Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (REDI) Workshops

Below is a list of the most current URJ REDI workshops. Please feel free to sign up for as many as you wish to attend! We are consistently adding more opportunities, so check back throughout the year. In addition, if a workshop date has passed, please look to see if we are running it again later on, as we often run our offerings multiple times throughout the year.

All workshops are free, and we encourage you to bring along a friend/member of your community/colleague with you so you can further discuss your learnings with someone afterwards. Workshops will not be recorded. If you have any questions, please contact Aliza Greenberg.

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an image of a woman standing in front of a room of people, you see the arm of the woman and a few blurred out people in the background

Microaggression & Upstander 2-part Workshop, Thursdays, November 14 & 21, 2024 @ 8:00-9:00 pm ET

This 2-session workshop will be interactive and focus on common microaggressions that community members from a wide range of marginalized backgrounds experience. During this workshop, we will learn how to identify a microaggression, common microaggressions in the Jewish community, and strategies to disrupt microaggressions caused by others, as well as those (inevitably) caused by ourselves. This workshop is open to all.

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the sun through the star of david

Beyond Welcoming: REDI Workshop for URJ Congregations Engaging in the Clergy Placement Process, Monday, November 18, 2024 @ 8:00-9:30 pm ET

This workshop will help congregations that are engaging in the clergy placement process to better understand how implicit bias unknowingly informs our organizational processes. Participants will also learn how to prioritize equitable recruitment and hiring processes resulting in a more diverse applicant pool and increased equity in our communities. This workshop is a partnership between the URJ, American Conference of Cantors (ACC), & the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). This training is specifically for members of ACC & CCAR clergy placement committees. In addition, please feel free to also attend if you are a hiring manager or on other hiring committees, as much of the information will still be relevant.

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Photo of a family talking in the living room at home

Prioritizing Mental Health While Managing Ideological Differences and Family Conflict, Tuesday, November 19 @ 8:30-9:30 pm ET

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.

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Photo collage of four different groups of people; a couple with two dogs taking a selfie, three older women drinking coffee, a family of 5 with three small kids, and two people hugging

Questioning Wellness & Diet Culture: A Sizeism & Anti-Fat Bias Workshop, Monday, December 2nd @ 12:00-1:30 pm ET

This workshop will take place on two separate dates/times. You are welcome to attend one or both sessions; however, please note that the same content will be delivered on both dates. 

Come learn alongside us as we dig into how to identify sizeism, weight stigma, and fatphobia, how to disrupt it effectively, the negative impact it has on us and the people around us, and how to begin to unlearn and question the many ways we were taught to think about health, wellness, and diet culture.

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Photo of a closeup of an old and rusty pendant in the shape of the star of david on the hand of a man

Prioritizing Mental Health While Navigating Antisemitism, Tuesday, December 3 @ 8:30-9:30 pm ET

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.

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Photo of a heart created from hands

Belonging: Building an Alliance of Trust as an Act of Allyship, Monday, December 9 @ 7:00-8:15 pm ET

Join Jordan Steffy (he/him) and Brian Levenson (he/him), founders of the Alliance for Trust in dialogue with Yolanda Savage-Narva (she/her) as they share their stories of allyship and intersectional identities, as well as the importance of coming together in solidarity during this critical time.

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Photo collage of four different groups of people; a couple with two dogs taking a selfie, three older women drinking coffee, a family of 5 with three small kids, and two people hugging

Questioning Wellness & Diet Culture: A Sizeism & Anti-Fat Bias Workshop, Wednesday, December 11th @ 8:00-9:30 pm ET

Come learn alongside us as we dig into how to identify sizeism, weight stigma, and fatphobia, how to disrupt it effectively, the negative impact it has on us and the people around us, and how to begin to unlearn and question the many ways we were taught to think about health, wellness, and diet culture.

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the sun through the star of david

Beyond Welcoming: REDI Workshop for URJ Congregations Engaging in the Clergy Placement Process, Wednesday, December 18, 2024 @ 8:00-9:30 pm ET

This workshop will help congregations that are engaging in the clergy placement process to better understand how implicit bias unknowingly informs our organizational processes. Participants will also learn how to prioritize equitable recruitment and hiring processes resulting in a more diverse applicant pool and increased equity in our communities. This workshop is a partnership between the URJ, American Conference of Cantors (ACC), & the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). This training is specifically for members of ACC & CCAR clergy placement committees. In addition, please feel free to also attend if you are a hiring manager or on other hiring committees, as much of the information will still be relevant.

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Photo of three people with their arms around each other smiling

Gratitude Thursday: POC Affinity Space, Thursday, December 19, 2024 @ 8:00-9:00 pm ET

"Gratitude Thursdays" are affinity gatherings modeled after an event called First Fridays (various public events that are planned in cities on the first Friday of the month). These spaces are designed to allow people who self-identify as Jews of Color and/or People of Color a space for relationship-building, reflection and rejuvenation. We will have guest speakers from time to time, discuss books/poetry, hangout and even dance a little. *Feel free to pop-in for just a little while or join for the whole time - either way, we'd love to see/meet you!

*We realize People of Color "POC"/Jews of Color "JOC" are not a monolith and that that term isn't always a useful word to describe oneself. We also realize not all POC/JOC identify as People of Color, and that not all POC use that term. That being said, the organizers of this call / Leaders of Color who are facilitating settled on this language (learn more about race-based affinity spaces). 

