Judea Reform

Join us in-person (no streaming options) this weekend to learn with esteemed Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg. Registration is still open for Saturday morning Torah Study and the Sunday morning keynote. Register on our website to reserve your spot!

Welcome to our "official" new Assistant Rabbi, Hannah Bender (they/them). At an energized and full congregational meeting yesterday, our membership voted by an overwhelming majority to confirm Hannah's selection as Assistant Rabbi to Judea Reform Congregation. Hannah will join us July 1 and we can't wait to help them settle in to Jewish life in Durham!

Our Levin-Moscovitz speaker, Gershom Gorenberg, has an editorial in the NYTimes today. Check it out and the register to learn with him in-person on Feb. 17th and 18th.

Opinion | The War Ended Israel’s Democracy Protests, but Not the Threat to Democracy Israel’s Supreme Court narrowly shut down Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to overhaul the judiciary, but the concern remains.

Please register to join us this Sunday to confirm our new Assistant Rabbi, Hannah Bender.

We need 10% of our membership to vote either in-person or on Zoom. The meeting will take about 30 minutes and if you come in person we hope you'll stick around for a nosh (bagels, obviously!).

Register to attend here: https://www.judeareform.org/event/congregational-meeting-2nd-rabbi.html

Get your free tickets for Monday's performance:

A Night with Alex Edelman

Mon, Jan. 29, 7:30PM, Memorial Hall

Details/ticket info:
https://jewishstudies.unc.edu/event/a-night-with-alex-edelman/

Hosted by NC Hillel, co-sponsored by the Center.

Thanks again to Pastor Jay Augustine and St. Joe's AME for joining us to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at our Shabbat Tzedek. It was a healing service of unity, music, and prayer. We are so grateful to be in partnership with our wonderful neighbors.

The reproductive justice committee and other members of our Social Action team are in Raleigh today rallying for reproductive justice with our interfaith partners. We are grateful for the work this group does to advocate on behalf of healthcare for everyone in our community.

Join us tomorrow night for Shababt Tzedek honoring MLK and featuring our neighbor Pastor Jay Augustine. See you there!

Register below to join us to rally for return of the hostages on Tuesday evening.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4_2OpxFMCYNhORWH5BZ5hdKYXAnLWCdzIGsAXUUh2YHT13w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0

Save the Date for our 2024 Levin Moscovitz Lecture Series featuring Gershom Gorenberg. We hope to see you there!

Thanks to our panelists and congregants who joined us yesterday to discuss inclusion at JRC.

Our panelists represented identities related to race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and disability. We had a fruitful discussion of the ways in which JRC has succeeded in implementing structural inclusion policies as well as generating ideas for how we still need to move the culture and support of the institution.

It was great to be in community with so many thoughtful, invested folks working for a better world for all of us.

Thank you to all the many volunteers who made JRC’s 2023 MOW Christmas Dinner a record breaking success: 500 meals total!! Whether you baked desserts, delivered meals, stripped collards, peeled sweet potatoes, donated turkeys, whisked gravy, scrubbed dishes, sliced pie, gave financially, or any number of additional tasks, your contribution mattered! 445 meals were cooked and delivered across 50 Meals on Wheels routes in Durham County. And our leftovers (meals for 55) were shared with The Ronald McDonald House. A special shout-out to Jodi Lampley for her administrative skills extraordinaire and chefs (and congregants) Jacob Boehm and Peter Brodsky who expertly managed the JRC kitchen.

A reminder that the JRC offices will be closed next week from Dec. 25-January 2. We will be holding Shabbat services and Torah study as usual.

Our Kabbalat Torah students are making their way to different religious services in the Triangle throughout the year. This past Sunday they visited the Buddhist Temple in Raleigh .

Growing your family comes with big decisions, especially as a q***r Jew. Keshet is excited to cosponsor a new series all about exploring the questions involved when becoming a parent or caregiver.

With a Jewish lens, an expansive definition of family, q***r sensibility, and a reproductive justice consciousness, these sessions will feature thoughtful speakers and opportunities to connect with folks of similar interests. These sessions are open to Jews, non-Jews, LGBTQ+ folks, straight people, single and partnered people, and those with a variety of Jewish backgrounds and experiences.

The first session starts Sunday, January 14. Learn more about upcoming sessions and sign up tickettailor.com/events/growingtodaysjewishfamilies/1052132