CCAR Press Announces Release of ‘Reading Reform Responsa: Jewish Tradition, Reform Rabbis, and Today’s Issues’

March 2024

Drawing from classical halachic literature, Reform religious culture, and modern secular legal theory, this critical new volume demonstrates the history and influence of Jewish law on the Reform Movement’s practice and values.

New York, NY – CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), is pleased to announce the publication of Reading Reform Responsa: Jewish Tradition, Reform Rabbis, and Today’s Issues, a new volume on the Reform Movement’s relationship with Jewish law by Rabbi Mark Washofsky, PhD.

The responsa literature, in which rabbis answer questions about halachah (Jewish law), is a vast treasury reaching back nearly fifteen centuries; Reform rabbis have been writing responsa since the 1800s. In Reading Reform Responsa, Rabbi Washofsky presents a deep dive into this literature, boldly arguing that Reform Judaism is indeed a movement fundamentally based on halachah. By inviting and guiding readers to understand Reform responsa with a critical eye, he demonstrates that the Reform Movement has always been informed by Jewish law as well as by the movement’s history. A teacher and mentor of generations of students at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Washofsky gives us a peek inside his classroom, making Reform responsa—and their history, framing, and context—engaging and accessible for all.

“Rabbi Washofsky gifts us with a series of informed and sensitive discussions of how Reform Jews should think about and act on specific moral and ritual issues,” said Rabbi Elliot Dorff, PhD, past chair of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. “In doing so, he graphically demonstrates that Reform Judaism’s emphasis on personal autonomy is complemented by its insistence that Jewish tradition must play a role in individuals’ choices if these decisions are to be not just one’s own opinion, but also a recognizably Jewish one.”

Rabbi Amy Scheinerman, author of The Talmud of Relationships said, “Rabbi Mark Washofsky offers us a fascinating entry into and analysis of the Reform Movement’s engagement with Jewish law, practice, and values. Where responsa analyze the issues and concerns implicit in a question of immediate practicality posed to a Jewish legal authority, Washofsky analyzes the body of over 1,300 Reform responsa promulgated since the early nineteenth century, pointing out the intellectual and ethical approaches employed, as well as the traditional, philosophical, and scientific resources marshalled to arrive at a persuasive answer. A wonderful read in its own right, this book provides an insider’s look at modern liberal Jewish religious thought in action.”

“Drawing on his deep mastery of classical halachic literature, Reform religious culture, and modern secular legal theory, Mark Washofsky offers insightful and compelling analyses of some of the Reform Movement’s most important responsa,” says Rabbi A. Brian Stoller, senior rabbi of Temple Beth-El of Great Neck, NY. “Washofsky’s special ability to combine rigorous scholarship with his characteristic dry humor, engaging storytelling, and accessible writing style makes Reading Reform Responsa an essential study companion for anyone—clergy, academics, and laypeople alike—who is interested in learning or teaching Reform Judaism’s rich tradition of halachic discourse. By inviting the reader to be not just an observer but also a participant in the reasoning and argumentation of responsa, Washofsky teaches us what it means to think halachically in a uniquely Reform way.”

Rabbi Washofsky is an emeritus professor of Jewish Law and Practice at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, the former chair of the Responsa Committee for the CCAR, and the current chair of the Solomon B. Freehof Institute of Progressive Halakhah. Rabbi Joan S. Friedman, PhD, Lincoln Professor of Religion and Professor of History at the College of Wooster, contributed the foreword to the volume.

Reading Reform Responsa is available at responsa.ccarpress.org

MARCH 2024: Annual CCAR Ethics Report 2023

The CCAR Ethics Committee respectfully submits this annual report for the calendar year January–December 2023.

Background

The ethics process is comprised of four phases: intake, investigation, adjudication, and post-adjudication.

When an ethics complaint is received, the Chair of the Ethics Committee, in consultation with the Ethics Committee (EC) as needed, decides in the first instance whether the complaint constitutes a “complaint” under the Code and should be accepted for further consideration. If the complaint, with sufficient detail, alleges conduct that, if true, would constitute a potential violation of the Code of Ethics, it is accepted for consideration and sent to the rabbi who is the subject of the complaint. After the rabbi responds in writing to the complaint, either a three-person Information Gathering Team, consisting of two rabbis and one lay leader with specific expertise relevant to the case, or a subcommittee of the EC, will investigate the relevant facts and circumstances. On an as-needed basis, the investigation is supported by outside experts in a field(s) related to the case.

Following its investigation, the Information Gathering Team issues a written report, after receiving and incorporating comments from the parties, that is sent to the Ethics Committee. After the complainant and the rabbi are given the opportunity to meet individually with the EC, the EC carefully reviews all documents submitted in the case, meets to deliberate, and issues a written decision setting forth either that the complaint in whole or in part is dismissed, or that the rabbi should be reprimanded, censured, suspended, or expelled. Where a decision imposes discipline, and after any appeals are heard and resolved before the CCAR’s Board of Appeals, if the decision is upheld, the rabbi then engages in the T’shuvah Rehabilitation and Counseling (TRaC) process in which either a single mentor or a three-member rabbinic team works with the rabbi to meet the requirements of that process: 1) unequivocal acknowledgement of responsibility for the harm done; 2) an acceptable expression of remorse to those who have been harmed; 3) demonstrated resolve never to repeat the offense; and 4) the making of restitution, where appropriate. Upon successful completion of the TRaC process, the rabbi’s adjudication is lifted and the rabbi is fully reinstated as a member in good standing of the CCAR. Each of the steps described here is detailed in the Code.

