Hanukkah Reconsidered: A Split in the Jewish Soul
I grew up loving this holiday – until I learned the dark side and felt like a kid discovering that there’s no Santa Claus. It turns out Hanukkah is, in part, a tale of Jew vs. Jew.
When It Comes to Israel, We Cannot Avoid Our Discomfort
Although we don’t vote in Israel’s elections and should not expect to, neither does the Knesset have a monopoly over the Zionist project. It belongs to all Jews.
Drive Thru Judaism: An Antidote to Quarantined Community
Bicerin: Italian Hot Chocolate
Reclaiming the Public Square with Hanukkah Lights
According to Rashi, we light Hanukkah candles to “publicize the miracle.” What exactly is the miracle we’re publicizing – and what’s the best way for us to do so today?
Introducing the URJ’s First Interactive Online Annual Report
I am pleased to present the URJ’s 2017 Annual Report, the first-ever digital and interactive one the URJ has produced.
URJ Receives $5 Million Gift From Heller Family To Enhance Transformational NFTY-EIE High School in Israel Program
New York, NY, October 19, 2016 – The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) announced today that the Heller family of Scotch Plains, NJ, has made an endowment gift of $5 million to fund the NFTY-EIE High School in Israel Program, which is being renamed URJ Heller High: Isaac and Helaine Heller EIE High School in Israel. This is the largest gift in EIE history, and the URJ’s largest non-capital gift.
Teaching Children about Asking Forgiveness (Slicha)
Inviting Guests into Your Sukkah to Take Action Against Hunger and Climate Change
On Sukkot, we celebrate the harvest.
We Need to Be Reminded of Life on the Edge
As we celebrate Sukkot this year, our world is experiencing a fierce progression of refugees and migrants who are wandering and homeless, nationless, and destitute, encased in fear and uncertainty, fleeing the ills of civil war, natural disaster, poverty, and political insurrection. Indeed, for massive numbers of people in our world, wandering and the impermanence of temporary shelter are all they have.