Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism 2024

"This is an existential moment, not only for Israel, but for us in North America. We are in the midst of a great ideological struggle, the outcome of which will determine whether liberal Judaism will thrive in the diaspora, or will fracture and shatter into a thousand pieces," said Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch at the opening of Re-CHARGING Reform Judaism, a two-day conference gathering some 300 Reform clergy, educators and lay leaders at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue. Hirsch spoke about the Reform movement's need for a strategy to instill Zionism and love of Jewish peoplehood in the next generation, the ordination of Zionist Reform clergy, and our response to social justice partnerships that clash with our Jewish values.