WUPJ Library

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs, former President of World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel , West Hartford, Connecticut, USA. Cain and Abel: “The Symbol Story of the Human Soul” No story in literature teaches us more about what God is—and what God is not—than Cain and […]

By: Rabbi Joan Glazer Farber, R.J.E., Adult Learning Specialist for the Union for Reform Judaism , New York “L’Takein Et Ha’Olam” — Repairing our World The United Nations General Assembly has just completed its annual meeting in New York. It should be seen as a time when people come together to speak about common goals and peace. […]

Recent Issues WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD? By Rabbi Ferenc Raj, PhD, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Beth El , Berkeley, CA, USA & Founding Rabbi, Congregation Bet Orim , Budapest, Hungary Still fresh in our minds is our celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the holiday that commemorates the beginning of […]

By Rabbi Tirzah Ben-David, Shir Hatzafon Progressive Jewish Community , Copenhagen, Denmark “In the beginning”… the ancient Israelite account of creation presents us with a vision of infinite possibility. It pinpoints the unrepeatable, and unsustainable, instant when everything is potential, because nothing yet exists.  All artists know this moment, and they also know, with a […]

By Rabbi Haim Shalom, rabbi of Menorah Synagogue , Cheshire Reform Congregation, Manchester, England – a community eager to welcome all Looking at Parashat Bereishit, there are so many themes which could jump out at us to look at. One could choose to look at the Theological meaning of the creation story. One could choose […]

by Rabbi Gary M. Bretton-Granatoor, Vice President, Philanthropy WUPJ This has been a particularly interesting time for me, as my wife and I bid farewell to our youngest child who went off to college.  We are now empty-nesters – and frankly, for the most part, enjoying the blissful quietude.  Yet, there are moments when I […]

by Rabbi Dr Charles Middleburgh, congregational rabbi in Ireland and Wales, founder rabbi of Congregation Shir HaTzaphon in Copenhagen and Honorary Director of Studies at the Leo Baeck College in London; lecturer at the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College, Dublin This Shabbat we commenced again the reading of the Torah with the portion of Bereishit, […]

I have read and meditated on the midrashim so many times that I can no longer imagine the Torah without the rich many interpretation of our brilliant Rabbis, continuing to multiply from the Talmudic times to our days. They go so far as to take the meaning of the text to the limits of creativity.

In my family, it has been a time of journeys and transitions. Our daughter and son-in-law became parents and then moved back to New York. Our son had been touring with a theatrical group and moved back home when the tour ended. Our other daughter spent the summer working at a Union for Reform Judaism camp, came home briefly, before leaving for a semester in Prague, studying Jewish history. Each of these journeys involved complicated plans, many suitcases and even more boxes. Then of course, there was the emotional baggage, sadness for leaving behind cherished communities and friends, relief for the needed break, excitement and anxiety of the unknown which lay ahead.

“Where are you going?” It was a question I was asked by many of my friends. And each time, the answer was the same. “I don’t know. But something is compelling me. I just have to go.” Invariably, when I returned, the first question was the same as the first, “Where did you go?” My answer? “Where I was supposed to.”

“Lech lecha”, go forth, comes the call from God to Avram, and with that begins a journey that, to paraphrase Neil Armstrong thousands of years later, was “one small step for a man, one giant leap for humanity”. Even more than humanity’s conquest of space and landing on the moon, the journey of Avraham Avinu, Avraham our ancestor, has influenced the subsequent course of human events.

Preparing for a journey of any kind can be daunting. So many questions guide our steps: With whom will I be travelling? What is the purpose of the trip? What will I need for my journey? What will the weather be like? Should I bring the laptop or escape from technology? The answer to each question leads to additional questions and actions to be taken. Until we have answered the questions and completed the actions, we cannot begin the journey.