USCJ Blog
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The Pivoting Present
May 6, 2021 24 Iyar, 5781It’s been a year of rethinking and reinventing. Our clergy are talented and skilled. Now they have become producers, directors, and stars of zoom services.
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Torah Lending Program Resources
May 6, 2021 24 Iyar, 5781Resources for setting up a program for loaning out Torah scrolls to families for use during b'nai mitzvah celebrations at home.
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The Pandemic Torah Project
April 2, 2021 20 Nisan, 5781Rabbi Betsy Forester of Beth Israel Center in Madison, WI came up with an innovative way to celebrate the Torah when the pandemic arrived in her community.
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The Musical Midrash Project
April 1, 2021 19 Nisan, 5781Mark Sherman, from Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland, has created an original way to integrate music into the Torah learning process.
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Passover Resources at Your Fingertips
March 24, 2021 11 Nisan, 5781Passover Resources all in One Place
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What I'm Really Doing When I'm Off Video During Zoom Services
March 11, 2021 27 Adar, 5781
I have a confession to make. Sometimes, when I log into Zoom for Shabbat services, I'm actually eating breakfast, or washing dishes, or even on my indoor bike.
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Lights in the Dark
February 16, 2021 4 Adar, 5781Rabbi Alex Braver shares his thoughts on how to bless a vaccine. This was written over Chanukah in response to the administration of the first Covid vaccines.
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Grogger vs. Dreydel: Reflections on our Topsy-Turvy World
February 3, 2021 21 Shevat, 5781
Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of USCJ and RA, explores why he thinks the dreydel would be the better symbol for the Purim story. Read the full text here.
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USCJ's Aimee Close Chosen for UpStart’s National Change Accelerator Program
January 12, 2021 28 Tevet, 5781The program equips the community’s intrapreneurs with entrepreneurial skills, tools, and mindsets to adapt to challenges and meet constituents’ evolving needs.
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Joint Statement on the Violent Events That Occurred in Washington DC on January 6, 2021
January 7, 2021 23 Tevet, 5781Organizations of the Conservative Movement of Judaism are appalled by the violence that took place at the United States Capitol Wednesday afternoon.
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Sharing Perspectives Through Sharing Pulpits
January 7, 2021 23 Tevet, 5781Following incidences of anti-Semitism, a Philadelphia rabbi and reverend forge an important relationship -- even speaking from each other's pulpits.
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Being the Shammash: Creative Ways Synagogues Have Brought Light to Their Communities this Hanukkah
December 18, 2020 3 Tevet, 5781USCJ synagogues have been creating innovative programs to bring their communities together at a time when coming together is most needed.
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I Believe In Miracles: A Hanukkah Message in a Time of Pandemic
December 14, 2020 28 Kislev, 5781
When I think of leadership during this pandemic, I think of people “burning the candle at both ends.” Yet we’ve done more than we could have ever imagined.
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Hiring & Placement During Covid: Refresher Resources
December 14, 2020 28 Kislev, 5781Resources for a refresher on how to handle (and how other synagogues have handled) these processes while still maintaining pandemic-friendly practices.
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Summary, materials, and recordings from Kol Tzedek 2020
November 24, 2020 8 Kislev, 5781Kol Tzedek is an engaging conference on racial justice and community organizing for synagogue professionals and lay leaders. It took place on Nov 8-10, 2020.
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