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I had heard of the Rohingya people, but admittedly knew little about the depths of their suffering and the atrocities they were enduring.
Learn how individuals and communities can celebrate people who are their most authentic, truest selves, even if we have no idea when they will come out to us.
A piece of my soul died when we decided that my son Ben’s autism would necessitate a reexamination of a conventional bar mitzvah service. Having guided so many young people through their studies...
Throughout my years at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA, I have developed relationships with a variety of people in our temple community. When I was in fourth grade, I joined the temple youth...
Last fall, my granddaughter Ariella became a bat mitzvah in California, and made us very proud and happy.
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My family loves winter. Just about every weekend between New Year’s and the end of February, you will find us practicing with the Montgomery County Maryland Special Olympics downhill ski team. My...
Although my 13th birthday was in August of 1974, I became bat mitzvah in June of that year because my parents didn’t want me to worry about studying while at Camp Ramah in the Poconos over the...
The events of my son’s bar mitzvah day don't begin to tell the story of how Max arrived at that moment. Nor do they tell the story of the special connection that he, and we, have developed with the...
Inspired by Stan, our congregation's 83-year-old bar mitzvah boy, I’m thinking that I may not wait until I turn 83 to recreate some part of my entry into adulthood, according to Jewish tradition,...
Professionally and personally, I have witnessed the beauty in how the “different” can bring together families, their friends and their Jewish communities. In particular, I was privileged to be part...
Whatever our age, we must never stop learning; the quest for lifelong learning is vital. We can use the knowledge to better ourselves and to understand the world to decide how we must act.
No LGBTQ Jew who is embroiled in moments of loss asks if there is a need for explicitly Jewish LGBTQ spaces. We simply seek out their literal or figurative existence in our lives.
Our congregation in McAllen, TX, is the go-to congregation for donations in support of immigrant families; the response from the Reform Jewish community has been amazing.
The need for tikkun olam has never been more urgent. I see it as my duty to instill these ideals in my daughter, and I find myself hungry for a Jewish community in which we can share our...
During my recent sabbatical, my husband and I traveled to France, where we explored all facets of Progressive Jewish life in the City of Lights.
I have always loved the High Holidays. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are amongst my favorite times of the year, ritually and emotionally. These holidays annually bring to mind wonderful memories...
When I was growing up, Jewish music was the sole purview of men. I had never seen a woman sing on the bimah (pulpit) - but then I made history.
While Jews have not always been afforded the right to vote, voting encompasses several Jewish values.
A former synagogue member wondered, “How would being a member make my life better or different?” Even as a congregational rabbi, I admit that I struggled to answer her question.
This is liberal Judaism on the edge: Flinging doors open wide to those who would otherwise be left behind. The community is a voice of Judaism that is open to all who seek it.
I wore a button-down, tea-length peach dress with shoulder pads. My mother convinced me that it looked elegant, and that the matching peach tights really completed my look. Yes, this is admittedly...
On Simchat Torah, I watch as the Torah scroll is carefully unfurled onto a series of long connected tables – the text so much more than designs scattered on parchment.
Rabbi Emily Losben-Ostrov was new to her congregation in Wilmington, NC, when she faced an unprecedented challenge: a Category 4 hurricane during the Days of Awe.
In building the ramp, we felt we had been true to the Talmudic maxim Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh Bazeh, “All Jews are responsible for one another."
There’s nothing unique about my grief following the murders in Pittsburgh except that the fear imbedded in it is new to me.
Even though the Jewish people are known as the “People of the Book,” sometimes our sacred stories can seem virtually inaccessible to us.
Just opening your door is not a mitzvah; it’s a start. What happens after the welcome is what really matters. It’s the critical difference between being tolerated and being valued – that...
Thanks to social media and electronic devices you can check in on Foursquare and read the Mishkan T'filah prayer book on a handheld device at the same time. Yet for all the modern...
Jewish wisdom says every human being is deserving of dignity and respect – and that certainly holds true whether or not they have a college degree.
The early American synagogue occasionally reflected its frontier environment. Fist fights, defending the honor of women congregants, and even duels were not unheard of. Perhaps the best known of...
For more than 50 years, High Holiday sermons were consequential both for the rabbi and the congregation. Why has the Reform preaching tradition waned?
Purim festivities don't square with what I know about the harmful side of alcohol: It destroys people’s lives. What message are we sending our children?
With so many questions to sift through, it’s no wonder many college students struggle to meaningfully connect with Jewish life on campus – but I believe this year is an incredibly exciting time to...
In the midst of the water crisis here in Flint, MI, Shapiro’s Delicatessen of Indianapolis – purveyors of exceptional Jewish foods since 1905 – traveled 300 miles to deliver a “We stand with you”...
Until a few months ago, I felt safe whenever I stepped into our temple. But then the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Congregation occurred, and I was asked to guard our temple’s...
Rosh HaShanah, the new Jewish year arrives in two months... and they’re two months that will pass quickly. It is time to get ready.
I cannot possibly imagine that I will think often and fondly of this day in Missoula: the day that, borrowing on Rabbi Laurie's strength and wisdom, I carried the Torah and tried to make the world...
Those of us who use wheelchairs have accepted the idea that we need to find another way to do this, as we are simply unable to assume a standing position. My question, however, is for everyone else.
Today's North American Reform synagogues have increasingly begun to rethink and attempt to reinvigorate the contemporary practice of bar and bat mitzvah, a practice that may transform ...
With a collaborator who wrote a clever script, I took on the role of Haman and joined my fellow actors in singing my lyrics. I also choreographed a couple of numbers, fulfilling my desire...
As my mother relocates to an assisted living faility, I have the perfect housewarming gift for her: a mezuzah, to affix to her door to keep her safe and blessed and connected to our Jewish...
There is one catch – and this is where you come in. We must raise $50,000 by July 1, 2019, so we can assure the Canadian Government that we have the financial resources to cover settlement expenses.
As someone who is half-Filipino and half-Hispanic and grew up in a diverse Dallas, TX, neighborhood, I never gave much thought to the politics of skin color and how that affected me – at least not...
Like Alice down a rabbit hole, I am naïve and curious and a little bit scared. But I’m also open to the possibilities of wonder and awe and putting my rational self aside so I can be free...
Whether you’re a member or a visitor, familiarity with synagogue etiquette will help you get the most from your experience. Here are seven points of etiquette to keep in mind.
Black tights. Black dress. Careful makeup, a touch of jewelry, and heels. A hooded raincoat, to stave off the gusty downpour.
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I am not a rabbi, but some people think I am, in fact, a rabbi – specifically, the rabbi of the synagogue where I am a member, a volunteer lay leader, and a teacher.
The “Days of Awe” is a good name for the High Holiday season because when we are in awe of something, that's a good thing, but I like “Awesome Days” so much better.
Although you might think that Lisa, my Jewish-by-birth partner, asked me to take a URJ the Introduction to Judaism course with her, quite the contrary is true: I asked her.
When we were new to our synagogue, it was forming chavurah groups. As soon as I discovered one would be for members with b’nei-mitzvah-aged children, we joined up.
