1000 Rabbis in Support of Welcoming Refugees
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I. the Rodef Shalom in Rabbinic Texts Study the Following Mishnah (3Rd Century CE, Land of Israel) Carefully in Havruta (Study Partner)
The Rodef Shalom: From Text to History to Global Network Rabbi Daniel Roth, PhD Pardes Center for Judaism and Conflict Resolution [email protected] I. The Rodef Shalom in Rabbinic Texts Study the following Mishnah (3rd Century CE, Land of Israel) carefully in havruta (study partner). Make a list of all of the questions you can think of on this Mishnah. משנה אבות א:יב Mishnah, Avot, 1:12 הלל אומר: :Hillel says הווי תלמידו של אהרן. .Be a student of Aaron אוהב שלום A lover of peace ורודף שלום ,(A pursuer of peace (rodef shalom אהב את הבריות ,A lover of people ומקרבן לתורה. .Who brings them closer to Torah ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________ [Save for Group Discussion] 1. Why Be a Student of Aaron? Why do you think the Mishnah first said to be a student of Aaron’s, instead of just “a lover of peace and pursuer of peace"? How does Rabbi Shmuel de Ozedah (16th century Tzfat, Land of Israel) answer this question in his commentary on the mishnah? ר' שמואל די אוזידא, מדרש שמואל אבות Midrash Shmuel, Avot 1:12 (Rabbi Shmuel de א:יב (Ozedah And it is possible that he said "be of the students of ואיפשר עוד שאמר "הוי מתלמידיו של Aaron," and did not (just) say "be a lover of peace" since אהרן" ולא אמר 'הוי אוהב שלום' לפי שכל every person in their own eyes is a lover of peace, and אדם בעיני עצמו הוא אוהב שלום ואף אם even if he is a person of strife and conflict, he does not הוא איש ריב ומדון אינו רואה חובה לעצמו see any fault with himself. -
Rabbinic Judaism and Pluralism in the State of Israel and the United States of America
Rosh Ha-Shanah 5780 Day Two 1 Eilu Ve-Eilu Divrei Elohim Hạ yyim : Rabbinic Judaism and Pluralism in the State of Israel and the United States of America Tuesday, October 1, 2019 / 2nd of Tishrei, 5780 Rabbi Louis Polisson Congregation Or Atid of Wayland, MA Back in May, Or Atid had the pleasure of hearing Rabbi Mikie Goldstein speak about Conservative Judaism, Religious Pluralism, and LGBTQ+ Rights in the State of Israel today. Rabbi Goldstein is the first openly gay Masorti (Conservative) pulpit rabbi in the State of Israel. On June 24th, just over a month after he spoke at Or Atid, I got an email from him with the subject line: “Fire at Adat Shalom-Emanuel - update.” This email update shared that on a Saturday night, firefighters had been called by a neighbor who saw flames coming from the upper floor of the synagogue, where their sanctuary is situated. Shortly after, members of their congregation were alerted and a few of them arrived, just as the fire had been put out. A fire investigator ruled out foul play, and it seemed that the fire had been caused by electrical issues. Rabbi Goldstein wrote: “Our main challenge right now is to find a suitable site for holding services this Shabbat. As usual, we have a Bat Mitzvah this Rosh Ha-Shanah 5780 Day Two 2 Shabbat - and the next. Finding a place is not so easy. Most suitable halls are connected somehow to the municipality. Although people wish to help, they feel that their hands are tied because we are a Masorti kehillah [that is, a Conservative congregation]. -
Women's Torah Text
Index by Author . Foreword: The Different Voice of Jewish Women Rabbi Amy Eilberg . Acknowledgments . Introduction ......................................... What You Need to Know to Use This Book . Rabbinic Commentators and Midrashic Collections Noted in This Book . Bereshit/Genesis Bereshit ₍:‒:₎: The Untold Story of Eve Rabbi Lori Forman . Noach ₍:‒:₎: Mrs. Noah Rabbi Julie RingoldSpitzer . Lech Lecha ₍:‒:₎: What’s in a Name? Rabbi Michal Shekel. Va ye r a ₍:‒:₎: Positive Pillars Rabbi Cynthia A. Culpeper . Chaye Sarah ₍:‒:₎: Woman’s Life, Woman’s Truth Rabbi Rona Shapiro . Toldot ₍:‒:₎: Rebecca’s Birth Stories Rabbi Beth J. Singer. Vayetze ₍:‒:₎: Wrestling on the Other Side of the River Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso . Contents Vayishlach ₍:‒:₎: No Means No Rabbi Lia Bass. Vayeshev ₍:‒:₎: Power, Sex, and Deception Rabbi Geela-Rayzel Raphael . Miketz ₍:‒:₎: In Search of Dreamers Rabbi Debra Judith Robbins . Vayigash ₍:‒:₎: Daddy’s Girl Rabbi Shira Stern . Va ye c h i ₍:‒:₎: Serach Bat Asher—the Woman Who Enabled the Exodus Rabbi Barbara Rosman Penzner. Shmot/Exodus Shmot ₍:‒:₎: Rediscovering Tziporah Rabbi Rebecca T. Alpert . Va-era ₍:‒:₎: The Many Names of God Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar . Bo ₍:‒:₎: Power and Liberation Rabbi Lucy H.F. Dinner. Beshalach ₍:‒:₎: Miriam’s Song, Miriam’s Silence Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell . Yitro ₍:‒:₎: We All Stood at Sinai Rabbi Julie K.Gordon . Mishpatim ₍:‒:₎: What Must We Do? Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer . Terumah ₍:‒:₎: Community as Sacred Space Rabbi Sharon L. Sobel . Tetzaveh ₍:‒:₎: Finding Our Home in the Temple and the Temple in Our Homes Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow . Contents Ki Tissa ₍:‒:₎: The Women Didn’t Build the Golden Calf—or Did They? Rabbi Ellen Lippmann . Vayakhel ₍:‒:₎: Of Women and Mirrors Rabbi Nancy H. -
July 30, 2019 Dear Legislator, We Write to You As Rabbis and Cantors
