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RAP-ENTANCE: A Soul-Opening Experience for the High Holidays
Long before I became a rabbi, I was a DJ and a hip-hop-head. Music always scored my life, and for years I've wondered, "How can that music be harnessed for religious practice?"
Two New Films, "An American Pickle" and "Palm Springs," Reflect High Holiday Themes
Both films show us ways to examine our flaws and make amends, either with the people we’ve wronged or for the ways we’ve scorned the sacrifices of those who came before us.
How to Use the URJ Reflection Tool
We recently introduced the URJ Reflection Project, a tool for the High Holidays that can be found at reflect.reformjudaism.org. Here, we share suggestions of how to use its many ideas with your congregation.
"Life Is in the Transitions": Wisdom from a Bestselling Author
"If I were to sum up what I learned after five years of working on this book, it is this: Transitions work. When life gets us stuck, a life transition is the means of getting unstuck."
Inspired 5781: More Art, More Awe
I grew up going to services. A lot of services. I was adept at counting the ceiling tiles, reaching into the thousands as my grasp of numbers grew more sophisticated. The melodies became part of my life soundtrack; I hummed them as my mind wandered during the rabbi’s sermon.
22,202 CE: A Year With No Rosh HaShanah
Soon, Jews around the world will celebrate the beginning of the Jewish new year, 5781, and many of us will do so not from our synagogues as usual, but rather from our homes, looking into our computer sc
Sound the Shofar: Announcing Summer 2021 Plans for URJ Camp & Israel Programs
This summer was unlike any in our lifetime. While we’re incredibly thankful that Jewish youth were able to experience camp from home, we're thrilled to announce plans for in-person programming in summer 2021.
Rosh HaShanah at the Movies: Contemplating My Relationship with God
One year, on the second day of Rosh HaShanah, we were shocked to find the doors of Temple Israel of Hollywood locked. It was news to us that most Reform congregations observed only one day of the holiday.
With Malice Toward None, an Initiative for Faith Communities During Election Season
The URJ endorses With Malice Toward None, an initiative inspired by President Lincoln’s exhortation, at a time when the nation was enduring its most significant divisions, that Americans act “with malice toward none, with charity for all…”
Unetaneh Tokef in the Time of a Pandemic
The Unetaneh Tokef has a long list of ways that people die, often violently, a way of shocking us into realizing our mortality. The original prayer, however, can be traumatizing. This version seeks a more empathetic approach to mortality.