feed, and other platforms.
To access the podcast, visit Reformjudaism.org/podcasts
With your generosity, the URJ can continue to reimagine Jewish life for our growing community. Will you join us in this moment of possibility and help us swing the gates wide open?