Case Overview

In 2023, the Ethics Committee handled thirty cases that were in at least one stage of the ethics process, from the filing of a complaint through TRaC. (In comparison, this is 20 percent (or five) more cases than in 2022.)

We received twenty-nine inquiries from individuals who considered filing complaints. As part of the intake process, the CCAR’s Ethics Advisor for Inquiries and Complaint Intake, Cara Raich, offers to meet via Zoom with potential complainants to orient them to the ethics process. In 2023, forty-seven meetings were held with potential complainants (some potential complainants asked to meet more than once). Over the course of the year, the EC received seventeen written complaints. Seven of these complaints were not accepted for further consideration as they did not state a claim under the Code or did not concern a CCAR rabbi. Of the ten complaints that were accepted, the following violations of the Code were alleged (in most instances, complaints allege more than one Code violation):

  • I.A. (family)—1 case
  • I.B. (bullying/intimidation/retaliation)—9 cases
  • I.B. (sexual misconduct)—3 cases
  • I.C. (financial)—3 cases
  • I.D. (plagiarism)—2 cases
  • I.E. (rabbinic commitment)—1 case
  • II.B.2 (rabbi emeritus)—1 case
  • II.C (relationships between rabbis in different communities)—1 case
  • II.C.5 (soliciting members)—1 case
  • III. (confidentiality)—1 case
  • V. (sexual boundaries, Type 1)—3 cases
  • V. (sexual boundaries, breach of committed relationship)—2 cases
  • V. (sexual boundaries, Type 2)—3 cases

In addition to inquiries from those who considered filing an ethics complaint, the ethics process encourages CCAR rabbis to confer confidentially with the chair of the ethics committee with respect to any concerns they may have about their own ethical conduct or that of colleagues. In 2023, the EC responded to forty-two inquiries from rabbis, usually with a Zoom consultation.

The most intensive aspect of the ethics process is the information gathering process. In 2023, eleven Information Gathering Teams were active with four final reports issued.

Following investigations, the EC issued twelve decisions: three dismissals, one reprimand, six censures, one suspension, and one expulsion. The decisions found that rabbis committed the following violations of the Code (in most instances, decisions found more than one violation):

  • I.B. (bullying/intimidation)—5 cases
  • I.B. (sexual misconduct)—2 cases
  • I.C. (financial)—1 case
  • I.D. (plagiarism)—1 case
  • II.B.1(a.)(b.)(f.)(Rabbi-Assistant/Associate Rabbi)—1 case
  • IV.C. (Gerut)—1 case
  • V. (sexual boundaries, breach of committed relationship)—1 case
  • V. (sexual boundaries, power differential)—2 cases
  • V. (sexual boundaries, Type 2)—1 case
  • VII.M. (failure to cooperate)—1 case

In addition to disciplinary decisions, during the ethics process the EC is called upon to issue a wide range of other written decisions. For example, in 2023, the EC found in four cases that a rabbi had satisfied the requirements of the TRaC process and lifted the sanction; lifted a condition of censure in one case; denied reconsideration of the dismissal of the case in two cases; and found that one complaint was unfounded and malicious under Section X of the Code.

Post-Adjudication

In 2023, ten rabbis were engaged in the TRaC mentoring process, which supports rabbis in the T’shuvah process. In two cases, after issuance of decisions finding a violation and imposing discipline, the rabbis, rather than appeal the decision or engage in the TRaC process, resigned from the CCAR, which resulted in an automatic expulsion from the CCAR.

One rabbi appealed a decision to the Board of Appeals, which affirmed the EC’s decision finding Code violations.

In two cases, complainants requested reconsideration of a decision that either dismissed a complaint in its entirety or in part. Requests for reconsideration are brought before the EC. In both cases, the EC’s decision was affirmed.

Communities Impacted

The Code applies to CCAR rabbis wherever they may be working. This year, decisions were rendered concerning eleven rabbis in synagogue settings and one rabbi serving in a non-synagogue setting.

Ethics Education

The Ethics Committee annually provides educational opportunities for rabbis and HUC-JIR rabbinical students to learn about the Code and the ethics process. In 2023, two webinars were held as part of the CCAR’s Continuing Rabbinic Education program. Also, via Zoom, the EC chair and the director of rabbinic ethics provided an overview of the Code for each senior class at each of HUC-JIR’s North American campuses, and a member of the EC, Darcie Crystal, taught students at the New York campus about ethical boundary violations that may arise within the context of pastoral care and counseling.

