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Updates from the Middle East: Rabbi Joel Mosbacher on the Ground in Israel
I write to you with a heavy heart from Jerusalem, our Holy City. Of all my dozens of trips to Israel, this one has certainly been unique.
The Last Dance
There are few things more painful than to watch a loved one slip away. Ask any caregiver, any spouse, child, sibling, or parent, and they will tell you that waiting for the other shoe to drop can suck the marrow from your bones.
Being Holy - and Staying Alive
Acharei Mot, the first of this week's two parashiyot, begins on an unsettling note—a reminder of the death of Aaron's sons and the suggestion that such tragedies might occur again unless the priests take specified steps to prevent them
A Vote for ARZA is a Vote for Progressive Zionism: Why We're on the ARZA Slate
By Shira and friend of the RAC, Ronit Zemel, incoming Assistant Director of Harlam Day Camp
In the front hallway of our home growing up was a picture of our great grandfather, Rabbi Solomon Goldman, standing next to Chaim Weizmann at one of the gatherings of the World Zionist Congress in the late 1930s. This picture is a hallmark of our upbringing as liberal Zionist Jews. We heard lore of our grandmother’s grade school education at the Riali school in Haifa. Our dad told us stories of his first time in Israel as a thirteen year old, peering out into the still forbidden Old City from a lookout tower in Jerusalem. Then we had the opportunity to see Israel for ourselves; to see the vibrant Jewish life in cafes and the shuk, on buses and in kibbutz fields. Israel is a part of the fabric of our family.
Why We Made Our Junior Youth Group Event Less “Like NFTY”
The Journal of Youth Engagement is an online forum of ideas and dialogue for those committed to engaging youth in vibrant Jewish life and living. Join the discussion and become a contributor.
By Jen Whitman
The congregation I work for has been hosting the JOSTY Shul In, a region-wide 7th and 8th grade junior youth group event, longer than I have been alive. After the event last year, I was disappointed to hear from some of my own students that they spent most of the shul in feeling uncomfortable, overwhelmed and bored, or worse - that they never wanted to be at a NFTY event again. And this was coming from the kids who already knew where the bathroom was when they got to the event.
Tikkun Leil Shavuot Torah Study: Parashat Yitro
Our greatest sources of connection come from our encounters with others. How can we ensure that our encounters with family and friends have the potential to be revelatory moments?
A Yom Kippur Activity for School-Aged Families
Rabbi Vicki Tuckman z"l had a family ritual that ensures that each member of the family can seek to fulfill the sacred duties of the day.
Kabbalah for Beginners: Why Study Jewish Mysticism?
Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks – a Jewish spiritual teacher, musician, and founder of the online Kabbalah meditation community Torah of Awakening – seeks to make Kabbalah accessible to all who wish to embrace it.
Mourning and Meaning
We read in this week's Torah portion about the death of Aaron's two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu.
How to Teach Your Kids About Gratitude
An episode of The Simpsons inspired this article. The entire Simpson family is seated around the dinner table. Bart is asked to say grace. He offers the following words: “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.”