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

Posted on by The CCAR

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

Posted on by Chiara Ricisak

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.

Reform Movement Applauds Partial Hostage Release Deal; Urges Continued Advocacy for Hostages

Posted on by The CCAR

November 22, 2023

Every day since October 7, 2023, we have prayed for the release of the 240 hostages kidnapped into Gaza from Israel. We are grateful and relieved that a deal to release some of the hostages has been agreed to, along with increased humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza, and we pray the first 50 hostages will be released imminently. We will continue praying and working for the return of all those still held captive.

We extend our sincerest thanks to all those who played a role in bringing about this agreement, including President Biden and Secretary Blinken, the mediators in Qatar, and PM Netanyahu and the members of his Cabinet who voted to approve the deal.

While we celebrate today’s news, the continued holding of innocent civilians – Israelis and other nationalities alike – is an active, insidious war crime. We strongly urge those who secured this initial agreement to continue to advocate for the swift release of all those who remain in captivity.

As Americans prepare to gather for Thanksgiving tomorrow, we give thanks that some former hostages might be able to spend the coming Shabbat with their loved ones. May that reality soon come true for the remaining hostages. Ken yehi ratzon – let it be so.

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

CCAR PRESS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF  ‘LOAVES OF TORAH: EXPLORING THE JEWISH YEAR THROUGH CHALLAH’

Posted on by The CCAR

November 7, 2023

Reform Jewish publisher offers a fun, creative, and engaging look at Jewish tradition’s most celebrated bread, presented alongside insightful Torah commentary.

New York, NY: CCAR Press, a division of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, is pleased to announce the publication of Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah by Rabbi Vanessa M. Harper, a sumptuously illustrated journey through Jewish tradition through the art of challah. The volume includes a foreword by Rabbi Michael Marmur, PhD, Associate Professor of Jewish Theology at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem.

Braided and spiral loaves of challah have long been a delicious centerpiece of the Jewish table, but with a few extra twists, the beloved Shabbat bread can become a work of art that teaches Torah. Loaves of Torah emerged from Rabbi Harper’s hit Instagram education project—@lechlechallah—where she first began to use challah as an artistic medium for interpreting and teaching Torah. Loaves of Torah is a natural extension of this project, offering a look at interpretive challot for each weekly Torah portion and Jewish holiday, this time with extended commentary, in-depth questions for reflection and discussion, and beautiful kavanot.

Loaves of Torah includes gorgeous color photographs, blessings, recipes, and tips for baking your own creative challot. Rabbi Harper’s work takes on unique and sometimes unexpected shapes, delighting readers with loaves inspired by Joseph’s colorful tunic, a flock of birds, a bundle of wheat, a shofar, and many other meaningful symbols. Rabbi Harper’s instructions are never prescriptive; she encourages readers to carefully contemplate what meanings they personally derive from the Torah to use as inspiration for their own challah designs. A fresh, contemporary commentary on our holiest texts and holidays, Loaves of Torah will inspire you to think outside the braid and take Torah into your own hands.

Loaves of Torah reflects Rabbi Vanessa Harper’s passion for shaping creative, joyful, and meaningful Jewish learning and living experiences for people of all ages. She is Assistant Rabbi at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Reform Rabbi-in-Residence at Gann Academy. Ordained in 2021 by the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Harper was recognized as a Wexner Graduate Fellow/Davidson Scholar, a UJA-Federation Graduate Scholar, a Be Wise Jewish Entrepreneurial Fellow, and one of the New York Jewish Week‘s “36 Under 36.” She began the @lechlechallah project in 2017, which evolved into kinetic midrash classes that she taught all over the country, and then into this book.

Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, PhD, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Provost of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion and co-editor of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary, said, “With its in-depth introduction to the history and rituals of challah, gorgeous photos of exquisitely made challot, and fascinating commentary, this insightful and inspiring book will be a valuable resource for anyone who loves to study Torah, teach, bake, and/or connect to Jewish time and texts in creative and meaningful ways. Loaves of Torah will whet both your appetite and imagination!”