Volunteers and Staff

The work of the Ethics Committee could not be accomplished without the remarkable dedication and contributions of the volunteer EC members, Information Gathering Teams, and TRaC mentors. As well, the EC’s work relies on the support and collaboration with the Ethics Process Review Committee, which makes proposals for revisions to the Code voted on by the CCAR membership; the Ethics Task Force, which just completed its mission this summer by recommending a broad series of improvements to the ethics process; and the Board of Appeals, which hears appeals of the EC’s decisions.

Altogether in 2023, one hundred rabbis and lay leaders volunteered to support the CCAR’s ethics work:

  • Ethics Committee: Ana Bonnheim, Chair; Michael Friedman, Vice-Chair; Loren Filson Lapidus, Chair-Elect—15 members (14 rabbis, 1 lay leader)
    • Information Gathering Teams—30 members
    • TRaC Teams/Mentors—19 members
  • Ethics Process Review Committee: Tom Alpert, Chair—14 members
  • Board of Appeals: Nicole Auerbach, Chair—7 members
  • Ethics Task Force: Nicki Greninger and Amy Schwartzman, Co-Chairs—12 members and 3 ex-officio

The work of the Ethics Committee is supported by two dedicated staff positions:  

  • David Kasakove, Esq., Director of Rabbinic Ethics
  • Cara Raich, LL.B, Ethics Advisor, Inquiries and Complaint Intake

In addition, Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive, serves in an ex-officio capacity, and the CCAR provides essential administrative and management support to the EC. The EC’s work is supported by consultants and training through a grant from the SRE Network. Legal Services are provided on an as-needed basis by Mark Chopko, Esq., Chair, Nonprofit & Religious Organizations, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP, and other consultants as necessary.

Respectfully submitted,

Rabbi Ana Bonnheim, Chair
CCAR Ethics Committee

David Kasakove, Esq.
CCAR Director of Rabbinic Ethics

The Reform Jewish Quarterly Winter 2024

CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly

Published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Order the issue

Winter 2024: Symposium: On Being a Jew and a Human Being amid Rapid Technological Change

From the Editor

Symposium: On Being a Jew and a Human Being amid Rapid Technological Change

  • On Being Human: Jewish Theology and the Digital Life – Rabbi Joseph A. Skloot, PhD
  • Response to Joseph Skloot: Deactivating the Golem – Rabbi Shirley Idelson, PhD
  • Divine Transcendence as an Answer to the Problem of Ethical Loneliness – Rabbi Kari Hofmaister Tuling, PhD
  • Response to Kari Tuling: Reimagining a Transcendent God — Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz, PhD
  • A Holistic Jewish Life – Rabbi Sari Laufer
  • Response to Sari Laufer: Facing the Demise of Reform Jewish Particularism – Rabbi Amy R. Perlin
  • Freeing Ourselves from Kant’s Dichotomy – Rabbi Leon A. Morris
  • Response to Leon Morris: Choosing to Accept What is Beyond Choice – Rabbi Lisa J. Grushcow
  • Toward a Reform Jewish Theological Renewal in Dark Times – Dr. Alyssa M. Gray
  • Response to Alyssa Gray: Tragic Vision, Stubborn Hope – Rabbi David Stern
  • How We Should Teach Reform Jews to Read the Torah Since We All Know That the World Is Round: Seven Guidelines for Reform Jewish Leaders – Rabbi Jeremy S. Morrison, PhD
  • Response to Jeremy Morrison: Ruthlessly Relevant Torah – Rabbi Hilly Haber

General Articles

  • My Religious Philosophy: A Religious Naturalist Approach – Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, PhD
  • A New Yahrzeit Ritual Practice: Yahrzeit Observance in the Home on the Deceased’s Birthday – Rabbi Mark S. Kram
  • 60th Ordination Anniversary Sermon – Rabbi Alan D. Fuchs
  • The Akeidah as Dream Sequence – Rabbi Neil Amswych

Book Reviews

  • Biblical Women Speak: Hearing Their Voices through New and Ancient Midrash by Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, reviewed by Rabbi Rachael Klein Miller
  • Jewish Sunday Schools: Teaching Religion in Nineteenth-Century America by Laura Yares, reviewed by Rabbi Samuel K. Joseph, PhD
  • Undesirables: A Holocaust Journey to North Africa by Aomar Boum and Nadjib Berber, reviewed by Rabbi Samuel Kaye
  • Fractured Tablets: Forgetfulness and Fallibility in Late Ancient Rabbinic Culture by Mira Balberg, reviewed by Rabbi Matthew Kraus
  • The King Is in the Field: Essays in Modern Jewish Political Thought edited by Julie E. Cooper and Samuel Hayim Brody, reviewed by Rabbi Joshua Herman
  • The Last Consolation Vanished by Zalman Gradowski, edited by Arnold I. Davidson and Philippe Mesnard, translated by Rubye Monet, and reviewed by Rabbi Rachel Maimin
  • Women and the Religion of Ancient Israel by Susan Ackerman, reviewed by Rabbi Elizabeth W. Goldstein, PhD
  • Biblical Women and Jewish Daily Life in the Middle Ages by Elisheva Baumgarten, reviewed by Rabbi Susan L. Einbinder, PhD

