Related Blog Posts on Jewish Values and Social Justice

Shavuot and Criminal Justice Reform

Rabbi Neil P.G. Hirsch

Shavuot marks the end of the counting of the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Many view the counting of the Omer as a spiritual and conscientious practice—but while the Reform Jewish community conscientiously counts through 49 days, we know that there are many who count days, weeks, and years as they serve time in the criminal justice system.

The Empathy Gene

Rabbi Charles K. Briskin

This post is adapted from a sermon given on February 9, 2018 at Temple Beth El in San Pedro, CA. 

Last night I read a disturbing article published by Reuters which provided a detailed, graphic and verified account of a massacre of ten Rohingya men in a remote

Passover 2018 Social Justice Resources

During Passover, Jews across the world celebrate and commemorate our ancestors’ historic journey from bondage to freedom. We retell the story of Exodus at seders, a ritual that calls us to consider our history in a tangible, physical sense, bringing the Biblical tale of the struggle for liberation into the present day. 

Recognizing Both Narratives this Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day

In 1492, just over half a millennium ago, Christopher Columbus set sail on his famous voyage across the Atlantic and opened up the Western Hemisphere for European exploration in the early years of the Renaissance. Many of us have off of school and work today to celebrate that momentous achievement. In school, I remember long history lessons the day before Columbus Day, where I would learn about Columbus’ three ships—the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria—and the incredible impact that Columbus’ landing on the West Indies island of Hispaniola had on the entire world. We talked about how Columbus’ voyage paved the way for a place of religious freedom and tolerance, and of course, the United States.   However, we avoided talking about how the indigenous Taíno people were all but wiped out by their encounters with Columbus—up to 85% of their population no longer lived within a couple decades because of smallpox, famine, enslavement, and forced intermarriage. Our teachers shielded us from the historical narrative of the Taíno people, not only their destruction but also the rich culture they had in the Caribbean and their impact on our current society. We never talked about how the names we use to describe so many things in our culture, from “canoe” to “hurricane” to my favorite, “barbecue” came from the Taíno people.

This Week at the RAC: Apply for Nothing but Nets Fellowship; People's Climate March

As we finish up the last full week of our Jewish year, it’s been typically hopping at the RAC. Our program team of Michael Namath, Shira Zemel, Daniel Landesberg and Ariella Yedwab spent three days at the URJ’s Kutz Camp brainstorming, role-playing and case-studying along with the URJ’s Youth Division Staff, all with an eye to making our many youth-oriented RAC programs (L’Taken, Machon Kaplan, etc.) even better than they already are. Back here in DC, the LAs were zipping around from congressional hearings to mark-ups to meetings to briefings on Israel, voting rights, religious freedom and more.