Religious Education
These days, when just about everyone in the political arena writes a book as a prelude to a run for office, I find it refreshing that former First Lady Michelle Obama would create an account of her experiences simply for her readers’ enlightenment. Becoming, the highly popular autobiography of an equally popular public figure, is truly an engaging read, revealing the honest, down-to-earth character of the woman who became the United States’ first black First Lady. Mrs. Obama uses the book to reflect on the life lessons she’s learned along the way toward her tenure in holding that role. As... Read More
Shortly after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), reintroduced the Never Again Education Act, an important piece of legislation designed to improve Holocaust education and combat anti-Semitism. This bill could not come at a more opportune moment, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) is proud to once again endorse this historic bill. The Never Again Education Act would establish a fund through the U.S. Department of Education to provide grants to schools to further Holocaust education through new... Read More
The public address system in the temple crackled before the synagogue’s executive director announced we were about to engage in a lockdown drill. The disembodied voice emphasized the word “drill.” In the small library where minutes earlier I’d met a new bar mitzvah student, I struggled to bolt the room’s two doors. I lowered the blinds to cover a window that overlooks a courtyard in which people often meditate. My student appeared calm and unfazed as I sat down at the table next to him. The lights were supposed to be turned off. We were supposed to find shelter under the table. We were... Read More
The death toll and damage continue to rise in California in the wildfires ravaging the state. More than 6,400 homes have been damaged and at least 31 people have been killed, according to CNN. Like other Californians, Jewish residents are evacuating their homes and dealing with the devastating fallout of the fires. Synagogues, camps and a day school have all sustained damage. Here are two remarkable stories of people coming together as a result of the fires, including a rabbi who ran into a synagogue to save its four Torah scrolls and a synagogue that helped ensure a family from an... Read More
Riding home from school in the car the other day, my youngest daughter excitedly exclaimed, “Mom! We counted today that there are only seven weeks of school left. If there are five days each school week, and seven times five equals 35, that means there are only 35 days left of school!” Every year, when my kids have this realization, it stops me in my tracks and I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Chaos is coming, I think, as the countdown to the end of school begins. The ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve is another big countdown – and likely the most well-known one... Read More
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