Poetry

  • Klaf – Jehanne Dubrow
  • Bouldering – Jehanne Dubrow
  • Saying Kaddish – Jehanne Dubrow
  • To Inherit and Bequeath – Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce, PhD
  • Sh’mana – Rabbi Albert Micah Lewis
  • Obituary for a Dog (Seder K’lavim) – Immanuel Suttner
  • When We Left – Rabbi Adam D. Fisher
  • Elijah’s Cup: A Child’s Pesach – Roger Nash
  • Living by a Lunar Calendar – Roger Nash
  • A Story of Mizrach in My Town – Roger Nash
  • Hillel on the Roof – Philip Terman
  • On Reading the Akeidah as a Dream Sequence on Rosh HaShanah – Rabbi Daniel Polish
  • At the Tashlich Pond – Rabbi Dan Fink
  • Predicate Psalm – Michael Sandler
  • Unlike Jacob – Rabbi Israel Bobrov Zoberman, PhD

CCAR Responsum 5783.1: Medical Assistance in Dying

Subscriptions and Ordering 

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To subscribe, please email CCAR Press at info@ccarpress.org.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Condemns Alabama Supreme Court Ruling on the Status of Embryos

February 26, 2024

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is appalled by a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos should be considered as children, and therefore, that destroying an embryo frozen for in vitro fertilization in a laboratory constitutes actionable death of a minor child. This ruling further attenuates reproductive freedom in a state where people must already travel great distances to access the full range of reproductive care. Alabama and neighboring states already enforce a total abortion ban or severely restrict abortion rights. This ruling means that residents of Alabama must now travel to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) in addition to reproductive healthcare.

As a result of this Supreme Court ruling, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, the state’s largest hospital, has suspended all IVF procedures.  Additionally, two other centers have suspended IVF procedures, which is critical medical care for some individuals and couples who face challenges to their fertility. 

In his concurring opinion, Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker makes explicit that the Court’s ruling is a religious, not a legal, act. He quotes Christian theologians, including John Calvin and St. Thomas Aquinas extensively, and concludes: “Even before birth, all human beings have the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his [sic] glory.”[1] This ruling is therefore a violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the establishment of a state religion.

Our Talmudic sages understood that an embryo had the potential to grow into a person and also held the potential of not developing. They declared that “the embryo is considered to be mere water until the fortieth day [after conception].”[2] Judaism does not grant the status of personhood to an embryo or fetus at any stage of pregnancy.[3] Moreover, p’ru ur’vu, the mitzvah to be fruitful and multiply, is among the highest blessings in our tradition. Therefore, Jewish authorities across the ideological spectrum strongly support the availability of reproductive endocrinology to assist individuals and couples struggling with infertility.

Reform rabbis do not ask that Jewish law be enshrined in the laws of the United States or any state. We demand, however, that individuals in this free country be permitted to make their own choice about engaging the use of in vitro fertilization and other reproductive technologies. The government should not limit their choices in this matter. Indeed, many Reform rabbis and members of our communities have welcomed children into their families through the use of in vitro fertilization. The Central Conference of American Rabbis condemns the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling in the strongest terms. We call upon our members to support those who are impacted by this ruling, to let our elected officials know of our strong objection to the court’s decision and to work to pass legislation that affirms that frozen embryos are not people. We further call on the United States Supreme Court to overturn this decision forthwith.

Rabbi Erica Asch, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis


[1] Le Page v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C., Supreme Court of Alabama, February 16, 2024, https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/supreme-court/2024/sc-2022-0579.html.

[2] Babylonian Talmud, Y’vamot 69b.

[3] Exodus 21:22–23, Mishnah Ohalot 7.6.

Reform Movement Israel Statement: The Moment We Are In, The Future We Pray For

January 30, 2024

A Statement from Reform Movement Institutions

With an eye toward the future we envision, we offer these steps we hope Israelis and Palestinians will take at this moment of intense challenge and deep pain. We do so because of the bond and love we feel for our Israeli siblings.

Our commitment to a strong, vibrant, Jewish and democratic state of Israel, secure within its borders, is unyielding. The October 7th attacks and subsequent war have made unequivocally clear the existential threats facing Israel. On October 7th, more than 1200 Israelis were brutally murdered and tortured including those victimized by sexual violence, and communities were destroyed. Since then, a quarter of a million people have been displaced due to Hamas and Hezbollah violence and more than 135 hostages taken from Israel remain in Gaza. The Jewish people and the nation are again in mourning, now for the loss of over 200 soldiers fighting to defend Israel—including 25 killed in just one day last week. We pray for healing of wounded soldiers and for comfort for the bereaved. Israel is also contending with attacks from the Houthis and other Iranian proxies. Our hearts are with the Israeli people, now and always, as we pray for the day when the joyful sounds of peace prevail over the terrifying sounds of war.

