After One-Hundred-and-Twenty: Reflecting on Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife in the Jewish Tradition
I know I’m not alone in wrestling with my own mortality. I was asked these questions many times during my rabbinic career as people aged and as loved ones died – but never did I think they related to me personally. Now I find myself looking for answers to these questions, and I’ve found answers in Hillel Halkin’s After One-Hundred-and-Twenty: Reflecting on Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife in the Jewish Tradition.
URJ to Expand Campaign for Youth Engagement with New Programming and Grants
October 3, 2012, New York, NY - With a continued goal of increasing the level of Jewish teen engagement within its Movement, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) today announced expansion of its national Campaign for Youth Engagement.
URJ Leaders Welcome Election of Dr. Andrew Rehfeld as President of HUC-JIR
New York, NY; December 18, 2018 – The leaders of the Union for Reform Judaism today offered their enthusiastic support for the election of Dr. Andrew Rehfeld as the 13th president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
URJ Responds to Accusations Reportedly Made By Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
Union for Reform Judaism President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement reacting to reports of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ invocation of the classic anti-Semitic canard of water poisoning:
It is deplorable that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas engaged in spreading libelous accusations against Israeli rabbis in his remarks to the European parliament today. This persistent lie dates back thousands of years and is no more true today than it was in medieval ages.
URJ Responds To UUA Rejection of Divestment From Israel
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), issued the following statement today reacting to a vote taken on June 25th at the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association defeating a resolution to support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel:
URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs: We Condemn President Abbas' Recent Statements
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, responds to recent statements by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas: We condemn unequivocally President Abbas’ recent statements rejecting the Jewish people’s connections with Israel, denying the legitimacy of a Jewish State of Israel, and promulgating conspiracy theories about the creation of the State of Israel.
Reform Jewish Movement Statement on Expulsion of Asylum Seekers from Israel
Organizations of the Reform Jewish Movement, the largest movement in Jewish life, issued a statement strongly urging the Israeli government to reverse its decision and recognize the legitimate status of the 37,885 asylum seekers in the country.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs’ Podcast “On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah” on ReformJudaism.org Celebrates Third Anniversary with First Live Studio Audience Recording
ReformJudaism.org, the flagship website of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) reaching 3.2 million visitors annually, is celebrating the third anniversary of the On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah podcast featuring Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the President of the URJ with its first episode recorded before a live audience. The special anniversary episode, “Courageous Leadership,” focusing on parashat Yitro, was recorded at the sold-out URJ Biennial convention in Boston last month.
URJ’s Rabbi Rick Jacobs: Statement on Polish Government’s Proposed Holocaust Law
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, issued the statement below in response to the Polish government's approval of a new law barring discussion of Polish responsibility during the Holocaust:
We were deeply disheartened by the Polish government’s approval of a new law that not only bars reference to “Polish death camps” but to discussion of the responsibility of Polish citizens during the Holocaust.