December 8, 2005 By Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky A window has opened to the Orthodox community. We are being invited to help reshape the social dynamics of the American Jewish community. With courage and vision, we need to act on this opportunity by understanding the important changes that have occurred over the last decades and rethinking …
By Jack Stern From Reform Judaism, Winter 1997 Reprinted with permission from the author and Reform Judaism Magazine — Published by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Many years ago I was working with one of my bar mitzvah students, who was totally negligent in his preparations. Exasperated, his mother finally turned to the boy …
Continue reading “Observations of a Rabbi Who Never Became a Bar Mitzvah”
by Yael Shuman Illustration by Nancy Winternight From Reconstructionism Today, Summer, 1994 Reprinted with Permission. The Jewish tradition is rich in ritual objects that assisted our ancestors for centuries in unlocking spiritual meaning. Such objects as the tallit (prayer shawl), kippah (head-covering) or kiddush cup, in their beauty and tangibility, can actually change our state …
Continue reading “The Power of a Prayer Shawl: Exploring Jewish Ritual Objects”
by Elyse Goldstein From CCAR Journal: A Reform Jewish Quarterly, Winter/Spring 1995 Reprinted with permission In recent years the popularity and appeal of traditional ritual in our movement have grown dramatically. On such ritual, which continues to gain acceptance and is being increasingly encouraged, is the use of the mikvah for Jews by choice, both …