Leaving Lucy Pear
Award-winning novelist Anna Solomon’s second novel Leaving Lucy Pear, now out in paperback, is a masterfully woven web of ambition and lies.
What Is Jewish About Japan?
My family and I recently spent time backpacking through Japan. Witnessing people at their holy sites, we were struck by how familiar their customs were to us as Jews.
We Will Not Let Hitler's Legacy Rise Again
If you won't stand for Hitler's legacy to rise again, then I ask you: When hate is screeched from the airwaves, you must stand on higher mountains and call out words of love and affirmation.
Youth Professional Development 101: About Us
What is a dreidel?
The word dreidel derives from a German word meaning “spinning top,” and is the toy used in a Hanukkah game adapted from an old German gambling game. Hanukkah was one of the few times of the year when rabbis permitted games of chance. The four sides of the top bear four Hebrew letters: nun, gimmel, hey, and shin. Players begin by putting into a central pot or “kitty” a certain number of coins, chocolate money known as gelt, nuts, buttons or other small objects.
2016 in Review: URJ Engaged More Young People In Meaningful Jewish Life Than Ever Before
More than 20,000 youth, teens, and young adults participated in a URJ Youth program here at home, in Israel, and around the world, setting a record for the 9th year in a row. These programs instill a sense of joy, compassion, and pride in being Jewish while nurturing a young person’s innate desire to make a difference in the world. The essential skills of empathy, creativity, and collaboration cultivated by our programs are more important than ever before. Here are just a few of the ways that the URJ’s youth programs engaged more youth, teens and young adults.
How to Organize a Hanukkah Bazaar
A Hanukkah bazaar is a great fundraiser and gets your congregants thinking about their Hanukkah shopping and can give an early boost to your Judaica shop. It’s a wonderful opportunity to involve your temple family!
Discovering the Jew I’m Meant to Be: A Letter from NFTY’s Immediate Past President
While I was busy becoming a Jewish leader, another transformation was happening just below the surface: I was becoming the Jew I’m meant to be.
This Hanukkah, Join Us in Reimagining Jewish Life
The URJ stands for an open and inclusive Judaism– and we believe there is more than one authentic way to be Jewish.
You Think It Couldn’t Happen at Your Synagogue? So Did I
When I learned there had been 400 men chanting “Jews will not replace us” on the University of Virginia grounds, my first thought was for Congregation Beth Israel.