WORDS THAT BREATHE

Throughout two glorious summer days at the URJ Kutz Camp: NFTY’s Campus for Reform Jewish Teens (Warwick, NY), my alumni friends kept repeating, “It’s good to be home. It’s good to be home.”

Who would have thought that the Jewish values my wife and I hold most dear, and the texts from which they arise, were embedded in our hearts at those Jewish summer camps?

Invite 6th and 7th graders to get real about God and spirituality, and the depth of their questions and their unceasing quest for understanding will astound you!

We celebrate a teen's coming out as a <i>shehecheyanu</i> moment, a sacred holy blessed experience.

As you step into the strange And become a stranger, May each traveler, wanderer, and seeker you meet Offer wisdom and empathy.

Jessa Cameron, a college student leader at University of Washington, recently attended the AIPAC National Policy Conference as part of Or Ami's congregational delegation.

Rabbi Julia Weisz brought three teens from Congregation Or Ami to Washington DC for the L'takein Weekend of Learning and Lobbying, at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

This simple meditation by Alden Solovy is a reminder that making space for spiritual renewal is vital to a life of love and service.

We invited local scouts to a Shabbat service in honor of national Scout Sabbath on February 13. Here's why we did it and how we addressed the Boy Scouts' national policy excluding LGBT scout leaders.

Today, I signed a petition to Gilad Erdan, Israel's Interior Minister. At the request of our Israel Religious Action Center , I wanted to help send to him a strong message that we should support Israeli families by keeping them together, not by tearing them apart. Dear Minister Erdan, We are supporters of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC). We petition you, as Israel's Interior Minister, to grant residency status to Valentina Gofer, so that she and her two Israeli chi

What do we do with the verses in Torah that seem to explicitly exclude people with physical disabilities? Need they be read literally, as an illustration of how we might intentionally marginalize such members of our communities? Teaching (weekly Torah portion) to a group of young people, I stumbled upon Leviticus verses which offended the sensibilities of that generation of youth raised to envision full inclusion of people with disabilities. We read the curious prohibition

I have a niece, Yonina, who made aliyah and lives in Israel. Yonina serves as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces reserves. This summer, I watched the war in Gaza through her eyes.

Each Rosh Hashanah, we read the horrid tale of the Akedah (Genesis 22), the almost sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. Commentators throughout the ages characterize this story as an example of the heights of faith. Abraham loved God so much he was willing to give up the child he waited so long to bear. But in as much as this might have been a test of Abraham, I read the story as a clear indication that Abraham failed the test. Consider this: Did God really command Abraham to sacri

I sit here up at Faculty Row of the URJ Camp Newman  (Santa Rosa, CA) as Shabbat evening comes to an end. We just finished enjoying an inspirational all camp service, delicious dinner by Tammy, awesome brownies for dessert, a raucous song session under the stars and an energetic (read "exhausting" hour of Israeli dance. Now Jewish composer and singer Dan Nichols and Fresno's Rabbi Rick Winer are leading the gathered group of faculty in singing old favorite Jewish songs from

Or Ami college student Sydney Epstein writes: On May 22, I jetted off for what turned out to be the most incredible experience. Birthright allows you to reconnect with your Jewish heritage in the Holy Land itself. After a long 12-hour plane ride along with 40 other peers, I finally landed in Israel. Immediately following, we began ascending the fortress of Masada and floating in the Dead Sea! Not a bad start! Throughout the trip, we explored every inch of the country. We trav

Ever have one of those moments when your child reaches out to you and all you really want to do is collapse from exhaustion? It happens at home and it happens at camp. So what do you do? I am up here at URJ Camp Newman , the Reform movement camp in Santa Rosa, CA, leading our delegation of 42 people from Congregation Or Ami (Calabasas, CA) for Jewish summer fun. After a full fantastic day of spiritual hikes, meditation teaching, service planning and camper counseling, I was

We parents love to shower our children with gifts. The appearance of a wrapped presents can stop even the most rambunctious children in their tracks. After a quick intake of breath, eyes go wide and squeals of excitement quickly follow. Some children then engage in frenzied activity, tearing off the wrapping paper, while others slowly and methodically remove every piece of tape, savoring the splendor of anticipation. When the contents beneath the wrapping paper are reveale

Two, 4, 6, 8 … What comes next?  Once you recognize this as a sequence of even numbers, counted by twos, then you know that the numbers 10 and 12 come next. Two, 3, 5, 7, 11 … What comes next? This sequence of prime numbers (numbers divisible only by themselves and 1) continues with 13 and 17. There is elegance in number sequences. Patterns discovered reveal a logical underpinning to the world in which we live. As a former physics major (who spent two-thirds of my college ye

A Teaching by Rabbi Julia Weisz  Rabbi Weisz is my partner-rabbi at Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas, CA. Several Saturdays a year, thirty at-risk youth from Panorama City step out of vans onto the beautifully kept green grass parks of Calabasas. Or Ami teenagers greet them, whistles around their necks, and act as their coaches for the day. Leading them in water balloon toss, football, capture the flag, basketball, kickball, arts and crafts and other sports activities. These

Working with teenagers is simply heartwarming. We experienced this yet again at our recent Havdala Under the Stars, Congregation Or Ami’s year-end gathering of our Triple T (Tracks for Temple Teens)  youth program. Picture this: a large group of teens - 7th to 12th grades - sitting around a campfire, singing songs, playing games, and grouping and regrouping in ever changing configurations of young people. Bucking trends in Jewish life - where so many teens drop out soon afte