Our Jewish Life
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 Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, 3/26/2018
A Reading For Your Passover Seder Had 18 college students been gunned down at the University of Texas in Austin (1966) but not 32 at Virginia Tech (2007)…dayeinu. It should have been enough. Had 49 been killed and 58 wounded at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando (2016) but not 58 killed and nearly 500 wounded at a Las Vegas concert (2017)…dayeinu. It should have been enough. Had 12 been killed and 58 wounded at a movie theatre in Aurora Colorado (2012) but not 9 killed at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon (2015)…dayeinu. It should have been enough. Had 9... Read More
By RAC Staff, 3/22/2018
During Passover, Jews across the world celebrate and commemorate our ancestors’ historic journey from bondage to freedom. We retell the story of Exodus at seders, a ritual that calls us to consider our history in a tangible, physical sense, bringing the Biblical tale of the struggle for liberation into the present day. “Standing on the parted shores, we still believe what we were taught before ever we stood at Sinai’s foot; that wherever we go, it is eternally Egypt; that there is a better place, a promised land; that the winding way to that promise passes through the... Read More
By Angelica Vohland, 1/29/2018
I had the opportunity to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem on my first trip to Israel through the Reform Movement’s Sci-Tech Israel program. Jerusalem was one of the most anticipated stops on our tour of numerous factories and tech-startups located throughout the nation. My soul was swelling with excitement; I knew I was footsteps away from a place I had merely visited in childhood daydreams. As I walked through the women’s courtyard for the very first time, I noticed that a stark barrier stood distinctly to my left, separating me from the male friends I had met on my science- and... Read More
By Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, 10/04/2017
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. We shift from a period of introspection, a focus on our innermost selves, to a time of turning outward and re-entering the world around us. The metaphysical work of our souls complete, we now turn to the physical work of our hands as we build our Sukkot and enter a very communal and earth-bound phase of our annual cycle. As a reminder of our homeless wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, we are commanded to build... Read More
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