“Jewish learning that stays with us is deeply experiential—it can enter us through our sense of taste or the choreography of braiding, as much as the study of ancient wisdom or deep discussions with friends,” said Aliza Kline, President and CEO of OneTable Shabbat. “Rabbi Vanessa Harper’s book offers all of these entry points and more, providing a weekly inspiration for the senses and intellect for anyone who joins her on this year-round journey.”

Leah Koenig, author of The Jewish Cookbook, said, “Loaves of Torah gives us the gift of a thoughtful, meaning-filled look into Jewish tradition’s most celebrated bread. Whether you are a longtime challah baker or challah curious, you will find so much richness in these pages.”

Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah is available at loavesoftorah.ccarpress.org.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement of Support for Israeli Reform Rabbis

Posted on by The CCAR

October 30, 2023

The Central Conference of American Rabbis stands in solidarity with its members who serve in Israel. These rabbis are members of MARAM, the association of Reform Rabbis in Israel, our partner organization. Moreover, we stand in awe of our Israeli colleagues’ selfless service at this most tragic time in the history of the Jewish State. Reform rabbis in North America and around the world pledge support to our MARAM colleagues throughout the current crisis and beyond.

Even as our Israeli colleagues experience the personal trauma of the murder, injury, and abduction of their own family members, friends, and members of the communities they serve, even as they and their family members are called into service of the Israel Defense Forces, our Israeli colleagues are tending selflessly to the needs of their communities and the general public as well. MARAM members are standing with countless families at the graveside of a murdered loved one, praying with families of those who have been abducted, and caring for parents, spouses, children, and siblings of those who are serving Israel in harm’s way. These rabbis are providing the comfort and strength sorely needed at this terrible time.

In the wake of the brutal attack of October 7, some of our MARAM colleagues are serving communities that have been evacuated from their homes and dispersed throughout the nation; rabbis are traveling around the country to bury, console, and comfort their far flung congregants. Israeli Reform rabbis are lifting the voice of Torah to call for the swift return of captives. At the same time, they are spearheading efforts to provide traumatized evacuees with sorely needed material and spiritual support. And they are teaching their colleagues oversees by their example as they demonstrate what it means to show the fortitude and service in the face of crisis. Perhaps most important of all, our Israeli colleagues continue to lead their communities in Shabbat prayer, providing peace and hope to their communities and beyond.

As every rabbi knows, אם אין קמח אין תורה, “Where there is no bread, there is no Torah.”[i] Few MARAM colleagues are employed full-time by their communities. Many earn a significant share of their פרנסה, their livelihood, from simchas, officiating joyous occasions such as weddings and aliyot to the Torah. Understandably, few such celebrations are taking place in Israel now, and many of our MARAM colleagues have seem their income diminish significantly.

Since October 7, the CCAR has undertaken the responsibility of caring for our Israeli colleagues in a number of ways. We have sent emails of care and consolation, the CCAR board has made phone calls and texts, and our leadership has been in ongoing touch with MARAM leadership. We have offered crisis counseling with trained experts to our MARAM colleagues. We have designated emergency funding to several individual rabbis in dire financial circumstances.

The CCAR regularly gives its members the opportunity to donate to Rav L’Rav, our “Rabbi to Rabbi” program that provides supplemental support to MARAM, its members, and the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. These funds have just been shared with MARAM and IMPJ, offering some small subvention. Now, at the CCAR’s urging, MARAM launched a supplemental campaign to provide CCAR rabbis outside of Israel the opportunity to come to the aid of our colleagues at this time of need through becoming a Friend of MARAM. We are proud to say that 100% of the CCAR board has contributed to this important initiative. We urge all CCAR members outside Israel to participate generously.

We stand in awe of our MARAM colleagues, and send them our love, care, and utmost support. We will continue, as colleagues and friends, to try to ease the burden they are each carrying in these very difficult days.

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

[i] Pirkei Avot 3.17.

Central Conference of American Rabbis Statement of Concern and Support for Jewish Students on North American College Campuses

Posted on by The CCAR

October 30, 2023

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is profoundly concerned about the welfare of Jewish students on North American college and university campuses. Even in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack on Israeli civilians living near Gaza, anti-Israel demonstrations erupted on many campuses. Protests have increased as Israel has taken obligatory military action to assure that Hamas can never brutalize Israelis again. Too often, demonstrations have threatened the safety of Jewish students and have exposed protestors’ antisemitism.

