K’lal Yisrael – one Jewish people. It is not surprising that WRJ offers us an opportunity to connect and partner with the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). You may think of Argentina or Australia as places where Jews live, but do you also think of China or the Czech Republic? Would you guess that the Progressive Jewish community is experiencing resurgence in Germany, Spain, and Russia? It is WUPJ’s goal to ensure that all Jews have access to a vibrant and personally meaningful Jewish life.
The World Union representing nearly 2 million members across five continents is devastated to see the destruction of the most symbolic building in Christendom.For 850 years the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has seen the extraordinary development of Christianity throughout Europe and has housed some of the most beautiful works of art that humanity has been inspired to create.
Earlier this year, while I was diarising our summer cruise dates, I realised that we would land in Lisbon the morning before Rosh Hashanah. I knew we had a Progressive/Reform kehillah there – Ohel Jakov – as I had had the pleasure of meeting some of the community members four years earlier; and so I contacted their passionate leader and champion – Adriana de Souza – and arranged for us to join them for dinner and a service on Erev Rosh Hashanah, in their proudly sacred space– a five room apartment (up three flights of stairs, in an old building, hidden away in a suburb of Lisbon), which they had recently reorganised, repainted and refreshed. They had a “synagogue”, library, meeting/dining room, office and kitchen with a small balcony.
Are you aware of the many opportunities that our global Reform Movement provides for all of us? Because your congregation is part of the larger Reform Community, you belong to the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) here in North America or a similar national organization and to the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) connecting Jews around the world. Our new Find a Community app – currently in app stores for iPhone and Android users – gives you all the information you need to find a Reform Congregation anywhere from Wheeling, West Virginia here in the USA to Warsaw Poland, or even from Buenos Aires to Budapest.
Just a few days after the much-vaunted Trump-Kim Summit in Singapore, the latest Asia Progressive Judaism Shabbaton was held in the South Korean capital, Seoul. All the overseas participants were keen to hear from the locals their view on what had just happened, and the latter did not hold back. The Shabbaton began with a […]
On May 25, 1908, the Opera House in Buenos Aires, “Teatro Colon,” opened its doors in its current location. This monumental and majestic theater required three different architects and the most refined woods, marble, tile, etc. from Spain, France, and Italy, as well as other countries, for its construction. Luciano Pavarotti would say about the […]
I have just returned from an amazing trip to the Caribbean with the World Union for Progressive Judaism. We visited congregations in San Juan, St. Thomas, Curacao, and Aruba, some of the oldest congregations in the Western hemisphere. We shared our stories, our music, and our prayers with each of these communities. As you know, […]
