Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Marla Feldman
Executive Director Emerita
Women of Reform Judaism
http://wrj.org

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman was the Executive Director of WRJ from 2012 tp June of 2023, having previously served as the Director of Development for the URJ and Director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. Feldman is a Reform rabbi (HUC-JIR, New York) and lawyer (JD, Univ. of Fla). Previously, Rabbi Feldman worked in the Jewish community relations field in Detroit and Delaware and served Reform congregations in Sarasota and Orlando, Florida. Feldman has authored Reform Movement action manuals and published modern midrash, and her articles have appeared in numerous publications and newspapers. She is the author of “Biblical Women Speak: Hearing Their Voices through New and Ancient Midrash” (JPS, 2023).

Shelter from Life's Storms

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Sukkot marks a transitional moment in the cycle of our Jewish year as we move from our somber reflections during the Days of Awe to our celebrations of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

After the March: An Open Letter to Congress

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Dear Senators and Representatives,

I’m sure that you are aware that the recent Women’s March, held around the world, was among the largest unified gatherings in human history.

WRJ Wilkenfeld Seminar: Day Two

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

This week we are thrilled to share reports from London, UK where 20 Jewish women leaders are meeting for the first WRJ Wilkenfeld International Women's Leadership Seminar. Read about day one.

“Leadership is your values in action.”

This quote from Dr. Madelyn Katz set the tone for another very busy day. You’d think we’ve been here a week, but it was only day two. At breakfast this morning, Seminar participants were scattered in pairs and fours all over the restaurant, connected in animated conversations, bonding after only a few hours together yesterday.

We began the morning with visual tefillah, a first for many of the women. Some melodies were clearly unfamiliar depending on home nations…but Hebrew connected us all. We sang Hatikvah together in a unified voice without hesitation, but many of us with tears in our eyes.

 

A Tree of Hope for the Future

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of traveling to Little Rock, AR for the dedication of an installation containing a sapling from Anne Frank’s tree at the Clinton Presidential Center. The project was a partnership of the local Congregation B’nai Israel Sisterhood and the Clinton Center. When the sisterhood president heard about The Sapling Project, she was inspired to begin the five year journey that would lead to that moment. Anne Frank lovingly wrote about ‘her’ tree throughout her famous diary and for decades it remained outside the secret annex that has become a memorial and museum perpetuating Anne’s hopeful message to the world. Several years ago, knowing the tree would soon die, the Anne Frank Center devised a plan to cultivate several saplings, which are now planted around the world and serve as a focus for education and inspiration. The selection criteria for obtaining one of the 11 saplings destined for the U.S. required the host community to assure it would be used to educate the community about its own history.