Israel’s leaders have no greater responsibility than protecting the Israeli people. Hamas’s October 7th attacks were utterly heinous. Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas’s military capabilities is just given Hamas’s ongoing commitment to Israel’s destruction. Hamas must be held accountable and the more than 135 remaining hostages must be released immediately. In keeping with the mitzvah of Pidyon Shvu’im (Redemption of Captives), Israel’s government must do all it can to ensure the hostages’ swift and safe deliverance from Hamas’s nefarious hands. We also encourage and applaud the Biden administration’s efforts in this regard.

Hamas showed no regard for the humanity of those butchered, brutalized, and kidnapped on October 7th. As Jews, we reject such dehumanization of the “other” including Palestinians. Whatever the military necessities of Israel’s massive bombing in Gaza—both to reach Hamas’s military infrastructure, so deeply embedded by Hamas into the centers of Palestinian civilian life, as well as to eliminate Hamas’s capabilities to repeat October 7th—we nonetheless agonize over the many thousands of Palestinian civilians, including large numbers of women and children, who have died and been wounded in this conflict, whether by Israeli bombs or Hamas’s misfired missiles. We agonize, too, over the nearly 2 million displaced people who are unable to obtain life essentials of food, water, shelter, medicine, and electricity.

The peaceful future we dream of includes an end to the West Bank occupation. As our respective organizations have affirmed in resolutions, formal statements, and policy analyses going back decades, ongoing West Bank occupation without a willingness to seek its end through a peaceful resolution of the conflict will condemn future generations to endless strife. Reestablishing settlements in Gaza will have a similarly detrimental impact. Denying the Palestinians’ right to self-determination is an impediment to peace.

In this darkest of times, we remain committed to a resolution of the conflict that will ensure Israel’s security and allow for Palestinian self-determination and self-governance, understanding that the creation of a Palestinian state will pose serious short-term security threats to Israel that will need to be addressed in any peace accords. Further, the widespread distrust of the Palestinians and their leadership in both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as deep Palestinian mistrust of Israel’s leadership, will require significant efforts by the Israelis, Palestinians, regional neighbors, and the international community to make such a resolution a viable reality. A successful and peaceful Palestinian entity remains vital to ensuring Israel’s long-term security. For these reasons, we are deeply dismayed by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent comments dismissing the possibility of a future peaceful Palestinian state.

There is much the Palestinian Authority needs to do in the short run to help prevent the escalation of violence both in the West Bank and more broadly, including joining the international community in actively engaging in efforts to ensure the hostages’ release, restoring cooperation with the Israeli security forces to curtail terrorist activities emanating from the West Bank, and taking concrete steps to halt incitement to violence and incentives for acts of terrorism. Far more extensive reforms and concrete manifestations of its commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, including steps in a peace process that will ensure Israel’s security, will be required.

Israel’s future security relies on non-military steps Israel can and must take including:

  • Recognizing that Israel’s security and well-being are enhanced by a future that includes a peaceful Palestinian state.
  • In keeping with the existing Abraham accords, continuing to pave the way toward normalized relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and to the creation of a regional coalition to rebuild Gaza.
  • Protecting the longstanding and vital U.S.-Israel alliance that has served the interests of both nations for more than 75 years.
  • Stopping incitement to violence, racism, and use of dehumanizing language against Palestinians by government ministers and others.
  • Forcefully addressing settler violence against Palestinians.
  • Preventing the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, including through the delivery of tax revenue currently being delayed by Israel.
  • Strengthening the development of Palestinian leaders and institutions committed to pursuing peace, as evidenced by supporting those advocating reforms of the Palestinian Authority’s governance, education, leadership, transparency, and accountability.
  • Understanding the terribly complex current battlefield in Gaza, continuing to do everything possible to prevent the loss of life among innocent Gazans not directly involved in the hostilities.
  • Delivering swift and regular humanitarian aid to Gazans struggling against illness and hunger, with safeguards monitored by the international community to ensure that such aid is not diverted to Hamas.
  • Rejecting any suggestions of forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza; such relocation would be in clear violation of international law.
  • Committing to ending the occupation, based on a negotiated, diplomatic solution acceptable to Israel and Palestinians alike. Such a solution will fulfill the Palestinian right to self-determination, without which Israel will never be safe and secure.
  • Halting the construction of West Bank settlements and rejecting any Jewish resettlement in Gaza.
  • Opposing any efforts toward unilateral annexation by Israel of areas of the West Bank.

We share these steps understanding that responsibility for building a future in which children can grow in peace requires commitments and leadership from Israelis and Palestinians. We speak inspired by the teaching, “Kol yisrael arevim zeh ba’zeh,” “All of Israel and the Jewish people are responsible, one for the other” (Shevuot 39a). We are committed to the safety and vitality of the Jewish people, the swift return home of all the hostages held in Gaza, and a secure and just state of Israel—now and forever.

