Blog

Voices for WRJ: Parashat Sh’mot

by Adrian Modansky Good wishes for a healthy and happy 2013! Aren’t we fortunate to be able to celebrate two new years? We have the opportunity to make two new beginnings!

Eishet Chayil Mi Yimtza? A Worthy Woman Who Can Find?

By Rabbi Joan Glazer Farber "A worthy woman who can find? Her value is far beyond that of pearls of coral." (Kravitz and Olitsky, Mishlei: A Modern Commentary, UAHC Press, NY, 2002, p. 310) Frequently translated as "a woman of valor," this verse from Proverbs 31 and those that follow have come to signify the respect and importance of women to the family and the Jewish community. In some homes it is recited as part of the Erev Shabbat ritual and is often included among the scriptural readings during a woman’s funeral.

Voices for WRJ: Parashat Va-y’chi

by Connie Kreshtool This week’s Torah portion Va-y’chi (“and he lived”) concludes the Book of Genesis and relates the final years and death of Jacob, the last of the patriarchs.  After living in Egypt for 17 years, Jacob realizes that he will soon die and tells Joseph that he wishes to be buried with his ancestors in the Cave of Machpelah. He also tells Joseph that he will consider Jacob’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to be like his own first-born, Reuben and Simeon. Jacob proceeds to bless Ephraim and Manasseh by placing his right hand upon the younger Ephraim and his left hand upon Manasseh, which repeats the biblical theme of the younger son taking precedence over the older son.

Voices of WRJ: Parashat Vayigash

by Rabbi Stanley M. Davids It will happen precisely at 6:12 a.m. today: The Winter Solstice. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, this will be the earliest start of the winter season since 1896! The sun’s path is at its southernmost point, and things are going to get a lot colder before the spring warm-up begins.

Intermarriage Makes a Better Jew and Jewish Professional

Rachel Jurisz

My name is Rachel Jurisz-Singh. Some of you know me by the name I use professionally - Jurisz - which is actually my maiden name. Yes, I am intermarried and my family is interracial too. Growing up I never thought I would choose to marry outside of my faith. I was always involved in my synagogue and youth group. I went to Jewish summer camp and attended Hebrew school through my senior year of high school. I even chose my career path in the Jewish field, working at four major Jewish organizations in the last 14 years.

Freeing the Captive

by Alli Cohen

Father of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, once stated, "We are organizing Jewry for its coming destiny.” Herzl’s statement, made before the establishment of Israel, still applies to today. While we now have the “longed for” state of Israel, the Jewish people continue striving to make Eretz Yisrael a better place for future generations.

Reform Movement Dismayed by Continued Religious Discrimination in Israel

WRJ and the Reform Movement released the following statement today:

New York, N.Y., December 14, 2012 – Friday morning, Israeli police detained four women as they prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The group of 138 men and women was organized by Women of the Wall, an organization that fights for women's right to pray freely, while donning prayer shawls and other religious articles, at the Western Wall. Among those detained was Reform Rabbi Elyse Frishman, senior rabbi of Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, NJ, the oldest synagogue in New Jersey and editor of the Reform Movement's Reform Movement’s siddur (prayer book), CCAR's Mishkan T'filah, used in over 700 North American congregations.

Voices of WRJ: Parashat Mikeitz

Sara B. Charney

Today is a very busy and light-filled day in the Hebrew calendar. How fortunate and blessed we are to have so much light adorn our homes, first with the lighting of the sixth candle of Hanukkah and then with the welcoming of Shabbat by lighting her candles, especially since it now gets dark in the late afternoon.

Tzedakah: The 6th Night of Hanukkah

Rosanne Selfon

Do you remember when you counted the days until Hanukkah arrived? I can still picture my mom polishing the traditional brass lion menorah and buying new candles from our Temple Sisterhood. I was allowed to select just the perfect candles, sometimes placed in order by colors and sometimes chosen to simply be bright and happy. Mom's latkes were the best ever; she made hundreds for the religious school’s Hanukkah party and was called "The Latke Lady."

Friday Voices: Parashat Vayeishev

by Dara Amram This week’s torah portion, Vayeishev, describes six prophetic dreams. Here we see that Joseph has a gift for reading dreams, but it's a talent that is primarily a passive one, where dream intuitions are given to him and he doesn’t need to think about anything.