Reform rabbis recognize that not all campuses or Jewish students are in crisis. The CCAR lauds those college and university leaders who have forthrightly condemned Hamas terror and any expression of antisemitism. We are appreciative of those who have taken concrete actions to support Jewish students in the last few weeks. Other officials have been deaf to the pleas of their Jewish students, faculty, staff members, and alumni, leaving the impression of indifference to terror and antisemitism.

The CCAR applauds its members who serve on college campuses and all who work to enhance Jewish life on campus. That work is always sacred and vital, but it is too often overlooked and devalued. Now, more than ever, our young adults on college campuses need the leadership, teaching, counseling, and support that campus rabbis are uniquely positioned to provide.

Reform rabbis, however and wherever we serve, are actively engaged in reaching out to college students in our orbits, checking in on their well-being and seeking to provide support, even from a distance. We pledge to continue to do so, and to continue to support our colleagues serving on campus. This crisis will be long and will only become more intense. Our college students and campus rabbis need our support now and in the coming weeks and years.

The CCAR calls on college and university leaders to declare unequivocally: Terrorism is never justified. Antisemitism will not be tolerated.

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

Helping MARAM Rabbis: Become a Friend of MARAM

Posted on by The CCAR

October 30, 2023

Dear colleagues,

During this difficult time, we wanted to give you an update on the various ways in which MARAM is supporting its members, and to give you an opportunity to support our efforts. We are deeply moved by the desire to express your support in a concrete way.

MARAM rabbis face enormous challenges serving our congregations and wider Israeli society. Many of our rabbis are consoling numerous bereaved families and providing pastoral care. Many of our congregants are serving in the army in the north and south of Israel, and the anxiety and stress can be overwhelming. After the attack on October 7th, we saw a tremendous outpouring of volunteers in Israeli society. All of our congregations provide support for their members and for non-members such as collecting clothes and organizing food for soldiers and evacuees.

Our rabbis are overextended and each of them is also dealing with the personal stress that the situation has brought with it. We are constantly reaching out to our members. We hold a daily tefilla on Zoom, we also offer professional training to deal with specific issues arising from the crisis. We provide individual and group counseling for our members.

You all know how isolated rabbis can feel, therefore whenever we identify a need we respond as quickly as possible. For example, it was very important for us, when one of our members conducted a funeral for four members of one family, that he would not be alone carrying this burden, during and after. We have never had to confront so much grieving and sadness. Our WhatsApp group is an excellent support forum for our rabbis consulting each other, consoling each other, and encouraging one another.

We provided a shiur on the topic of pidyon shvuim—redeeming the captives—so that we could publicize a statement calling for their release grounded in Jewish sources. The daunting number of funerals in such an unprecedented situation demanded a workshop to review and rethink how we conduct these ceremonies. We were able to offer our members much needed professional on-the-job retraining.

More than ever we want to reinforce the teaching of every person being created in the image of God. Every single hostage is an entire world. Together with the Israeli Reform Movement we sent a letter to the families of the hostages, expressing our unconditional support, and calling, in the name of the Jewish value of k’dushat hachayim, the sanctity of life, for an unrelenting and urgent effort to release their loved ones. In this time of fear and calls for revenge many of our members are sounding a humanistic Jewish voice.

With your donation of $360 you become a Friend and supporter of MARAM.

Visit this site, and when asked in the dropdown menu “What would you like your donation to support?” please choose MARAM – Israel Council of Reform Rabbis. For Canadian donors, please visit this site and indicate that the donation is for MARAM.

May the injured find healing, May the grieving find consolation, may we be blessed to hear good tidings in the near future.

Rabbi Ayala Ronen Samuels, Chairperson
Rabbi Efrat Rotem, Executive Director
MARAM

Reform Movement Calls for Swift Release of Hostages, Humanitarian Pause to Hasten Aid for Palestinian Civilians in Gaza

Posted on by The CCAR

October 27, 2023

As we approach Shabbat and mark three weeks since Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel, our hearts are heavy and our souls pained as Israel continues the excruciating task of burying the over 1400 people murdered by Hamas. With each day, more details emerge about the unspeakable violence perpetrated on October 7 against Israelis.  

