The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), established in London in 1926, is the international network of the Reform, Liberal, Progressive and Reconstructionist movements, serving an estimated 1.8 million members worldwide in more than 1,250 congregations in over 50 countries. Headquartered in Jerusalem, the WUPJ represents the largest body of Jews in the world who […]
The Elul Seminar of the Eastern European Council of Reform Rabbis took place in Odessa in early September 2017, with six rabbis from across Russia, Belarus and Eastern Europe for coming together for a three-day seminar that fosters sharing ideas, stories and inspiration for preparing prayers, sermons and events for the upcoming Jewish month of Tishrei.
The Shaarei Shalom community in St. Petersburg, Russia has begun a new project, the idea of which is to touch upon Jewish history and gain a better understanding of the life of today’s Jews in Europe, specifically the life of the Reform communities in Prague and Berlin. The founding member of this project is Ilya […]
In the summer of 1994, I set out for North America with my wife and two children as a shaliach (emissary) to the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), the North American branch of the Reform youth movement. My service in the U.S. was cut short due to my wife Tikva’s cancer diagnosis, but […]
by Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, Rabbi of the Religious Union for Progressive Judaism in the Republic of Belarus Perhaps one of the tasks of our weekly Parasha – Nitzavim-Vayelech – is to show the accessibility of the Torah. At the beginning of the chapter we read that everyone, including Jews of different classes and occupations, women and […]
Recent Issues By: Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, Rabbi of the Union for Progressive Judaism in the Republic of Belarus and the Sandra Breslauer “ Beit Simcha ” center in Minsk. Communal Responsibility Our chapter starts with the commandment “You shall appoint magistrates and officials and they will govern the people with true justice”. We have the […]
Recent Issues By: Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, head Rabbi of the Religious Union for Progressive Judaism in the Republic of Belarus Stop Just Complaining and Do Something Question – What technology, instrument or human resources do we need to run a Jewish community, its programs, services and events? There are many books, instructions, lessons and ideas […]
Connection to Reality By Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, Belarus Our Torah portion this week addresses issues that may not necessarily appear to be connected at first glance. Right after the laws concerning priests, we read about the calendar of our sacred occasions: Shabbat and festivals. Then, at the end of the chapter we are told the […]
This past March, while participating in a Germany-Belarus interfaith trip, I learned the story of Fritz Rappolt. Though not mentally ill, Fritz had been diagnosed as psychopathic at the Bethel Hospital in Bielefeld, but was released from Bethel in September, 1940 when Jews were not allowed to be treated in medical institutions.
Recent Issues By: Rabbi Grisha Abramovich, Rabbi of the Union for Progressive Judaism in the Republic of Belarus and the Sandra Breslauer “ Beit Simcha ” center in Minsk. In July 1974, our world lost one of the most distinguished Assyriologists of his generation, Adolf Leo Oppenheim. Some 10 years earlier he published his book […]