July 30, 2019 Dear Legislator, We write to you as rabbis and cantors affiliated with T’ruah and J Street to ask that you defend the free speech of all Americans by opposing any efforts to pass legislation penalizing supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. At both the federal and state level, this type of deeply misguided legislation undermines a core principle of American democracy. These laws do nothing to protect the State of Israel, and they would injure the American Jewish community. While proponents of imposing legislative penalties on BDS supporters portray their efforts as “pro-Israel,” none of these laws have any impact on bringing about a peace agreement, or on wiping out anti-Semitism. Instead, these laws and the debate around them distract us from the real work of supporting Israel -- namely, working toward a two-state solution and a long-term peace agreement that creates a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians, each with self-determination in their own state. J Street and T’ruah do not support or advocate for the Global BDS movement. At the same time, we firmly believe that legislating against boycotts, which are a form of speech protected under the First Amendment, opens the door to much broader government control of public discourse. With our democratic institutions under attack, we must hold the line on our constitutional freedoms. We follow proudly in the footsteps of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, a renowned Zionist leader, who wrote in the 1927 free-speech case Whitney v. California that our country’s founders “eschewed silence...coerced by law — the argument of force in its worst form.” A true commitment to the First Amendment means we must defend free speech even and especially when we find it objectionable or offensive. -
June 16, 2020 Chairman Eliot Engel Ranking Member Michael Mccaul House Foreign Affairs Committee House Foreign Affairs Committee Washington, D.C
June 16, 2020 Chairman Eliot Engel Ranking Member Michael McCaul House Foreign Affairs Committee House Foreign Affairs Committee Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul: As more than 350 Jewish clergy members from 36 states and the District of Columbia, we write today to raise our voices in support of global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) human rights. As we mark Pride Month, our faith reminds us that all people are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the divine image, and that we must not stand idly by in the face of injustice. Unfortunately, we know that LGBTQI+ communities face hate and discrimination, and we are deeply concerned about COVID-19’s disproportionate impacts on the lives and dignity of LGBTQI+ people across the world. We strongly urge the House Foreign Affairs Committee to demonstrate its commitment to supporting the needs of LGBTQI+ people during this crisis, including the addition of non-discrimination language and bolstering protections for LGBTQI+ people and other vulnerable groups in international assistance funding and future COVID-19 relief packages, and to hold an LGBTQI+-focused hearing as soon as time allows. Too often, skewed interpretations of religious doctrines are used to stigmatize LGBTQI+ people, justifying the creation and defense of discriminatory laws and norms. As faith leaders, we unequivocally denounce these attempts to use religion to justify oppression. In 70 countries across the globe, being LGBTQI+ is criminalized and, in some countries, a person can be sentenced to death simply because of who they are or whom they love. -
RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE and JEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES
RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE and JEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Watch the video at www.RRC.edu/AR15 RECONSTRUCTIONIST HOME | RABBINICAL EDUCATION | OUR GRADUATES | COMMUNITY | YOU MAKE A | CAMP JRF | FINANCIALS | TAKE ACTION RABBINICAL COLLEGE & BEYOND ENGAGEMENT DIFFERENCE and JEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES This is the script of a video WHO, you ask, is the WE that you can watch at holding a hand out to www.RRC.edu/AR15 you right now? Is this you? ME. I am a student at RRC because the How about this? College believes in my unique vision for Or this? . Jewish engagement and leadership, and supports If so, let’s join together . me with extensive training in sacred texts, We believe that all of us are a flexible curriculum, responsible for Judaism, and for reconstructing it in each generation, to create the Judaism innovative ritual practices, mentoring in social activism and multifaith conversation, and we want to live today…and tomorrow. entrepreneurial training. When I took my first internship, I felt ready to help … We know that people take many different paths towards meaningful Jewish living, and we ME. I’m a newly elected congregation president with big dreams for our community. must nurture each individual journey. I devote countless hours to finding and engaging people like you. People who can bring open hearts and minds to create something larger than each of us individually—a We embrace and celebrate the diversity of Jews, and see our role as nourishing each other’s community of fellow travelers who learn together, celebrate together and weather hard spirits through mutual support. -
