I'm happy to share this video, recorded here in San Francisco where I'm taking part in the annual CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis--the professional association of Reform rabbis) convention.
In my remarks, I reflect on the link between the parasha Vayakhel-Pekudei which describes the completion of the Israelites' portable Tabernacle, a temple-like structure that was uniquely adaptable and responsive to change, and the needs of the Reform Movement to remain adaptable and responsive to change in our world.
What do you think will be the biggest areas of change facing the Reform Movement, and world Judaism in general, in the decades to come?
L'Shalom from San Francisco!
Rabbi Jonathan Blake
One of the biggest problems we face is getting so-called "orthodox" Jews to recognize us as Jews. Though many of my Orthodox contacts here in the Americas openly laud our observance, scholarship, and social action, other professed "traditional" Jews barely consider us Jews as at all. Many of these same Jews are raising large families of children with this same prejudice. We Jews of all stripes are strongest when we lift each other up rather than fighting from within. We do not have to agree with one another on all issues but we need to have a "big mishkan" approach to our own diversity.
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