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Photo of a Woman crossing a bridge over a lake on a foggy winter day

Prioritizing Mental Health While Confronting Loneliness and Isolation, Tuesday, January 14 @ 8:30-9:30 pm ET

For the longest time, nobody in the Jewish community wanted to talk about mental health. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma — and quiet the silence — surrounding mental health and the issues that challenge us today. During this webinar, co-hosted by the URJ and the Blue Dove Foundation, you will hear personal stories of struggle and loss directly from those with lived experience which will allow attendees to foster new perspectives, ideas, and hope.

Additional workshops offered by the REDI Team (check back for upcoming dates throughout the year!):

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Understanding the Impact of Whiteness & White Dominant Culture (3-Part Series)

Please join us for this 3-session series, where we will deepen our commitment and our capacity to leverage our positions as white antiracists. This workshop is for White Jewish/Jewish adjacent people (those of us who are not Jewish but are partnered with a Jew, part of a Jewish family, or interested in Judaism) who are looking to build their anti-racism skills and gain an understanding of white dominant culture.

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an image of a chain of people cut out of paper

Gratitude Thursdays - a JOC/POC Affinity Space

"Gratitude Thursdays" are affinity gatherings modeled after an event called First Fridays (various public events that are planned in cities on the first Friday of the month).  These spaces are designed to allow people who self-identify as Jews of Color and/or People of Color a space for relationship-building, reflection and rejuvenation.  We will have guest speakers from time to time, discuss books/poetry, hangout and even dance a little. *Feel free to pop-in for just a little while or join for the whole time - either way, we'd love to see/meet you!

*We realize People of Color "POC"/Jews of Color "JOC" are not a monolith and that that term isn't always a useful word to describe oneself. We also realize not all POC/JOC identify as People of Color, and that not all POC use that term. That being said, the organizers of this call/ Leaders of Color who are facilitating settled on this language (learn more about race-based affinity spaces).

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an image of a diverse group of people of different genders, ages, and race, one in wheel chair, in a group holding their hands up in the air

REDI Working Group Series (4-Part Workshop)

Please join us for this 4-part series, where we will start (or continue) the essential work of incorporating REDI practices & principles into our communities. This series will provide you with the opportunity to learn how to create a REDI Working Group. We will focus on utilizing the URJ Congregational (or Camp) Assessment. This workshop is for leaders who are interested in leading/co-leading a REDI working group in their community.

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an image of a group of people standing holding pride flags above their heads

Reconsidering Pride

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds and this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews. This workshop will provide a brief history of Pride and share ways that you can be affirming to those of us who are members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through an intersectional lens, we will share information about gender, sexuality, and proper pronoun use, as well as some of the common experiences of those from various marginalized backgrounds. Additionally, we will learn some shared inclusive language as well as tools that will help us disrupt harmful behaviors, be a better ally, and create a community of belonging.

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Photo of paper cutouts of five people, one with a cane and one in a wheelchair, with the word "inclusion" underneath

Creating Cultures of Disability Inclusion Workshop

Join Emily Ladau (she/her), disability rights activist and author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally, for real talk on how to be a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people within your communities and congregations. We'll cover actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do), and how you can support a shift toward a culture of accessibility and inclusion.

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So You Think You Know How to Greet Workshop

As antisemitism surges, it’s more important than ever that we affirm Jews from all backgrounds; this includes LGBTQ+ identifying Jews, Jews of Color, interfaith families, people with disabilities, Jews with various body sizes, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and other often underrepresented groups. Effective greeters can create a congregational culture of inclusivity and belonging for Jews from all backgrounds who enter our doors, whether they’re members, prospective members, or visitors. Conversely, lack of a greeting, or the wrong kind of greeting, can unintentionally marginalize individuals and families and signal the exact opposite of what we are aiming to communicate. Come join us for this workshop, where we will engage in some simple education around creating an inclusive community from the very beginning.

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Photo of a man blowing the shofar

Elul - Standing Strong Through the Storm: A Spiritual Navigation Through Turbulent Waters

Elul is the 12th and final month in the Jewish calendar. It is the month that connects the past year with the new year and allows each of us to prepare ourselves for the year to come. In today’s session we will explore ways we can wrestle with the past to create a stronger foundation for the future. This will be an interactive session designed to provide you with tools and techniques to create a blueprint for the new year.

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Belonging: What it means to be a True Ally

Please join us for the 1st Talk for a Change JOC Allies conversation, which will feature a conversation between Professor Marc (Moshe) Dollinger (he/him), URJ Executive Board of Directors, Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University and Author of Black Power, Jewish Politics and Yolanda Savage-Narva (she/her), Vice President, Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Communities of Belonging for the URJ. Marc (Moshe) and Yolanda will discuss a variety of topics ranging from; the importance of DEI work during this very challenging and unsettling time in the history of the Jewish community; what true allyship really means; the complicated conversation about the Isarel and Hamas war on college campus; the rise in antisemitism and other timely and important topics. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

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Beyond Welcoming: Addressing Racism, Transphobia, Ableism & More in Communities (REDI 101)

Please join us for Beyond Welcoming: Addressing Racism, Homophobia, Ableism, & More. Start building stronger communities and transform the ways in which you can create meaningful Jewish experiences for people of all backgrounds. This workshop is open to all.