JewsByChoice.Org

There has been an interesting series posted on the Hirhurim Musings blog about Why People Become Orthodox, and I thought it would be useful to share here simply because the perspectives of many Conservative rabbis are shared. Essentially a question was posed to a number of rabbis across the spectrum of Judaism, and as far [...]

This coming Shabbat, with my rabbi on vacation and our intern doing Air Force Reserve duty, I will have the opportunity to lead Torah study and services for our informal Shabbat morning. As I’ve observed others over the past few years lead services at my temple I’ve taken a number of mental notes and what [...]

Last month the Jerusalem Post ran an interesting story about a group in Israel called “Kehilat Tzedek”.
Here is a snippet from the article.
One woman prays in a synagogue where gender separation is strictly enforced. Another is a member of a mixed-seating congregation that bars homosexuals from rabbinical ordination. A third belongs to a movement [...]

The summer issue of Reform Judaism Magazine is out and it looks good! The feature article is titled “Why Religion Matters” is by Krista Tippett (who I believe is a Christian as well as being the host of NPR’s Speaking of Faith, which BTW is one of my favorite radio programs) was an interesting read [...]

This weekend I read a fascinating (not to mention extremely lonnnnng) article on the Reform Movement. The piece which appears in the latest issue of Commentary Magazine, looks at some of the URJ’s current successes, opportunities and of course, problems. The article was written by Jack Wertheimer a professor of American Jewish history at the [...]

All, just wanted to post a quick jot to let everyone know that the new Reform Judaism website has launched. You can find it at www.rj.org. It’s a project of the Union for Reform Judaism.
RJ.org is the place to get the News and Views of Reform Jews from around North America and the world. [...]

First African American woman convert to be ordained as a Reform Rabbi, reports the JTA. Below is an excerpt but if you wish to read the full story, check it out on JTA. \
Raised by Pentacostal parents, Stanton-Ogulnick spent her childhood and young adulthood as a spiritual seeker, making the rounds of various [...]

This Haaretz article just found it’s way in to my feed reader.

Reform Jews open Israel’s first state-funded non-Orthodox synagogue
Israel’s Reform Jews dedicated the first non-Orthodox synagogue to receive state funding on Monday, after a long court battle that accented the rift among streams of Judaism in Israel.
The Reform Yozma congregation fought for the better [...]

A friend just e-mailed this to me, and I wanted to pop it up really quick to share. I have to admit that my knowledge of U.S. rabbis is pretty weak. I concern myself so much with the great dead teachers (Rashi, Maimonides, etc.) that I seem to forget to look in my own backyard [...]

I’m bumping this post (which was originally posted last month) up to the top as reminder for those of you, who may have forgotten about the Jewish Discovery Shabbat at OSRUI and as an FYI to those of you who missed it the first time round.
Avi
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Cross-posted on Accidentally Jewish. This is an opportunity for people [...]