Local Stories
By Sheila Friedman Rubin, 1/03/2019
This essay is published as part of the WRJ “Sharing Our Stories” project – a place where Reform/Progressive women in North America and around the world share personal stories of sisterhood, spirituality and social good in an effort to help us create meaningful connections and better understanding of each other, our shared values, goals and challenges, to share what we have in common as Reform/Progressive Jewish women, and also explore our own unique identities as citizens of different cultures. For more information about the project and to view additional blog posts and videos, click here... Read More
By Barbara Glaser, 11/07/2018
In February 2017, the community of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto created seven “Rings of Peace” to surround local mosques after a gunman killed six worshippers at a Quebec mosque. After the massacre of eleven worshippers at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, the Toronto Muslim community reciprocated the “Ring of Peace” for the local Jewish community. Below, the author shares her experience of that day. One word states this particular Shabbat morning firmly in my mind: LOVE. One week after the horrific events at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, it proves, love trumps hate.... Read More
By Talia Kaplan, 10/10/2018
Remember the feeling you had when you got on an airplane alone to study abroad, or when you packed up everything you owned and moved to a new city? All the emotions that might have come up for you—fear, excitement, trepidation—could very well have been Avram’s response to the famous line from the Torah portion of this year’s National Refugee Shabbat, Parshat Lech Lecha: “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing” (... Read More
By Virginia Ring, with Deborah Fripp, 4/03/2018
Yom HaShoah is typically a somber time to reflect, and for me personally, to be angry at the world. It is not generally a holiday to which I look forward. A small part of me wants the day to hurry up and be over, but I know that this day should be observed, so I do. This year was different, however. My congregation, Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound, TX, hosted a very unique ceremony, designed to commemorate not only the terrible things that happened but also the strength with which we met them, to celebrate our survival while mourning our dead. My experience at this Seder-like ceremony... Read More
By Delaney Cotton, 2/22/2018
Engineers around the world are constantly shaping our future. They are behind the big curtain making the technologies that change our lives. Unfortunately, in a field dominated by men, half of the United States’ population is severely underrepresented. With only 11% of engineers in this country being women, we are drastically limiting our own perspective. From a young age there is an unspoken bias against women in engineering and science. I personally still remember selecting electives in middle school and discovering I was the only girl in my coding class, as well as my editing lab.... Read More
Subscribe to