Blog

During the High Holidays, my thoughts turn to the special blessings, prayers, and melodies that shape our journey from Selichot to Rosh HaShanah to the final shofar blast on Yom Kippur.

Many of our prayers in the High Holiday liturgy are written in the plural

And, we’re off! Many of us have worked over the summer with friends and colleagues to set the calendar for the year ahead, including meetings, events, and other opportunities for gathering.

How did you wind up on WRJ’s Board?

I was invited to a reception with (now) Executive Director Emerita Rabbi Marla J. Feldman at the Pacific District Convention in 2018 and was encouraged to apply to WRJ’s North American Board.

As most of you are (hopefully) aware, in the past few years URJ and some of its Movement Partners have conducted extensive investigations into reports of sexual misconduct and abuse that occurred in their spaces.

I was born a Goldman, and always knew I was Jewish on my dad’s side. Although my whole family was spiritual in their own way, the Jewish side of my family didn’t have warm feelings towards religion, and the only thing  passed down to me was the Jewish humor

I

I thought that attending Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in the Berkshires would be an incredibly inspirational, gratifying, and uniquely Jewish few days of learning — don’t get me wrong, it was!

Since you are reading this, you likely know that Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) cultivates sisterhood by empowering Reform Jewish women to find strength, joy, and connection in their communities.

Challenge:

A vibrant, North American-based organization provides sacred community, support, and advocacy for over 700 female and nonbinary rabbis, but one-fifth of those rabbis serve internationally.

You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind… Leviticus 19:14

I grew up with a spare leg in the closet. It belonged to my father, Sidney Novak, who was an amputee army veteran from WWII.

On April 14, 1945, Sidney was leading