What's New
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The URJ Reflection Project: Go Deeper on “The Spiritual”
August 15, 2021
As part of the URJ Reflection Project, a new set of offerings and experiences for the High Holidays in a time of social distance, we’ve also developed three short essays that allow you to go deeper into the essence of Jewish wisdom that grounds these rituals.
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What is Juneteenth to a Black Jew?
June 18, 2021
While Juneteenth marks an incredibly important step in Black American rights, it was just that – one step. Juneteenth celebrated slavery becoming illegal, but it did not do away with racism; not even close. And yet, the history and spirit of Juneteenth make me hopeful.
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My Big Question: God, The Milky Way, Miracles, and More
April 7, 2021
The enormous question for me, then, has always been: Is God watching? When I began to understand computers, I realized that, yes, one thing could follow billions of people if those people were nothing more than data points on a revolving planet with polar icecaps.
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3 Steps to Hitbodedut: Talking to God on Your Own Terms
Although we associate prayer with liturgy that our rabbis and sages developed over the centuries, the act of unscripted prayer is equally important and authentic to the Jewish experience.
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This Daily Jewish Practice Is Changing My Life for the Better
Just like that, I’d committed to reading a page of Talmud every day and formed a group of more than 1,000 women, which has become one of the kindest, most welcoming and respectful places I’ve experienced on the internet.
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3 Jewish Reminders When the World Seems Overwhelming
Rather than relying on God to repair the world, Judaism compels us to take action and do it ourselves – which means that there can be a real sense of empowerment that comes with living a Jewish life.
What is Kabbalah?
Kabbalah (also spelled Kabalah, Cabala, Qabala)—sometimes translated as “mysticism” or “occult knowledge—is a part of Jewish tradition that deals with the essence of God. Whether it entails a sacred text, an experience, or the way things work, Kabbalists believe that God moves in mysterious ways. However, Kabbalists also believe that true knowledge and understanding of that inner, mysterious process is obtainable, and through that knowledge, the greatest intimacy with God can be attained.
Musar
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Practice, Practice, Practice
This Musar practice involves both external and internal reflection and action. To develop desirable traits in ourselves, we must work toward improving the lives of others--as one great Musar teacher puts it, we must "bear the burden of the other."
Reform Jews in congregations across the continent are now embracing a Jewish spiritual practice formulated in 19th-century Lithuania.