Jewish Journeys
Kids ask questions. A lot of questions. My 1-year-old daughter hasn’t entered the inquisitive phase yet, but she will. I can already see it in her impish grin, her mischievous giggle, and the way she instinctively crawls toward things in the house that she’s not supposed to crawl toward. This kid is a challenger, a questioner, and a seeker of truth. My wife and I have made a commitment to raising her in the Reform Jewish tradition and having her attend preschool at Shaaray Tefila, become a bat mitzvah, and generally be immersed in a world of Jewish learning and Jewish experiences. As she... Read More
When I was a college freshman, I began embracing Judaism to reconnect to my Jewish ancestry. Although I was raised as a Christian, I come from a multi-ethnic background, which includes German-Jewish heritage. I found great joy in learning about Jewish culture, enjoying food and song over Kabbalat Shabbat, and bonding with my peers at Hillel. But despite my love of Judaism’s cultural and communal aspects, I couldn’t bring myself to fully acknowledge God. I couldn’t get over the seemingly paradoxical nature of a loving Creator in such an imperfect world, and instead of examining why I felt... Read More
Rabbi Paul J. Kipnes, the spiritual leader of Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, CA, is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). He is a blogger and a commentator for Ten Minutes of Torah. With his wife, Michelle November, he co-authored Jewish Spiritual Parenting: Wisdom, Activities and Prayers for Raising Children with Spiritual Balance and Emotional Wholeness (Jewish Lights, 2015). We caught up with Rabbi Kipnes as he was preparing for the High Holidays. ReformJudaism.org: Tell us about your growing up Jewish... Read More
Generations of Americans are familiar with a black-and-white photograph taken in a long-ago time, a sepia-toned picture of several American prophets: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. walking arm and arm, beside a Torah, on the blood-stained road from Selma to Montgomery, as well Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath. On that day shortly after Bloody Sunday, when marchers were beaten nearly to death, Heschel, as scholar and rabbi, joined Dr. King — representing not only Judaism’s spiritual authority but its moral resistance at the height of the civil rights... Read More
Our realities are, to a degree, relative. On one hand, this is a great thing: Our varying perceptions of the world around us allow us to bring our unique viewpoints to our jobs, our communities, and our synagogues, allowing our collaborative projects to be grounded in diversity. On the other hand, we can become biased by our own perceptions and disregard those of others. Whether it’s due to differing life experiences, our areas of privilege, or simply differences of opinion, our perceptions can sometimes prevent us from fully acknowledging the complex identities of others within our... Read More
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