1 June 16, 2021 the Honorable Dick Durbin the Honorable Chuck
June 16, 2021 The Honorable Dick Durbin The Honorable Chuck Grassley Chair Ranking Member Senate Committee on the Judiciary Senate Committee on the Judiciary 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Richard Blumenthal The Honorable Ted Cruz Chair Ranking Member Senate Committee on the Judiciary Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution Subcommittee on The Constitution 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 Over 300 Jewish Clergy Leaders Express Support for the Women’s Health Protection Act Dear Senators Durbin, Grassley, Blumenthal, Cruz, and Committee Members: As Jewish clergy leaders from across the United States representing all major denominations of Judaism, we write to express our strong and unequivocal support for the Women’s Health Protection Act, S 1975. In partnership with the National Council of Jewish Women, we represent a network of over 1,000 Rabbis and Jewish Clergy for Repro who have pledged to speak out about reproductive justice in our communities and to educate others about the Jewish values underpinning our support for abortion access for all. We are working to ensure that our communities are places where anyone who has, or may ever, terminate a pregnancy feels loved and welcomed, where people understand what our tradition teaches about these issues, and where we emphasize the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice for everyone. The Women’s Health Protection Act embodies this mission and our hope for a future where all are free to make their own moral and faith-informed decisions about their lives, their futures, and their families without political interference. -
2006 Shevat 5766
Table of Contents A Message from the President of NAASE Glenn Easton ................................................................................................................................ 1 EDITORS: Bernard Goldblatt, FSA Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Minnetonka, Minnesota B’reishit — The Beginning: A Message from the Editors David I. Rothenberg, FSA, ATz Bernie Goldblatt and David I. Rothenberg ............................................................................ 2 Beth Israel Congregation, Owings Mills, Maryland EDITORIAL BOARD: The Synagogue Director and Financial Development: Glenn Easton, FSA, ATz Gilbert Kleiner, FSA Old Myths and New Realities Harry Hauser Marc M. Neiwirth, FSA, ATz Amir Pilch ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Rebecca B. Holmes Allan Ross, FSA Malcolm Katz, FSA Nadine Strauss Establishing Visual Identity Guidelines for Your Congregation Robert D. Festenstein .................................................................................................................. 8 HONORARY PRESIDENT Robert E. Hill, FSA Temple Emanu-El , Providence, RI The Executive Director as an Instrument of Holiness PRESIDENT Marc M. Neiwirth .......................................................................................................................11 Glenn S. Easton, FSA, ATz Adas Israel Congregation, Washington, DC Teshuvot by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards FIRST VICE PRESIDENT that Affect Synagogue -
Feminism and Judaism
Judaism Feminism and Judaism Feminism and Judaism Summary: For most of its history, Judaism has traditionally been a patriarchal religion; however, women’s movements since the mid-20th century have advocated for and achieved greater equality for women in many Jewish denominations. Jewish women are now ordained as rabbis in all non-Orthodox denominations, and many Jewish theologians are expanding their field of interest to include the roles and characters of biblical and historical Jewish women. One of the greatest challenges to Judaism in America has been the advent of the women’s movement. For most of its history, Judaism was a patriarchal religious tradition, relegating women to a lower status than men. The traditional domain of women in Jewish life was the home, which—despite the protests of apologists—was not a religious institution with communal influence. Although women were responsible for preparing food, for example, it was the male rabbi who regulated the practice of kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws. Religious activities that took place in the public sphere outside the home, such as study, prayer, and acts of loving-kindness, were considered mandatory only for men. Women occupied a subsidiary space in the Jewish house of prayer and were scarcely admitted to the study house at all. While the Reform movement of the 19th century adopted some measures intended to equalize the role of women in the synagogue, not until the 1970s did the structure of Judaism begin to change in response to the feminist critique. Once the feminist revolution burst on the scene in the 1960s, it was only a matter of time before women’s rising consciousness of social and economic inequities would extend to religious communities as well. -
Ethnicity and Faith in American Judaism: Reconstructionism As Ideology and Institution, 1935-1959
