The Supreme Court soon will decide the fate of California’s Proposition 8 (which forbid Marriage Equality) and DOMA (which defined marriage as between a man and woman, and allowed states not to recognize the marriages performed in other states). Soon, the Jewish web will return to discussions about what Judaism really says about homosexuality. Orthodox …
Today I wrote the leadership of the Israeli government on behalf of Bedouins in Southern Israel. Along with so many American Jews, including Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, I reminded these leaders that Israel is poised to use the full might of state power against a hapless minority. The …
It can be so darn frustrating! Our Jewish community has so many resources at its fingertips to help people in need, and yet we still struggle to connect up those who need with those who can help. That’s why I was so charged up at a gathering of the West Valley Caring Community coalition of …
Now in my third day as faculty member at the URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA (and in my 18th year on faculty), I have been here long enough to clearly articulate all the things I HATE about this place. And there are many… Waiting in line for 3-5 minutes for a meal that …
The Latch on the Bathroom Stall Door What do we notice about those and that which we love? Go to the Union for Reform Judaism’s Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA and you will assuredly notice lots. Camp built three new, gorgeous, well-designed cabins for 16 kids up top and 16 below, as the first …
Ever sat through a painfully boring Bar/Bat Mitzvah service? I received this email from one disgruntled member: Dear Rabbi: Here is one – honest and true We went to a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday at an out of town synagogue. I know it’s a different denomination of Judaism – but others have felt the same …
Soon I trade my shoes in for sandals and my briefcase in for a backpack. Pants are replaced by shorts; a baseball cap I place of my kippah. The change in clothing reflects a change in the location of my work from the synagogue in Calabasas to a summer camp in Santa Rosa. While my outer garments …
Insights on Korach (Numbers 16:1−18:32) By Rabbi Lisa Edwards cross posted at ReformJudaism.org In the middle of Parashat Korach comes a short story that I find to be one of the most moving in all of Torah. It arrives unexpectedly in the midst of yet another chilling story of rebellion. The parashah begins with more than …
How does one live on after the doctor to say, “You have cancer”? Who can easily integrate the diagnosis with the life they have been living up until that moment? This year we have heard from too many people dear to us that they have cancer. The prognoses vary; the fear is too real. And …
Do you want to know the worst kept synagogue secret? It is not about politics at the pulpit or the fact that most Jews do not regularly attend Shabbat services. No, the worst kept synagogue secret is that almost 90% of the young people who become Bar or Bat Mitzvah in our synagogues are absent …
When we hear that a dear one is very ill, we pause and count our blessings. For a moment, our lives and priorities are put into perspective. What would it take to embrace that new outlook and make it stick? My List: Count your blessings each day. Give thanks for at least 3 things daily. …
I signed onto this letter to the Boy Scouts of America about its policy that excludes gay scouts and scout leaders from its ranks. I was Life Scout, member of the Order of the Arrow, Junior Assistant Scout Master, and BSA Camp staff member (at Camp Wahtutca in New Hampshire; the Boy Scouts had a …
While people join a synagogue for a plethora of reasons. As scholar Ron Wolfson notes in his book Relational Judaism, most place finding a community and friends near the top of our lists. Yet with multiple pressures on synagogues to educate, celebrate, engage, worship, and counsel, relationship building seems to fall through the cracks. Recently …
The entire American Jewish world, it seems, is focused on how to engage or reengage the younger generations of Jews. Foundations are funding, denominations are discussing, and Federations and synagogues are searching for the latest and greatest strategies to engaging these lost generations. Our own Union for Reform Judaism kicked off its Campaign for Youth …
The end of the Chag (holiday) of Pesach is upon us, and so many who have kept Passover are counting down the moments until they can eat their beloved pizza, morning toast and all kinds of cakes and cookies. I even heard one person pining for a bowl of oatmeal. Is it really that difficult …