Union for Reform Judaism 
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman (she/her), Chair
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President

Central Conference of American Rabbis 
Rabbi Erica Asch (she/her), President
Rabbi Hara E. Person (she/her), Chief Executive

American Conference of Cantors 
Cantor Seth Warner (he/him), President
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Operating Officer

ARZA Canada 
Lee Weisser (she/her), President 

Association of Reform Zionists of America  
Daryl Messinger (she/her), Chair 
Rabbi Josh Weinberg (he/him), Director 

Men of Reform Judaism  
Rob Himmelstein (he/him), President 
Steven Portnoy (he/him), Executive Director 

Reform Jewish Community of Canada  
Len Bates (he/him), President

Reform Rabbis of Canada  
Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg (he/him), Chair  

Women of Reform Judaism  
Sara Charney (she/her), President 
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch (she/her), Executive Director

North American Reform Jewish Movement Renews Call for Release of Hostages Held by Hamas 

January 11, 2024 

As we mark the 100th day of the war initiated by Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack on communities in southern Israel, the North American Reform Movement raises our collective Reform Jewish voice to demand the liberation of the more than one hundred thirty hostages held in captivity by Hamas since October 7.  

The hostages were abducted in flagrant violation of international law. Reports from the hostages released in late November and early December have revealed how those in captivity suffer deplorable conditions, including sexual and physical violence, psychological torture, and near-starvation. Hamas has not allowed any international aid organization access to the hostages to check on their health or provide necessary medicines or medical assistance, in clear contravention to international law. We demand that this failure be rectified immediately. 

We join our Israeli partners and colleagues in lifting up the teaching by Rambam:

וְאֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה כְּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים

“You have no greater mitzvah (religious obligation) than to free captives.” At this devastating milestone, we renew our demand for the swift release of all those who are still held captive in Gaza. 

We call on the international community to join the governments of Israel and the United States in their efforts to secure the hostages’ release. We will continue raising our voices until every hostage is safely returned home and reunited with their loved ones.  

Bring them home now! 

Union for Reform Judaism 
Jennifer Brodkey Kaufman (she/her), Chair 
Rabbi Rick Jacobs (he/him), President 

Central Conference of American Rabbis 
Rabbi Erica Asch (she/her), President 
Rabbi Hara E. Person (she/her), Chief Executive 

American Conference of Cantors 
Cantor Seth Warner (he/him), President 
Rachel Roth (she/her), Chief Operating Officer 

Women of Reform Judaism
Sara Charney (she/her), President
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch (she/her), Executive

Director Men of Reform Judaism
Rob Himmelstein (he/him), President
Steven Portnoy (he/him), Executive Director

Association of Reform Zionists of America
Daryl Messinger (she/her), Chair
Rabbi Josh Weinberg (he/him), Director

CCAR Press Announces Release of ‘New Each Day: A Spiritual Practice for Reading Psalms’

December 2023

Reform Jewish publisher launches book and musical nigunim to reinvigorate the traditional practice of reciting daily psalms.

New York, NY: CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, is honored to announce the release of New Each Day: A Spiritual Practice for Reading Psalms, by Rabbi Debra J. Robbins of Dallas’s Temple Emanu-El. New Each Day includes a foreword by Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost and Associate Professor of Bible at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). New Each Day is published by CCAR Press’s Reform Judaism Publishing imprint.

Every day of the year, Jewish liturgy includes the Shir Shel Yom, a psalm to mark the day of the
week. New Each Day reframes this ancient practice, inviting us to engage with psalms in a fresh, inspiring way. Daily “Reflections for Focus” offer unique insights on each psalm, with a structure for meditation and writing that encourages the reader to develop their own personal routine. Reflections for each month, based on the psalm for Rosh Chodesh, provide a full year of spiritual practice.

New Each Day is enhanced by a musical supplement developed by Cantor Richard Cohn, the former director and current senior advisor for the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at HUC-JIR. Cantor Cohn wrote and recorded seven nigunim to complement the psalm for each day. The music can be streamed and/or downloaded from the CCAR Press website; sheet music is also available.

New Each Day is Rabbi Robbins’s second book with CCAR Press, following Opening Your Heart with Psalm 27: A Spiritual Practice for the Jewish New Year, published in 2019. Opening Your Heart focuses on helping readers access the deeper meanings of Psalm 27, recited during the month of Elul and the High Holy Day and Festival season. New Each Day applies a similar reflective practice to the entire calendar year, guiding readers with intention and meaning.

Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, author of The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons, said, “A perennial struggle of spiritual seekers is how to creatively engage with daily practice, week in and week out. New Each Day breathes life into the Jewish tradition of saying a psalm every day, by exploring the form, language, story, ethic and feeling of the seven psalms of the week and the psalm for the new moon. Those who yearn for a meaningful daily practice can find inspiration here in the form of poetic translations, reflections, and writing exercises, all engaging with this ancient ritual.”

“I’m so grateful to Rabbi Debra Robbins for creating this rich, accessible, and eminently useful book of reflections and practices on one of the Jewish people’s oldest prayer practices—the liturgical recitation of psalms,” says Rabbi Josh Feigelson, PhD, president and CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. “With intelligence, care, boldness, and creativity, Rabbi Robbins invites and guides us on a journey of spiritual discovery.”