We are particularly distraught that more than 220 people, including babies, women, and the elderly, continue to be held as hostages by Hamas. The international community, including nation states and the UN, NGOs, faith leaders, and all people of goodwill, must universally and unequivocally call and work for the immediate release of all the hostages. Their kidnapping and ongoing detention is a heinous war crime. The families of the hostages feel keenly that the window to secure the safe release of their loved ones is closing, especially for the hostages who are severely wounded. 

Even as we support Israel’s moral right to wage war against Hamas, we are a people who know that we must never be inured to the suffering of the innocent. We hold fast to the ideal that each of us is created b’tselem Elohim, in the image of God, so we cannot ignore the tremendous toll this is taking on innocent civilians in Gaza. We mourn the deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians caught in the nightmare of Gaza. They too are victims of the brutal Hamas regime and the rising death toll pains us deeply.  

We join in the call from President Biden and Secretary Blinken for Israel to implement a humanitarian pause to ensure that food, water, medicine, and other humanitarian aid can flow more quickly into Gaza. Likewise, the Reform movement joins them in a belief that a ceasefire at this moment would be a tragic mistake and a strategic advantage to Hamas in its quest to eliminate the Jewish state. We call on leaders in the region to act to ensure that Hamas will not siphon off the aid provided. Hospitals must be able to function. Families must not starve. And no innocent Palestinian child should suffer.

In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, Abraham assembles a small fighting force to rescue his nephew Lot, who has been taken hostage in the midst of a regional war.  Right after the successful hostage rescue in Genesis 14 we read, “Al tira, Avram. Don’t be afraid Avram.” It is not clear what Abraham is afraid of; perhaps another attack on his family.  But Genesis Rabbah, an ancient commentary, suggests his fear is that he might have killed an innocent person as he fought for Lot’s release. The lesson could not be clearer: Even in war, our Jewish tradition demands that we must never lose our moral bearings.  

We are humbled by the extraordinarily complex life and death decisions that must be made each day by the Israeli government and military, sometimes having to choose only the least terrible option. We take heart in Ruach Tzahal, the IDF Code of Ethics, that informs how every IDF soldier seeks to wage war, including limiting civilian casualties as much as possible. 

As we enter into Shabbat, we pray first and foremost for the safety and swift return of the hostages.  And we pray that in the difficult days and weeks to come, and with the support of the U.S. and broader international community, Israel’s diplomatic, military, and political leaders will be guided by the finest ideals of our tradition and by the values laid out in Israel’s own Declaration of Independence. 

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

Reform Movement Thanks President Biden for Solidarity with Israel; Urges Swift Release of Hostages and Humanitarian Relief

Posted on by The CCAR

October 20, 2023

Two weeks after Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel, our shared pain over the lives so violently taken grows deeper each hour. The agony of bereaved families, the torment of those awaiting news of kidnapped loved ones, and the anguish of the survivors know no bounds. As we have always done in difficult times, we find solace in the words of our holy texts and in the embrace of those who open their arms and hearts to offer comfort and love.

Among those whose embraces we have felt so powerfully, few equal those of President Joe Biden, who, in this darkest hour, in word and deed has proven himself a true friend to Israel and the Jewish people. The President’s unequivocal expressions of support, his commitment of military aid, and his very presence in Israel this week have strengthened Israel emotionally and practically. We express our deepest gratitude for President Biden’s steadfast allyship.

We also appreciate the leadership President Biden has shown in working with Israel to address the humanitarian challenges in Gaza wrought by Hamas’s depraved leadership. We pray that the effort to bring in humanitarian aid to Gaza will reach those in need, ease the suffering of innocent Palestinians, and not be stolen by Hamas.

We call upon our allies in the public interest world, in the faith community, and all those in positions of influence to speak out more forcefully for the release of the nearly 200 Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Our responsibility to rescue hostages (Pidyon Shevuyim) is reflected in the words of our daily prayers that, rather than beseeching God to free the captive, asks for God to help us in doing so. Those with diplomatic, humanitarian, and interfaith connections around the globe must do the holy work of helping ensure the safe release of the babies, children, elderly, women, and all who have been forcibly taken from their homes and loved ones. In so doing, they can help bring a swifter end to the bloodshed of this war.

As we begin Shabbat, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

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

✕