Related Blog Posts on Advocacy, Civic Engagement, Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Secular Holidays, Social Justice, and Tikkun Olam

gavel
Racial Justice

A Letter to My Charlottesville Congregation

Rabbi Tom Gutherz
 October 27, 2021
I write this as the Sines vs. Kessler trial commences. This long-awaited lawsuit seeks to hold the organizers of the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally accountable for their actions. Bone-chilling evidence will be presented in this trial that will make us realize how close we came to experiencing an even greater tragedy than the death of Heather Heyer and the wounding of so many others.
Yom Kippur

7 Jewish Endeavors to Make 5782 a Sweet New Year

Chris Harrison
 September 13, 2021
It’s a long-standing custom for Jews to wish one another a “sweet new year” on Rosh Hashanah; to hope that this coming year will be one filled with joy, fulfillment, and an abundance of blessings. However, Judaism isn’t a path focused simply on wishing for good things; if our goal is to make each year “sweeter” than the last, we must work to make it happen.
40 days of teshuvah - a story of bringing hewish spiritual practice into the fight for racial justice
Tishah B'Av

Why We Need a “Spiritual Co-conspiratorship” for Justice

Yolanda Savage-Narva
 July 12, 2021
During the 2020 uprising for Black lives, Yehudah was the lead organizer of the 40 Days of Teshuvah action that created a space of mourning the destruction of Black communities and crying out to the Heavens for spiritual co-conspiratorship in the fight for racial justice.
Shot from the ground up of a group of Black men and women holding hands as if in friendship or support
Spirituality

What is Juneteenth to a Black Jew?

Chris Harrison
 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.

Aron's family
Secular Holidays

My Father Was a Quiet Man

Aron Hirt-Manheimer
 June 17, 2021

My father was a quiet man. He was not one to engage in philosophical or political discussions. He did not tell people what to think or how to live.

Had Pop left me and my sister an ethical will, it would have emphasized love of mishpucha (family).

soldiers graves with American flags
Secular Holidays

Make Memorial Day Count in 2021

Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, Ph.D.
 May 11, 2021

On Shavuot, the holiday when we celebrate receiving the Torah marks the completion of counting the omer, we are reminded of the historic and nation-altering moment our ancestors experienced in the desert when God revealed God’s self.