Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Closeup of a seder plate and a table setting

This Year, We Need Passover More Than Ever

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

Each year on Passover, we ask “Mah nishtanah,” “Why is this night different?” This year, though, we know why: Pesach 5780 is simply unlike any other.

Hanukkah Belongs to Reformers

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

We Jews kindle lights each Shabbat and, each Hanukkah, during the darkest period of the year. We also kindle lights during the darkest moments in history, and in countless ways: in the values we espouse, in the kindnesses we extend, and in the visions we hold

My First Trip to Israel as President of the URJ

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

I just returned from a whirlwind two-week trip to Israel, my first as the president of the URJ. It was truly a packed schedule, thanks to the incredible teamwork of our hard-working staff here in North America and in Israel. As promised, I want to share with you a few stories of my time there.

Never Again Bystanders

Rabbi Rick Jacobs

A couple of years ago, at the ripe old age of 96, Simon Wiesenthal died in his sleep. Wiesenthal survived nine different concentration and labor camps and faced certain death on two occasions, but somehow, he outlived his Nazi tormentors. Following the war