WUPJ Library

By Rabbi Josh Jacobs-Velde, Ohev Tzedek-Shaarei Torah , Ohio, USA The Jewish-American poet Marge Piercy has written an achingly beautiful poem called “Nishmat,” which appears in the Reconstructionist Kol Haneshamah siddur as an interpretation of the traditional Nishmat Kol Chai prayer of Shabbat morning. Here is an excerpt: “…Every day we find a new sky […]

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, Senior Rabbi, Temple Emanu-El of Tucson, Arizona, USA, and host, “The Too Jewish Radio Show with Rabbi Sam Cohon and Friends” The great 60’s comedian, Alan Sherman wrote a book about restrictions on human behavior. He decided to invent a new religion, which would have only one commandment: “Thou shalt […]

by Rabbi Burt Schuman, Beit Warszawa , Warsaw, Poland One of the ongoing challenges we face within our world Jewish community in general, and in the Progressive Jewish community in particular, is that of finding the right balance between lay and rabbinic leadership. On one hand I, and many of my colleagues, must contend what are […]

by Rabbi Mark Goldsmith North Western Reform Synagogue , Alyth Gardens, London This Shabbat my family celebrates the Bat Mitzvah of our eldest daughter Alice. In her D’var Torah on Parashat Mishpatim Alice talks about her journey of learning during the year: from feeling that her portion was, in her words, “a series of rules […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Neal Borovitz, Rabbi Emeritus Temple Avodat Shalom , River Edge, New Jersey, USA The Torah portion for this week is called Yitro and is named after Moses’ father-in-law. The high point of this parasha and the climax of the entire Torah is Exodus 20, which is the conclusion of this week’s […]

Recent Issues By: Rabbi Danny Burkeman, Rabbi at the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York, USA. He is a former Board member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) Empowering the People When I think back to my time in RSY-Netzer (the Reform Jewish Youth movement in Britain) I find it hard to […]

Recent Issues By Rabbi Dr. Walter Rothschild. Landesrabbiner of Schleswig-Holstein. This sidra is famous for the encounter between God and Israel – through Moses – on the Mountain in Sinai – known as ‘Matan Torah’, the Revelation and Giving of the Teachings. What does this mean? We can distinguish in the Torah between two specific […]

by Rabbi Sheryl Nosan-Lantzke, Jewish Spirituality Australia (in Perth, and Worldwide at nefeshproject.wordpress.com ) This week’s parasha, Yitro, brings us to revelation at Sinai, but doesn’t reveal tablets of “The Ten Commandments.” We hear God’s instructions (including direction to worship only God, sanctify Shabbat and honour parents as well as prohibitions against murder, theft and […]

by Rabbi Mark L. Winer, Ph.D., D.D. The Arab Spring arouses both hope and fear. Within the last couple of years, upheaval in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and most of all Syria has seized the world’s attention.  Emerging Arab leaders espouse Western democratic values. But democratic elections following the collapse of dictatorships sometimes produce extremist Islamist Arab leadership. Indeed, […]

Parashat Yitro contains one of the most dramatic scenes of the entire Torah, and possibly the pivotal moment of all of Jewish History – it is the Torah portion which relates our primary encounter with the divine. The paradigmatic moment of revelation retold in this parasha serves as the classic example of what it means to have God’s will revealed to us on the collective level.

by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, Senior Rabbi Temple Emanu-El , Tucson, Arizona, and host of “The Too Jewish Radio Show” with Rabbi Sam Cohon and Friends When I was a child my father tried very hard to get me to memorize certain central passages in Jewish tradition, believing that they would become a more important […]

by Rabbi Joan Glazer Farber, R.J.E. Adult Learning Specialist for the Union for Reform Judaism When Can We Truly See ? Each year when we read Parashat Yitro, many of us tend to focus on the later sections of the parashah. We are caught up in the awe and splendor of that moment at the […]