Reform congregation websites hosted by URJ are hacked

Published on November 26, 2012

The websites of several congregations hosted by the Union for Reform Judaism were hacked and linked to anti-Semitic websites.

Stereotypes and Myths

By Susan Esther Barnes
Published on November 14, 2012

Thousands sign on for Shema flash mob

Published on October 22, 2012

More than 2,500 people signed up to participate in a global Shema flash mob as part of a campaign to promote religious pluralism in Israel. The gatherings early Monday afternoon came two days after Conservative Jewish congregations were asked to dedicate a recitation of the Shema to the topic as well.

Anat Hoffman’s arrest at Western Wall galvanizing liberal Jewish groups

Published on October 22, 2012

Last week’s episode was hardly the first time Israeli police stopped activist Anat Hoffman while she was leading a women’s prayer service at the Western Wall in violation of Israeli law.

A president of values and vision

Published on October 11, 2012

Jewish voters know the scene well. Politicians show up at our synagogues, community events and Jewish homes for the aging—all talking up “Jewish values,” all trying to speak the language of the Jewish community.

Shame at the Holiest Site in Judaism

By Rabbi John Rosove
Published on August 20, 2012

July 9, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on July 9, 2012

Open Letter to Ellie About God

By Susan Esther Barnes
Published on June 27, 2012

VIDEO / Israel and the Diaspora: Two sides of the same coin?

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on June 27, 2012

When there are no more excuses for Israel’s Reform

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on May 30, 2012

Israel’s Haredi vs. Conservative/Reform populations, part II

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on February 26, 2012

Vice prime minister: ‘Iranian regime should be confronted by the West’

Published on January 30, 2012

Intelligence on Iran’s nuclear project is no longer subject to dispute in Israeli government circles, according to Moshe Ya’alon, vice prime minister of Israel and minister of strategic affairs. Instead, the focus of the discussion is on how to meet this challenge, Ya’alon said while addressing the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Jan. 25 at the Union for Reform Judaism in New York.

Obama speaks at the URJ Conference

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on December 17, 2011

The Reform Movement must progress from being a collection of social clubs for liberal 60 year olds

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on December 16, 2011

Cantor, Ehud Barak to address Reform biennial

Published on November 22, 2011

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will address the Union for Reform Judaism's biennial.

Reform Judaism must move beyond ‘personal choice’

Published on May 12, 2011

Change is afoot in American Reform Judaism. A new president of the Union for Reform Judaism has been selected. The movement has launched a series of nationwide public forums to discuss its future. Hundreds of Reform rabbis have endorsed a plan toward achieving greater efficiency in the movement’s institutions.

Reform rift over Zionist credentials of incoming chief Rick Jacobs

Published on April 29, 2011

Ads questioning the Zionist credentials of the leader-designate of the Reform movement are a distortion, Reform leaders said. The ad attacking Rabbi Richard Jacobs for not being sufficiently pro-Israel appeared in a number of Jewish newspapers this week. It was placed by a group of Reform Jews calling themselves Jews Against Divisive Leadership.

Is Reform movement going kosher?

Published on November 11, 2010

Kosher -- it’s the first word in the book. And tackling the “k” word head-on is part of what makes the first Reform guide to Jewish dietary practice so significant.

Reform Jews must refashion Shabbat

By Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
Published on December 20, 2007

Communal leaders outside of the synagogue love to talk the language of corporate strategy. They engage in endless debates on the latest demographic study. They plan elaborate conferences and demand new ideas. But sometimes we don't need new ideas; we need old ideas. We need less corporate planning and more text and tradition, less strategic thinking and more mitzvot, less demographic data and more Shabbat. Because we know in our hearts that in the absence of Shabbat, Judaism withers.

Evolution of Reform Judaism Progressing

By Joe Berkofsky
Published on November 13, 2003

At Temple Congregation Ohabei Shalom in Nashville, Tenn., congregants newly trained in the ancient skill of shofar blowing sounded the ceremonial ram's horn for the first time this past Rosh Hashanah. It was the first time a lay member of the 150-year-old synagogue had blown the shofar.

"It was quite a pivotal moment" for the 800-family congregation, said its rabbi, Mark Schiftan.

Deeply rooted in classical Reform Judaism, the temple's services until recently were marked by choirs and English-only prayer. This Reform movement charter synagogue is undergoing upheaval, and it is not alone.

Road Trip

By Julie G Fax
Published on March 22, 2001

In celebration of HUC-JIR's impending 125th anniversary, faculty members from the Los Angeles campus will be fanning out across Southern California during the next few weeks to bring the college to the congregants.

Body Building

Published on December 3, 1998

Rabbi Barnett Brickner sits, frowning in his study at Temple Judea of Massapequa, N.Y. He's been asked his opinion of the proposed new "platform" of Reform Judaism, which comes up for a vote next May at a national convention of Reform rabbis. The platform says that the Torah was revealed by God at Sinai and that its commandments "call to us even though we live in modernity." It urges Reform Jews to pray daily, to make the Sabbath a holy day, to follow dietary laws, and more. Brickner is alarmed.