“With New Each Day, Rabbi Debra Robbins reenergizes and reframes the ancient practice of reciting a daily psalm for our modern context,” says Elana Arian, composer, prayer leader, and recording artist. “Through thoughtful teachings, reflections, and interpretations, she helps us connect across time and space to generations of our ancestors who engaged in this very same practice, linking us to the infinite chain of our tradition while giving a fresh perspective for our time.”

New Each Day is available at neweachday.ccarpress.org.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Mourns the Death of Rabbi David Ellenson, PhD, z”l

December 7, 2023

The Central Conference of American Rabbis mourns the death of our beloved rabbi, teacher, and friend, David Ellenson, former President and Chancellor Emeritus of our Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. David was a mensch of the highest order who imparted wisdom and kindness in addition to sharing his voluminous knowledge and scholarship. He was also a devoted and generous member of the CCAR.

Raised in a warm Orthodox home, David found his own adult religious community in Reform Judaism, a story he often told without any hint of negativity toward his Orthodox upbringing. He embraced the teachings and the leaders of all movements of Judaism throughout his long career as a congregational rabbi, a professor and teacher of future rabbis, and a leading scholar of Jewish Thought. 

David’s death on the eve of Chanukah reminds us of the light he brought into the lives of CCAR rabbis, HUC-JIR, the Reform Movement and the Jewish people. David was at heart a teacher, and he taught not only academics, but showed us a model of how to live with integrity and kindness. At this difficult time, we recall that David also brought us light in our times of darkness. In the aftermath of the tragic death of his beloved successor, Rabbi Aaron Panken, Ph.D., z”l, David gave himself unstintingly to our College-Institute, coming out of retirement to serve as Acting President and comforting a Reform Jewish world in mourning. David brought the light of optimism and hope into our lives as a teacher, rabbi, mentor and friend. He has truly raised up many disciples. 

All CCAR rabbis mourn with David’s wife, Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson, Executive Director emerita of the Women’s Rabbinic Network; with all of his children, Ruthie Ellenson (Lorne Manly), CCAR member Rabbi Micah Ellenson (Sara), HUC-JIR rabbinic student Hannah Ellenson (Becca Israel), Nomi Ellenson May (Spencer May), Hebrew College rabbinic student Rafi Ellenson, and David’s grandchildren. The memory of Rabbi David Ellenson, PhD, is a blessing and his light will continue to shine in this world through his work and the lives that he touched. 

Rabbi Erica Asch, President
Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis

CCAR Press Releases ‘From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar,’ Exploring Traditional and Contemporary Perspectives on Jewish Holidays and Each Hebrew Month, With Diverse Poetry, Prayers, and Songs

December 4, 2023 

Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel, says Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD’s work is “greatly enriching the ongoing and vital conversation that is our Jewish heritage with Jews around the world.”

New York, NY: CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, is pleased to announce the publication of From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar by Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD, the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Jerusalem. From Time to Time was first published in Israel in 2018 as Bazman and has been translated into German, Spanish, and now English. This bookincludes a foreword by Rabbi David Ellenson, PhD, chancellor emeritus of HUC-JIR and professor emeritus at Brandeis University. Rabbi Peretz A. Rodman, a prolific scholar and teacher based in Jerusalem, translated the volume. From Time to Time is published by CCAR Press’s Reform Judaism Publishing imprint.

Time is fundamental to the human experience, and in Judaism it is even more—time is sanctified. Understanding the Jewish calendar is thus essential for fully comprehending Judaism. In From Time to Time, Rabbi Marx presents a fascinating exploration of the treasures of the Jewish year. The book artfully blends traditional and contemporary perspectives on each Hebrew month and its holidays, both secular and religious. Rabbi Marx explores the likes of Passover and Yom HaAtzma-ut (Israeli Independence Day), but also lesser-known holidays including Sigd (celebrated by Ethiopian Jewry) and Rosh Chodesh Tevet’s Festival of the Women (celebrated by those from North Africa).

From Time to Time features a diverse selection of poetry, prayers, and songs from wide-ranging Jewish sources, including the work of Lea Goldberg, Shaul Tchernichowsky, Natan Alterman, Abba Kovner, and Yoram Taharlev. To help readers maximize their learning experience, a study guide and a playlist of featured songs are also available as resources on the CCAR Press website. Taking a distinctively Israeli, feminist, and progressive approach, From Time to Time is a comprehensive, indispensable companion you will want to return to each season.

Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD, is dedicated to promoting liberal Judaism, religious pluralism, and interfaith understanding. A tenth-generation Jerusalemite, Rabbi Marx earned her doctorate at the Hebrew University and her rabbinic ordination at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem and Cincinnati. She is the author of several books, including A Feminist Commentary on the Babylonian Talmud: Tractates Tamid, Middot, and Qinnim (Mohr Siebeck, 2013). She is the chief editor of T’filat HaAdam, the Israeli Reform prayer book (MaRaM, 2020), and the coeditor of several other volumes.

Isaac Herzog, president of the State of Israel said, “I have no doubt that this new book will contribute a great deal to the global Jewish cultural field, offering Dalia Marx’s evocative and singular voice of insight and wisdom to the interpretation of our Jewish calendar.”

