New Study Guides, Books, and Musical Resources Among Reform Movement Offerings for the High Holy Days
A wealth of books, music, and on-line articles are now available to help families through the flurry of getting ready for the High Holy Days season.
Teaching Children About Welcoming Guests (Hachnasat Or'chim)
Purim: It's More than Just a Carnival
I remember the Purim celebrations of my youth: homemade cardboard crowns wrapped in aluminum foil; groggers fashioned from Styrofoam cups, dried beans, and masking tape; my brothers dressed in bathrobes, beards and mustaches sketched on their faces. As in many other congregations, our Purim carnival was run by the youth group as a fundraiser, and when I reached high school, I became a planner instead of a participant. We planned games and activities that sounded like fun to us teenagers and would be enjoyed by the religious school kids who were our target audience. Neither preschool children nor their parents were part of the planning equation.
Resources for Combatting Islamophobia
Following the recent attacks in Paris in November 2015 and San Bernardino in December 20
Purim, Bed Rest, and a Hidden God: A Pregnant Rabbi's Modern-Day Midrash
Purim is coming, a wild holiday that holds its place alongside Yom Kippur and Passover as a dramatic story in the Hebrew Bible’s accounts of redemption and revelation. But, unlike these other stories, Megillat Esther does not mention God. How can this be? According to the ancient rabbis, God is hidden.
Focusing on One Topic of Congregational Life Can Be a Game-Changer for Your Community
If your congregation spent 12-24 months focusing on one topic of your congregational life, could it transform your entire community? If you decided to really delve into engaging baby boomers or figuring out how to focus on social justice issues, could it be a game changer for your congregation? This year, we’re excited to launch four new Communities of Practice, and applications are open through May 9th, 2016.
Join Us for a Webinar on Voter Engagement and Immigration Reform
There is perhaps no more important form of civic engagement than voting. The vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, ensuring that those who govern are chosen by and beholden to the people.
The Courage to Advance Authentic Judaism in Israel
Thirty years ago this month, a modern-day Jewish hero was freed from prison. Back then, it never would have occurred to me that Natan Sharansky and I would become colleagues. Today, nonetheless, I am honored and proud to count this man – who has inspired generations of Jews around the world and engendered goodwill even in politically complex scenarios – within my circles. Ours is a relationship borne of a personal bond that began while he was still a Soviet prisoner.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Notorious in a Good Way
In Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a lively look at the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, co-authors Shana Knizhnik, a law student, and Irin Carmon, a reporter for MSNBC, mix chatty
What Can We Learn from the Pfeffermans?
Most people have at least heard of Amazon’s groundbreaking television show, Transparent, which along with transgender actress Laverne Cox of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and movies such as Tangerine, are pushing transgender stories from the margins into the mainstream. But to single out Transparent simply for highlighting a topic that’s still taboo in most of the television world is to overlook the other half of the show’s DNA – its significant reliance on Jewish themes and customs to weave its tale. It may seem an arbitrary combination, as the show is based in part on creator Jill Soloway’s own Jewish family and transgendered parent, but advocacy for LGBTQ rights has a long history among progressive Jews.