http://www.upj.org.au Union For Progressive Judaism Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:49:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Drash on Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech Rabbi Allison RH Conyer Emanuel School, Sydney, NSW, Australia Less than a week to go until we welcome the new year and commence our communal reflection regarding the year which has passed.  And so we come, once again, to Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech – this extraordinary passage which transcends time. Its ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2210 Drash on Ki Tavo Rabbi Fred Morgan Senior Rabbi, Temple Beth Israel, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia As I write this, it is the day after Election Day in Australia.   I expect that members of the Jewish community have voted for candidates and parties right across the board.  But one thing that many of us ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2208 "The Amalekite Among Us" Drash on Parshat Ki Teitze Rabbi Gary Robuck North Shore Temple Emanuel, Chatswood, NSW, Australia This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tetze, presents a variety of laws intended to strengthen family life.  The portion also sets out guidelines for the establishment of a civil society in Eretz Yisrael.  Yet at the ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2205 Drash on Shoftim Rabbi Stanton Zamek The United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong Our parasha this week presents us with a murder mystery. The very last law of the long catalog of halachot in parashat Shoftim specifies what must be done if the body of an unidentified murder victim is found ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2203 The debate about who has the "key" to the Jewish world is not an Israeli matter. It is an old debate between different streams of ideology, personified by Herzl's belief that when the Jewish State existed the Diaspora would disappear and Ahad Ha'am's "cultural Zionism" that saw Israel as a ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2103 The World Zionist Organization (WZO) was founded as the Zionist Organization in 1897 and served an umbrella organization for the Zionist movement.   When the State of Israel was declared in 1948, many of its new administrative institutions were already in place, having evolved during the regular Zionist Congresses of the ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2100 In Sydney, maybe it was the spectacular contest of colour wars; or the surprise appearance of some of the cutest animals around from an animal farm; or the greatest last-night-party ever to hit the Jewish youth movements. In Melbourne, maybe it was a new campsite sitting right on the beach; or ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2098 We began the tour in the Old City and walked to David's City and immersed ourselves in the history and archaeology of the first Temple period, walking through the tunnels and explorations of three thousand years ending the day at the Kotel just before Shabbat. The organisers of the tour, ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2096 "There's now a new breed of up-and-coming young Jewish performers playing in a vast variety of musical styles. "At the same time there has been renewed interest in all forms of Jewish music from Klezmer and Chassidic to Ladino and Israeli. With so much talent and musical activity, it seemed natural ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2094 Of international importance was the huge effort undertaken by forward- and rational-thinking Progressive Jews from around the world in putting pressure on the Government of Israel to reject the controversial bill concerning conversions. The fact is that, due in no small part to the efforts of our leaders in this ... http://www.upj.org.au/?p=2092