Blog

It’s been a century and a half since the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, now the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), was founded in Cincinnati. Since 1873, the URJ has grown into the largest and most powerful force in North American Jewish life, serving nearly 850 congregations and carrying out work that inspires millions of people.

L’Dor V’Dor: The RAC-TX Campaign Against Maternal Mortality formally launched on March 20th, 2023. The problem we seek to address is clear: 1 in 4 women of childbearing age in Texas are uninsured. That’s 1.4 million women without insurance.

After a day of climate action lobbying with the Religious Action Center (RAC) on Capitol Hill, I found myself staring at a small patch of purple flowers planted between the sidewalk and the street. It was an adrenaline-fueled day, and the jarring contrast of these tall, weedy pops of color against the street traffic and brutalist architecture compelled me to pause, then cry.

Sixty-two years ago, the founders of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC) stood in the White House Garden and presented President John F. Kennedy with a historic Torah from the Isaac Mayer Wise Temple in Cincinnati, Ohio. This auspicious anniversary allows us to look back on milestones like this one with pride as we renew our inspiration.

At the recent 38th Congress in April 2023, the Reform Zionist movement brought 40 delegates under the umbrella ARZENU. Delegates came from around the world to Israel.

As part of our commitment to families, the URJ is pleased to offer our congregational partners an opportunity for parents and caregivers in your community to download Parenting with Purpose: Addressing Mental, Emotional, and Social Wellness.

The URJ is excited to announce our continued partnership with Shalom Learning to offer Shalom LinkED: Jewish Learning Online. Shalom LinkED provides URJ congregations access to an interactive and engaging online curriculum for grades 1-6 on Jewish values and Hebrew learning.

The URJ Pulse Survey and the newly expanded URJ Pulse+ Survey showed that participating congregations were experiencing similar trends. Having the ability to compare your data with that of other URJ congregations will paint a picture that will help you assess where you are and share a more detailed story with your congregants and donors.

We sat down with Rabbi Jonah Pesner to discuss his work in the Reform Movement, as a SCoRE member, and his experience as the first Jewish person appointed to SCoRE.