Beyond the Fight for Marriage Equality
Marriage Equality and Passover: "From Degradation to Praise"
This Passover, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear two cases that have enormous impact on equality and liberty in our country. On the first two days of Pesach, oral arguments in California's Prop 8 case and the Defense of Marriage Act case will be heard.
Let My People Go... Forth to the Wedding Chapel!
As a rabbi and president-elect of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, I come here to be with you this morning at the Supreme Court on the very first day of Passover to say: Our nation is ready for marriage equality. This is one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. It marks the day in Jewish tradition when we mark the Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt; it marks the beginning of a journey to freedom. Today is our day to march toward that freedom, the freedom to marry. I represent more than 2,500 Reform rabbis. We support marriage equality and have filed Friends of the Court briefs in both today's Prop 8 case and tomorrow's DOMA case. Do not let others tell you that all religions oppose LGBT equality rights. We Reform Jews welcome, support, include, and, yes, advocate full rights and equality, including the right to marry the ones we love.
Religion in Israel: Democracy and Pluralism Must go Hand in Hand
The (Circle) Spiral of Jewish Life
We often think about the cycle of the year-the change of the air in the fall, or the blossoming of new life in the spring-and we see a circle.
Holding Israel's Declaration of Independence Up to the Light of Day
Israel’s Declaration of Independence is the foundation of a state that is both Jewish and democratic. But does it accurately describe the Jewish State today?
Who can sign our ketubah? How should we pick our witnesses?
Who can sign our wedding ketubah (Jewish marriage contract)? How should we pick our witnesses?In Reform Judaism, witnesses may be of any gender, above b’nei mitzvah age (13 or older), and customarily, identify as Jewish, although some clergy permit individuals from other backgrounds and faiths to serve as ketubah witnesses. Some clergy also will allow additional witnesses, so you can honor three or even four friends as witnesses.
Parents' Blessings on Your Wedding Day
Reform Wedding at the Knesset Pt. 2
Today there was a Reform wedding outside the Knesset. Lin and her new husband exchanged vows in a ceremony officiated by Rabbi Gilad Kariv and Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon. Friends, family, members of the Israeli Reform Movement and its youth group, rabbinical students, and five members of the Knesset (known as MKs) attended the wedding.