My Cross-Country Move: What Abortion Access Means To Me
I think we all can remember where we were the day that Roe V. Wade was overturned. I was at home. I was living in Tennessee at the time, a state with trigger laws. I was flooded with articles and headlines that shook me to my core. The more I read, the more my heart raced. I became sick to my stomach. I remember rumors and questions about what this could mean legally for practitioners, pregnant people, and anyone seeking birth control. I thought about the fact that I hope to bear children one day and felt a direct threat to my life. Our lease was up in a few months, and we had already been considering what to do next. To me, this verdict was the deciding factor.
Parashat Mishpatim
The word “mishpatim” means “laws” – a list of 53 laws, to be precise, mostly in the arena of civil law and damages. Coming immediately after the revelation at Sinai, Parashat Mishpatim digs into the details that move us from the high principles in the Ten Commandments to the nuts and bolts of an implementable system of governance with specific rights and obligations.
We All Stood Together
My brother and I were at Sinai
He kept a journal
of what he saw,
of what he heard,
of what it all meant to him.
I wish I had such a record
of what happened to me there
It seems like every time I want to write
I can't —
I'm always holding a baby,
The Collab: A New Chapter for URJ’s NFTY Leadership
The URJ Teen Leadership Collaborative (The Collab) took place at URJ’s Camp OSRUI - created and run by teen leaders to empower and teach other teens the art of community organizing. The weekend program served as the beginning of a new chapter in NFTY and for the whole Reform Youth Movement. This event could not have happened without the generous support of the WRJ YES Fund and its philanthropy.
The Intersection of Climate Change, Gender, and Poverty
Jewish teachings, portions of the Torah, and our own Jewish values have reinforced our duty to protect our planet, including those animals that inhabit it, the atmosphere, and the water. An oft-quoted Midrash reads, “Do not destroy My world, for if you do, there will be nobody after you to make it right again” (Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13). This conveys a sense of urgency and importance that if we are derelict in this, we will destroy humankind as we know it for future generations. WRJ works with other organizations to fulfill this duty and has passed 11 resolutions between 1969 and 2011.
Parashat B’shalach
Our prophetess Miriam had the right idea! In fact, Song of the Sea is so essential to us that it is written in a special manner in the Torah in two columns, a reminder of the waters of the Reed Sea parting. And when we read or chant those words annually, it is tradition to stand and recall the miraculous traversing to safe shores...as if we were crossing ourselves. And we, you and I, surely know that Miriam gathered all the women with their drums and joyfully praised God, singing (thank you, Debbie Friedman, z’l), “We’ve just lived through a miracle…we’re going to dance tonight!” How many times has that music roused you?
Mentoring and Stepping Back
22. That’s the number of years I served on my Sisterhood board. When I started in 2000, I was six weeks pregnant. That baby has now graduated college, and his younger sister graduated high school. A lot happened in the years I served on my Sisterhood board, both in my life and the life of my Sisterhood. By the Fall of 2022, it was time to step back. It was time to get out of the way of other women so they could lead. Could you be holding back future leaders? Are you the one who is afraid that if you don’t step up, no one will take your place?
Parashat Bo
How many times have all of us convinced someone, or tried to convince them, they have to continue to GO even when they don’t want to - because it is the right thing to do? Finish the course, take the next step, and don’t fall back even if you want to. Chances are this conversation is not with God but comes from the learning, the education that has been planted within us.
Parashat Va-eira
Belief in one’s own ability to be a leader does not come easily to many of us. I recall, many years ago, the first time my supervisor at work put me in charge of a major project, which called for me to lead my peers and some co-workers who were at higher levels than I was at the time. I questioned whether they would follow me. But, with support and encouragement, I gathered my wits and developed clear directions, goals, and deadlines. My path in WRJ has been similar.
After Roe: What the 50th Anniversary of Roe and Reproductive Freedom Means to Me
Sunday, January 22nd marks the 50th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision affirming the constitutional right to abortion that was overturned last June in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.