WORDS THAT BREATHE

Rabbi Paul Kipnes and Father Ross Porter opened an interfaith series at Congregation Or Ami asking where God is when life hurts. Here's what happened.

When Jews and Baha’is sat down to break bread, the similarities were astounding and the discussions delicious.

Holding signs of support, we Jews gathered at the local Muslim mosque as part of an interfaith group of the faithful and other community leaders.

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.

I signed onto this letter to the Boy Scouts of America about its policy that excludes gay scouts and scout leaders from its ranks. I was Life Scout, member of the Order of the Arrow, Junior Assistant Scout Master, and BSA Camp staff member (at Camp Wahtutca in New Hampshire; the Boy Scouts had a significant positive influence – especially on my leadership skills - during my formative years. The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism in Washington, DC, is shepherding a le

From what I hear, it is very challenging to be a good in-law when your child is part of an interfaith family. Between Christmas, Chanukah, and more, grandparents tiptoe through minefields. Walking on eggshells can be easy in comparison. Thankfully, Arlene Chernow , Associate Engagement Director for the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)’s Expanding our Reach Community of Practice, provides this wisdom: Creating an Interfaith Extended Family: How to Be A Good In-Law | Reform J

They greeted us at the steps to the social hall, smiling warmly and asking us each to put on a name tag. Handshakes around, introductions made, we were conveyed up the steps. Each family was ushered forward by a host. The kids disappeared quickly. Girls went down to the climbing bars and swings; boys were swept up into a pick up basketball game. We ate delicious food, prepared with special attention to Jewish dietary requirements. We (talked to one another), which began th

I joined more than 1150 rabbis from 49 states who signed a letter addressed particularly to the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches efforts to consider divestment from certain companies whose products are used by Israel. These churches will take up the issue at their upcoming conferences. If you agree, please share the letter with your Presbyterian and Methodist friends: We, the undersigned Rabbis, reach out in hope to our Christian friends and neighbors. We have close relati

It sounds like the start of a good joke, except it really happened. Well, sort of. I'm the rabbi. There were really two priests. Of course, we were sitting in a Cathoic church, not a bar. Oh, and instead of drinking, We were church hopping. It was all part of my education on interfaith relations and community organizing. (No joke.) Slowly but surely, under the tutelage of of Congregation Or Ami's second rabbi, Rabbi Julia Weisz, I am moving beyond my comfort zone to build r

My day was the beginning of a great joke: A rabbi, a priest, and a minister walked into a bar and ordered drinks … except it wasn’t a bar, we didn’t order drinks, and instead of just a rabbi, priest and minister, more than a dozen religious leaders gathered together. I was attending my first-ever interfaith clergy association meeting. Assembling at Unity of the Oaks in Thousand Oaks, we sat together and broke bread (a meal that amazingly addressed the needs of everyone – carn

Three heady days and nights at the AIPAC National Policy Conference in Washington DC. Over 7000 people gathered together to work to ensure the safety of Israel and help deepen the relatonship between the United States and Israel. I invited my mother Linda to join me for the week (my wife needed to be home with the kids); we had 19 others in the Congregation Or Ami delegation. What did we learn? • From US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that the relationship between the

America vs. The Narrative America vs. The Narrative By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN (New York Times, 11/30/09) What should we make of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who apparently killed 13 innocent people at Fort Hood?Here’s my take: Major Hasan may have been mentally unbalanced — I assume anyone who shoots up innocent people is. But the more you read about his support for Muslim suicide bombers, about how he showed up at a public-health seminar with a PowerPoint presentation titled “Why t

This morning, I signed onto a letter with a broad array of clergy from different religious faiths to support the Employee Non-Discrimination Act to ensure fair treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans in the workplace. Supported by our Union for Reform Judaism and our Washington-based Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism (Read Rabbi David Saperstein's testimony before Congress ), this interfaith letter is also supported by a half a dozen oth

A reminder to everyone who wants to create and sustain a welcoming religious institution:

So the Pope revoked the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop. So the Jewish defense world was up in arms. Wall to wall criticism, as JTA's Telegraph blog puts it. It is easy to get worked up about this. Holocaust denial is one of those hot buttons that necessarily must evoke a response. But does the Pope's action require such a stern response? As the Telegraph reports, in On Holocaust-denying bishop, a voice of dissent , Rabbi Irwin Kula has produced a dissent

From the Progressive Jewish Alliance

Have you seen the movie Religulous by Bill Maher? My colleague Rabbi Sharon Brous of Ikar (a social activist, highly spiritual, conservative-ish synagogue community) responded to Maher's movie on Kol Nidre . She said: I recently heard Bill Maher speak about his new film, (a made up word that combines religion and ridiculous), which offers a blistering attack on religion and the religious life. He argues that faith necessarily means a lack of critical thinking, that "t

I am amazed, each time I meet with an interfaith family, that they need to ask (in round about ways) whether the warm welcome and full integration that we offer to all Or Ami congregants is available to interfaith families as well. No one comes out and asks it directly, but I find it to be an undercurrent in the conversation. Pleased that we offer a truly warm welcome to any individual or family who has chosen to create a Jewish home (and, if there are children, to raise th