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"And you shall be holy"

Sarah Krinsky

This week’s parashah is Parashat Kedoshim, known as the “Holiness Code.” In it, we are instructed to ourselves be holy, for God is holy. We’re not left, though, with just this vague command – the rest of the parashah contains many specific ways in which we can fulfill this important yet seemingly impossible demand. While some of the elements of this “Holiness Code” might seem fairly removed from our typical ideas of “holiness” (not wearing cloth from a mixture of two kinds of material, for example, or not eating the fruit of newly planted trees for the first four years), many of the mitzvot we read about in this parashah concern interpersonal relationships, and how we as a community look out for one another. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap the corner of your field…you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger,” we read. We are taught to judge our neighbors fairly, to pay laborers prompt wages, to not insult the deaf nor place stumbling blocks before the blind. In short, we are taught to treat others in our society – regardless of our relationship to them, regardless of who they are or what they do – with the utmost dignity and respect.

WRJ-Israel: The View From Within

Resa S. Davids

By Resa S. Davids WRJ-Israel came into being in Jerusalem on March 19, 2009. I had arranged a luncheon for women to be held during the WUPJ International Convention in order to strengthen the women’s track of workshops and to encourage more Israeli women to participate in the convention. Previously, I had visited 15 congregations which were affiliated with the Israel Movement for Reform &Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) in order to encourage them to consider establishing women’s groups. Goals and activities for each of these women’s groups were just in the early stages of talking and dreaming. There was no clear definition of what could or would happen as the women’s groups began to meet. I invited the women in these groups, together with women leaders from around the world who were attending the Convention, to come together for this luncheon. During the event, I welcomed Rosanne Selfon, president of WRJ at the time. Suddenly I heard myself presenting the 40 Israeli women in the room to her as a new Israeli national organization which would be connected with WRJ and would be known as WRJ-Israel. There was no advance planning, no voting by the WRJ Board, no voting by the women in the room. It just seemed like a good idea at the time!

Voices of WRJ: Parashat Tazria-M’tzora

by Judith O. Rosenkranz The parashah for this week (Tazria-M’tzora, Lev. 12:1-15:33) opens with these words are, “Adonai spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus.” This phrase keeps coming back to me for it empowers Moses to relay to the entire Israelite people what he has been told. This empowering of leadership, this transfer of authority, seems very real as we have just held a conference call with the WRJ Centennial Ambassadors during which we reviewed our WRJ Centennial Shabbat Services. These Ambassadors, selected by each Sisterhood, were empowered to produce their own individual service in celebration of the WRJ Centennial. There were many suggestions and supplies made available, but it was up to each individual Ambassador as to what she would do, how it was done, and to a degree when it was done. The variations were as many as there were Sisterhoods around the globe!

WRJ Centennial Trip: The Fifth Question

by Alli Cohen As a rabbinical student, I am constantly reminded of one of the greatest skills I have been taught: the act of questioning. Who, what, where, when and my favorite, "why?" In each class, I take what I learn, question it, reason with it and apply it to society.

These are the Names of the Women of Reform Judaism

By Rabbi Rick Jacobs For too much of Jewish history Jewish women did not count. Consider the opening of the Book of Exodus:
Eleh sh’mot b'nai Yisrael – These are the names of the children of Israel.” (Exodus 1:1)
The text then goes on to name only the male children of Israel: Reuben, Simeon and Judah… but there is no mention of the female children of Israel. There definitely were many female children of Israel who were there but the opening of Exodus doesn't see fit to mention them. The Biblical text seems to be telling us that: “girls don't matter. Pharaoh also believes that “girls don’t matter” as he commands the Hebrew midwives to kill only the Israelite boys as soon as they are born. Pharaoh is willing to let the Israelite girls live because they pose no threat. Pharoah, like so many others before and since, greatly underestimates the leadership strength of Jewish women.

Voices for WRJ: Parashat Sh’mini

by Ellen A. Pollack This week’s parashah (Sh’mini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47) describes the ritual on the day after Aaron’s ordination ceremony, the story of the fire from God that kills Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s oldest sons, and concludes with dietary laws.

Contemporary Reflection on Parashat Sh’mini

By Blu Greenberg In every generation, Jews have understood the significance of the Revelation of Torah in their lives. We have studied and written and taught about the meaning of Torah and its relevance to contemporary circumstances. With the publication of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary in 2008, the teachings of women scholars and Jewish professionals on the significance of Torah in their lives had not been shared in such a dedicated work. The “Contemporary Reflections” section in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary “enable us to hear women’s voices that reckon with divine revelation….each essay shows the significance of Torah as a record of God’s revelation to Israel: it is a repository of Jewish memory, however incomplete, from which we, as individuals and as members of contemporary Jewish communities, can attempt to hear and understand the voice of God.” (Ellen Umansky, “Women and Contemporary Reflection,” The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, page ix) This piece has been excerpted from The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, pages 632-633. All Israel is a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). Some among them are priests of priests. At the top of the priestly pyramid stands Aaron, the kohein gadol (high priest). The kohein gadol is vested with considerable power and responsibility. Though everything is new-and no models exist for him to follow-Aaron carries out his role with great competency and dignity as he offers up the first sacrifices to God.

The On-Going Relationship

By Rabbi David Ellenson The history of the rapport between the Women of Reform Judaism and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion starts with the founding of the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods in 1913 when NFTS established a National Committee on Hebrew Union Scholarships. Through Harvest Balls, dances, raffles, card parties, rummage sales, bazaars, the charging for refreshments at meetings, and other devices, NFTS in its first year raised more than $2000 in HUC scholarship support at a time when annual tuition was $300 per student. By 1915, the Sisterhood women proposed a 25 cent per capita tax on all members for the establishment of scholarships. Another source of scholarship revenue was discovered through the sale of NFTS Jewish Art Calendars and, in 1917, NFTS proposed that the profits of Uniongram sales be used for “the maintenance of the Hebrew Union Scholarship Fund.” The results were remarkable, and while no single contribution was “large,” the NFTS women succeeded in amassing an “aggregate” that constituted “a considerable sum.” By 1920, NFTS provided more than $12,000 in scholarship aid for HUC students by mobilizing thousands of women through participatory and grass roots methods to raise thousands and thousands of dollars.

Voices for WRJ: Parashat Tzav

Edith Caplan

This week’s parashah (Tzav, Lev. 6:1–8:36) is one that is a bit difficult for us in these modern times to relate to as it refers to the many kinds of sacrificial offerings made by the Israelites to God.