Union for Reform Judaism

10/12/2026

From Award-winning journalist and novelist Rebecca Clarren: "'Our country was built on a stolen beam,' Rabbi Sharon Brous of IKAR famously said in a 2017 sermon. To ignore this history and its legacy is to perpetuate harm."

Here you can see Rebecca's Great-Great-Uncle Louie Sinykin posing with men in Dakota garb in South Dakota's Black Hills!

An important read today, Indigenous Peoples' Day:

When I was a child growing up in the 1980s, the story I learned about Thanksgiving followed the classic script: it highlighted amity between the Pilgrims and their Indigenous neighbors. Due to this connection, the hunger of the European settlers was met with squash and turkey.

10/09/2026

When I attended the Atlanta Summit for Black Pastors and Rabbis in August, I was reminded of the strength of the Black-Jewish alliance. This partnership isn't nostalgia; it's a living commitment each generation must choose.

I was also struck by the particular weight carried by my Black Jewish colleagues, who serve as bridges between communities. The Black-Jewish alliance is not simply a partnership between two distinct communities; it is lived every day by Black Jews whose experiences remind us that neither community is a monolith.

When I speak with Jewish peers about the Black-Jewish alliance, they are sometimes surprised to hear that this partnership is still so alive. But it’s alive through our work to reform our broken criminal justice system, stand against racism and antisemitism, expand health care, and protect critical programs like SNAP.

It’s also alive through our 60 year fight to protect the right to vote, which is under threat. Democracy keeps Jews and all people safe, and it's on the line. If we want our voices to be heard, we must continue to show up for each other.

That’s the Judaism I was ordained to practice. One where liberation only makes sense in solidarity with others who are still not free.

I wrote about this important partnership for JTA News. You can read the piece here: https://www.jta.org/2026/10/09/ideas/the-black-jewish-alliance-isnt-nostalgia-we-need-it-to-defend-democracy

-Rabbi Jonah Pesner
Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism

10/08/2026

Get to know Rachel B. Handloff, Executive Director of URJ specialty camps: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/rockvilles-rachel-b-handloff-oversees-specialty-jewish-camps/

URJ camps like URJ 6 Points Sports Academy - North Carolina and URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech & Arts Academy allow campers to pursue their passion from a Jewish lens.

10/08/2026

This week's "Two Minutes of Torah" is here! Parashat B'reish*t contains a valuable lesson about creating lasting change. As you start the new year, take a moment to listen to Rabbi Tori Greene's insights for sustaining new growth.

10/08/2026

Join URJ on November 8 for Spread the Light, Yad Vashem USA Foundation's second annual Kristallnacht Commemoration.

Together we will honor the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust while reflecting on the enduring importance of Holocaust remembrance and education.

Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan will be in conversation with author Dara Horn, moderated by Adam Kuperstein, anchor at NBC New York, about the lessons of history and the challenges facing the Jewish people.

Register below:

10/07/2026

Today, ARZA Executive Director, Rabbi Joshua Weinberg, spoke with Fox 32 Chicago's "Good Day Chicago" about the long-lasting ramifications of October 7, 2023:

10/07/2026

"I've told Mayor Mamdani directly that his words matter. But he once again found an opportunity to be callous toward Jewish pain. Today is a day of mourning. You cannot proclaim empathy and care for the Jewish community and then fail to show basic humanity toward us in our grief. He gave Hamas a single sentence and then spent the rest of his statement condemning Israel. Turning this anniversary into an indictment of the Jewish state is not only hurtful and deeply offensive, but it also makes Jewish New Yorkers less safe."

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
President, URJ

10/07/2026

On this episde of The Pluralist Podcast, Orly Erez-Likhovski and ARZA's Rabbi Josh Weinberg reflect on what it means to remember October 7 three years later — as Israelis and Jews around the world continue to live with its consequences while asking whether it is possible to begin again.

Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

*Three years after October 7, can we begin again — without forgetti...

10/07/2026

Rabbi Hanna Yerushalmi has shared this poem with us as we remember. We remember the lives taken on October 7, 2023. We remember the families forever changed. We remember the fear, grief, and heartbreak of a day that left an indelible mark on Israel and the Jewish people around the world.

May the memories of those we lost be a blessing, may those who survived continue to find healing, and may we hold one another close as we carry their stories forward.

10/06/2026

As Israelis prepare to vote, the election will help shape the future of Israel’s democracy, religious pluralism, and the place of Reform Judaism in Israeli society. Join the global Reform Movement on October 11 for a timely conversation on the election landscape, key issues, and possible political scenarios: https://urj.tfaforms.net/2019