Global Stories
By Lynn Magid Lazar, 11/21/2019
It is a small world! Surely, many of you have had that thought. Perhaps you have read these stories or had similar experiences. “Do any of you know anyone who is a member of a progressive Jewish congregation in Berlin, Germany? One of my cousins will be visiting Berlin during Rosh Hashanah and she'd love to attend services.” “My summer travels this year took me to Paris… my French cousins introduced me to Rabbis Pauline Bebe and Tom Cohen. Rabbi Bebe, the first female rabbi in Europe, was a former WRJ scholarship recipient.” “The Seder (in Lisbon) that my family and I attended... Read More
By Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman, 3/19/2019
We read in Pirkei Avot, “Be among the disciples of Aaron – seek peace and pursue it.” One of our highest aspirations as Jews is to establish peace within our homes, within our communities, and in our world. Sh’lom Bayit – peace in the home – is a core value of Jewish life. For 30 years now, Jewish women have gone in peace to the plaza of Hakotel Hama’aravi, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, to hold a morning service for Rosh Chodesh. At 7 a.m., the “Women of the Wall” begin with Shacharit, proceed to Hallel, and hope to arrive at the service for the reading of the Torah. These services... Read More
By Alyson Malinger, 2/11/2019
Representing 51% of the population, 102 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 88 seats in the House of Commons of Canada, women are finding themselves in more and more leadership positions. Nevertheless, we have a long way to go until true gender equality is reached. On March 8, we celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world with International Women's Day. Each year the day also is given a theme around the issue of gender parity; this year’s theme is #BalanceforBetter. The theme focuses on how balance is... Read More
By Sandy Abramson , 2/06/2019
The United Nations 2019 Holocaust Remembrance Week focused on demanding and defending human rights around the world. Sandy Abramson serves as one of the WRJ representatives to the United Nations. She represents the organization in coalition and caucus meetings centered around our high priority social justice issues. The following piece is a recap of a UN event during the remembrance week. I attended a moving UN briefing, where I learned about something totally new and astonishing! Jews who were living in Albania, and those from other countries in Europe who ended up there by some stroke of... Read More
By Sara Charney, 11/28/2018
Abraham Geiger College, one of WRJ’s YES Fund recipients, asked WRJ to send a representative to Berlin for the 80th anniversary commemorative events of Kristallnacht, including special services, concerts, art exhibitions and panel discussions. It was my honor to be representing WRJ at these events. November 9, 2018 We began the day with Rosh Chodesh Kislev services organized by Abraham Geiger College. The service was led by a graduate of the cantorial program, a current cantorial student, and one of WRJ’s grantees at Geiger College, rabbinical student Jasmin Adriani. This was the... Read More
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