ETHNICITY AND FAITH IN AMERICAN JUDAISM: RECONSTRUCTIONISM AS IDEOLOGY AND INSTITUTION, 1935-1959 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Deborah Waxman May, 2010 Examining Committee Members: Lila Corwin Berman, Advisory Chair, History David Harrington Watt, History Rebecca Trachtenberg Alpert, Religion Deborah Dash Moore, External Member, University of Michigan ii ABSTRACT Title: Ethnicity and Faith in American Judaism: Reconstructionism as Ideology and Institution, 1935-1959 Candidate's Name: Deborah Waxman Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2010 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: Lila Corwin Berman This dissertation addresses the development of the movement of Reconstructionist Judaism in the period between 1935 and 1959 through an examination of ideological writings and institution-building efforts. It focuses on Reconstructionist rhetorical strategies, their efforts to establish a liberal basis of religious authority, and theories of cultural production. It argues that Reconstructionist ideologues helped to create a concept of ethnicity for Jews and non-Jews alike that was distinct both from earlier ―racial‖ constructions or strictly religious understandings of modern Jewish identity. iii DEDICATION To Christina, who loves being Jewish, With gratitude and abundant love iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation is the product of ten years of doctoral studies, so I type these words of grateful acknowledgment with a combination of astonishment and excitement that I have reached this point. I have been inspired by extraordinary teachers throughout my studies. As an undergraduate at Columbia, Randall Balmer introduced me to the study of American religious history and Holland Hendrix encouraged me to take seriously the prospect of graduate studies. -
Rabbi Deborah Waxman January 2014 Page 1 A
Rabbi Deborah Waxman January 2014 Page 1 A RECONSTRUCTIONIST RESPONSE TO THE PEW STUDY Much ink has been spilled over the recent Pew Research Center’s study Portrait of Jewish Americans.1 I offer now both reflections on the study itself and the reactions to it, and a Reconstructionist response. In brief, I believe the Reconstructionist movement is well-poised to act on the tremendous positive Jewish identification reported by the study through continuing conceptual work and incubation of engaging ideas and practices. Findings and Reactions The study begins with an overarching claim that 94% of American Jews are proud to be part of the Jewish people, and 46% are very proud. In this era of majority society’s expansive embrace of American Jews and abundant choices in identities and commitments (including the choice to be “nothing,” to pass without judgment or difficulty as “American”), almost every Jew asked asserts pride in his or her Jewishness. This could easily be cause for celebration. Yet the initial reactions to the survey results were gloomy, even dire, because of other findings. The survey reports a marked decline in the religiosity of American Jews, especially compared to the “greatest generation,” those Jews who fought in World War II in the European and Asian theaters and on the home front and who, after the war’s end, built most of the institutions of postwar American Judaism. Where 93% of Jews in the greatest generation said their Jewish identity was based on religion, only 68% of millennials— the youngest generation of Jewish adults—identify their Jewishness with the religion of Judaism, while the remainder identify as Jews on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity or culture. -
The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, D.C
The Honorable Michael R. Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20250 August 22, 2019 Dear Mr. Secretary, As we mark the second-year anniversary of the continued campaign of genocide against the Rohingya people of Burma on August 25, we call on you to prioritize the pursuit of justice and accountability for the Rohingya people and all ethnic minorities in Burma. As 575 rabbis and Jewish clergy from 38 states across the U.S. and from many Jewish denominational backgrounds, we collectively serve tens of thousands of American Jews and represent this call-to-action from many more communities and congregations. As clergy, we have not—and will not—stay silent in the face of genocide. We know all too well, from our own Jewish history, what happens when the international community does not stand up unequivocally in defense of oppressed minorities subject to state-sanctioned hate, oppression and violence. The Department of State released a report in September 2018 documenting atrocities in Northern Rakhine State, which attests that the violence against the Rohingya people was “extreme, large- scaled, widespread” and “well-planned.” We were deeply disappointed that the report failed to legally determine that there were international crimes committed against the Rohingya people by the Burmese military. The horrifying atrocities outlined in the report—with the full weight and expertise of the Department of State behind it—surely must trigger meaningful U.S. response and actions. We call on you, Mr. Secretary, as you lead the Department, to defend the rights and dignity of the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities.