Blog

by Robin Sobol Many stories have been shared of the devastation that people have and will continue to go through in the travesty know as Sandy. In spite of all of the sorrow, for many of our women, something wonderful happened—their WRJ sisters banded together to help them attend an event they had been looking forward to for months.

by Rabbi Laura Novak Winer Tonight is Rosh Chodesh Kislev. Here in Fresno, California a group of 25 women from Temple Beth Israel gathered together to study Torah and midrash, recite Sh’ma while wearing tallitot (some for the first time!) and holding the Torah. We cherish our freedom to worship as Reform Jews, as women with equal access to all aspects of Jewish practice and observance.

Cathy Sacks of Flushing, NY, sent this first-hand account of her experience during Hurricane Sandy to fellow WRJ Northeast District members before traveling to Albany, NY to attend the annual district convention. It is being shared with the WRJ community to bring awareness to the plight of communities and synagogues devastated by the storm. It was frightening at work.  I work in a hospital emergency department on the south shore of Brooklyn, NY, about half-a-mile from the ocean. Last year, we were the only hospital in NYC to evacuate for Hurricane Irene, but they chose not to evacuate before Hurricane Sandy.

WRJ made this statement today:

For the past few weeks we have all been affected, either physically or emotionally, by the devastating destruction of Hurricane Sandy. The Reform Movement immediately mobilized its resources to address the needs of our congregations and others affected by the storm. As part of these efforts, NFTY has launched a scholarship fund to ensure that youth in the affected communities are able to participate in regional and summer programs.

by Abigail Fisher This week we read (Genesis 25:21): “Isaac pleaded with יהוה on behalf of his wife, for she was childless, and יהוה acceded to his entreaty, so his wife Rebekah became pregnant.”

Picture a day filled doing a few activities you enjoy and seeing the wonderful people in your life in a special location. With our busy lives, we can’t always do what we want, but we can set aside time to practice feeling grateful.

These days, we’re inundated with news. In an age of twitter and Google readers and blogs and RSS feeds, we are exposed to hundreds if not thousands of new stories and articles every day. This can make it hard to pay attention, especially to issues from days or even months(!) ago.

I have recently returned from the WRJ Pacific District convention in Portland, OR. It was rejuvenating to be among women who strive to repair the world in so many compassionate ways. So much of what we do when we come together is to focus or reignite our commitments towards social justice as we recently did at this convention.

WRJ is part of a growing network of North American Jewish organizations raising concerns about the declining role of women in the public arena in Israel. Under the umbrella of this new American Task Force on Women’s Issues in Israel, I recently participated in a meeting with Israel’s NY Consul General Ido Aharoni. He was very gracious in hosting us at the Israeli Consulate, and expressed his commitment to working with us to advance the role of women in Israeli society. He assured us that the numbers of women getting advanced degrees are growing and is currently at more than 50%, even as he acknowledged that this advancement is not yet reflected in the ranks of professional fields or salaries.