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl, senior rabbi of New York City’s Central Synagogue said, “Dalia Marx’s brilliant book From Time to Time offers extraordinary new ways of understanding Jewish time. With poetry, ancient and modern texts, ritual suggestions, and historical reflections, Marx illuminates traditional holidays, features lesser-known celebrations such as Moroccan Mimouna and Ethiopian Sigd, and brings an evolved scholarship that includes feminist, pluralist, and gender-fluid perspectives. This rich tapestry allows us not only to learn more about the expanded Israeli calendar, but about Jewish views of time across the world and the centuries. This indispensable volume will help every one of us make our time more meaningful and sacred.”

Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD, professor emeritus at HUC-JIR said, “This is, quite simply, a genius of a book, not just the best of its kind but the only thing of its kind: a moving combination of scholarly depth and mastery of Jewish tradition—served up with personal anecdote, poetic sensitivity, and an uncanny ability to make the seasons, the holidays, and even ordinary time come alive with meaning.”

From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar is available at time.ccarpress.org.

The Reform Jewish Quarterly Fall 2023

CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly

Published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis

Order the issue

Fall 2023: Symposium on Language

From the Guest Editor

Symposium Articles

  • Searching for My Brethren – Ilana Cruger-Zaken
  • A Journey to Hulaula, and Other Jewish Iranian Languages – Alan Niku
  • The Linguistic Landscape of Juhuri: A Sociolinguistic Overview of an Endangered Jewish Language of the Caucasus – Murad Suleymanov
  • Enriching Jewish Leadership: Adaptive Chevruta as a Modern Language for Jewish Learning – Rabbi Ana Bonnheim, Avidan Halivni, and Rabbi Jeremy Borovitz
  • Finding a New Term: “Bet Mitzvah” – Rabbi Linda Joseph and Rabbi Evan Schultz
  • Unspoken Words – Rabbi Laurie Katz Braun, DMin
  • Yiddish Today: Revival, Revitalization, and Rediscovery – Rebecca (Rivke) Margolis
  • The Efficacy of Payer: Yotzer Or, A Case Study – Eden Glaser
  • Sing to God a New Song: Introducing The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition – Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz and Rabbi Beth Lieberman

Articles

  • Malamud’s Modern Midrash: “Idiots First” – Rabbi David J. Zucker
  • Clergy Discretionary Funds: A Powerful Tool for Good – Rabbi Steven A. Fox
  • Jewish Breads Tell Stories – Rabbi Deborah Prinz
  • Consecrated Unto Me – Rabbi Martin P. Beifield Jr.

Book Reviews

  • Bedouin Folktales from the North of Israel – Yoel Shalom Perez and Judith Rosenhouse – Reviewed by Rabbi Phyllis Sommer, RJE
  • The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America – Sandra Fox – Reviewed by Rabbi Allie Fischman
  • To Be a Holy People: Jewish Tradition and Ethical Values – Eugene Korn – Reviewed by Alan Mittleman
  • Fellow Travelers on a Journey to Tomorrow: A Review Essay – Michael Marmur
    • Judaism in a Digital Age: An Ancient Age Confronts a Transformative Era – Danny Schiff
    • Judaism Disrupted: A Spiritual Manifesto for the 21st Century – Michael Strassfeld
  • In the Garden of the Righteous: The Heroes Who Risked Their Lives to Save Jews During the Holocaust – Richard Hurowitz – Reviewed by Rabbi Rachel Kaplan Marks
  • Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The Sixteenth-Century Journey of David Reubeni through Africa, the Middle East, and Europe – Alan Verskin – Reviewed by Jennifer Grayson, PhD
  • New Perspectives in American Jewish History: A Documentary Tribute to Jonathan D. Sarna – Edited by Mark A. Raider and Gary Phillip Zola, Reviewed by Rabbi Ari S. Lorge

Poetry

  • Foehrenwald, 1957 – Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
  • It is nice – Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
  • Some Shatterings – Patty Seyburn
  • The Exilarch – Patty Seyburn
  • Trying to Listen – Patty Seyburn
  • Half and Half – Rabbi Stephen S. Pearce
  • Legends of our time – Rabbi Steven Lebow
  • O Let Me Behold Your Presence! – Wayne Norman Cochran
  • Moses at the End of the Day – Todd Friedman
  • Esau’s Story – Todd Friedman
  • Ruth’s Marriage – Todd Friedman
  • My dreams – Bruce Black
  • Looking for a Pebble – Rabbi Roger Nash
  • My Grandfather’s Pocket Watch – Rabbi Roger Nash
  • The Button Bag – Rabbi Roger Nash
  • Sukkot – Rabbi Robert Levy
  • But Never Over – Jane R. Snyder
  • Never Let Anyone – Jane R. Snyder
  • Red-Haired Giant – Jane R. Snyder
  • Poems of Two Cities: The Poetry of Baruch Link – Rabbi William Cutter

Subscriptions and Ordering 

Back issues are available at $35 per issue plus shipping. To order copies of the CCAR Journal, please visit ccarpress.org.

To subscribe, please email CCAR Press at info@ccarpress.org.