Jewish Relationships Initiative

Jewish Relationships Initiative Jewish Relationships Initiative, JRI, is a not-for-profit Corp., committed to engagement and outreach into the Jewish community of seekers.

Shabbat Shalom -We Rise UpThis Shabbat we read Parsha Balak an inspiration that what is destined for good cannot be tur...
06/26/2026

Shabbat Shalom -We Rise Up

This Shabbat we read Parsha Balak an inspiration that what is destined for good cannot be turned to destruction. Andra Day shares Rise Up as we welcome Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֺשְׁבֵי תֵבֶל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu, v'al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel v'imru amen....

This Shabbat we read Parsha Balak an inspiration that what is destined for good cannot be turned to destruction. Andra Day shares Rise Up as we welcome Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּ…

Chukat-Balak: We rarely know what someone was holding for us until it’s gone.We rarely know what someone was holding for...
06/24/2026

Chukat-Balak: We rarely know what someone was holding for us until it’s gone.

We rarely know what someone was holding for us until it’s gone. That is not a metaphor. The Talmud teaches (Ta’anit 9a) that a well of living water, Be’er Miriam (Miriam’s Well), traveled with Israel through the wilderness because Miriam could find water. Not through magic, but through a capacity she possessed, an instinct for locating what sustains life even in the harshest terrain....

We rarely know what someone was holding for us until it’s gone. That is not a metaphor. The Talmud teaches (Ta’anit 9a) that a well of living water, Be’er Miriam (Miriam’s Well), traveled with Isra…

What’s Going on?As we welcome Shabbat and read Parsha Korach, Marvin Gaye's What's going on is an unorthodox way to sing...
06/19/2026

What’s Going on?

As we welcome Shabbat and read Parsha Korach, Marvin Gaye's What's going on is an unorthodox way to sing it in. “Korach used the language of justice to serve his own ambition. This Shabbat, Marvin Gaye asks us to look honestly at our own motives — and our world’s.” Shabbat Shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֺשְׁבֵיm תֵבֶל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן...

  As we welcome Shabbat and read Parsha Korach, Marvin Gaye’s What’s going on is an unorthodox way to sing it in. “Korach used the language of justice to serve his own ambition. Th…

Juneteenth: The Proclamation Is Not the LiberationFreedom cannot be bestowed. That is what Juneteenth teaches, if we rea...
06/19/2026

Juneteenth: The Proclamation Is Not the Liberation

Freedom cannot be bestowed. That is what Juneteenth teaches, if we read it honestly. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas, and told enslaved people they were free. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two and a half years earlier. The news had been deliberately withheld. People who were legally free had been kept in chains. I sit with that as a Jew....

Freedom cannot be bestowed. That is what Juneteenth teaches, if we read it honestly. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas, and told enslaved people they were free. The Emanci…

Korach’s Question Is Still Ours-Who gave you the right?“Rav lachem — you have gone too far. The entire congregation is h...
06/17/2026

Korach’s Question Is Still Ours-Who gave you the right?

“Rav lachem — you have gone too far. The entire congregation is holy, every one of them, and God is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above God’s assembly?” (Num. 16:3). It sounds almost democratic. Everyone is holy, and power should be distributed. Who appointed you? The word Korach uses for “raise yourselves” is hitnassu, from the root…...

“Rav lachem — you have gone too far. The entire congregation is holy, every one of them, and God is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above God’s assembly?” (Num. 16:3). It sounds almo…

Dont Give upBased on this week's Parsha, Shelach Lecha, I am sharing Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" to welcome Shabbat....
06/12/2026

Dont Give up

Based on this week's Parsha, Shelach Lecha, I am sharing Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" to welcome Shabbat. Believe! Shabbat Shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֺשְׁבֵי תֵבֶל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu, v'al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel v'imru amen. May the One who makes peace in the high places, bring peace upon us, and upon all Israel, and all humankind, and let us say: Amen.

Based on this week’s Parsha, Shelach Lecha, I am sharing Peter Gabriel’s “Don’t Give Up” to welcome Shabbat. Believe! Shabbat Shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּ…

What Are We Willing to Believe?-Parashat ShelachThe ten spies weren’t lying. That’s what makes Parashat Shelach so diffi...
06/10/2026

What Are We Willing to Believe?-Parashat Shelach

The ten spies weren’t lying. That’s what makes Parashat Shelach so difficult to sit with. They went. They looked. They came back and reported exactly what they saw: a land flowing with milk and honey, yes, and also giants and fortified cities. And as we so often feel, they add: we felt like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and so were we in theirs....

The ten spies weren’t lying. That’s what makes Parashat Shelach so difficult to sit with. They went. They looked. They came back and reported exactly what they saw: a land flowing with milk and hon…

Shabbat ShalomBehaatlotecha-when you lift up The iconic Joni Mitchell from 2022 shares her iconic song Both Sides Now. A...
06/05/2026

Shabbat Shalom

Behaatlotecha-when you lift up The iconic Joni Mitchell from 2022 shares her iconic song Both Sides Now. A different version, but poignant. A message tied to the parsha as we enter Shabbat. a prayer for peace עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל כָּל יוֺשְׁבֵי תֵבֶל, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu, v'al kol Yisrael, v’al kol yoshvei tevel v'imru amen....

Behaatlotecha-when you lift up The iconic Joni Mitchell from 2022 shares her iconic song Both Sides Now. A different version, but poignant. A message tied to the parsha as we enter Shabbat. a pray…

The Blueprint for Sustaining the Light-Parshat BehaalotechaWhy do we keep looking back at a past that wasn’t even that g...
06/02/2026

The Blueprint for Sustaining the Light-Parshat Behaalotecha

Why do we keep looking back at a past that wasn’t even that good? That’s the question hiding inside Parshat Behaalotecha. The Israelites have everything: the Mishkan, the cloud, the fire, the infrastructure of a people on the move toward something sacred. And within chapters, they’re weeping for Egypt’s cucumbers. It would be easy to judge them. It is harder to recognize ourselves....

Why do we keep looking back at a past that wasn’t even that good? That’s the question hiding inside Parshat Behaalotecha. The Israelites have everything: the Mishkan, the cloud, the fire, the infra…

You Knew What You Were Getting Into with MamdaniYears ago, a friend came to me frustrated that his child’s Quaker school...
06/01/2026

You Knew What You Were Getting Into with Mamdani

Years ago, a friend came to me frustrated that his child’s Quaker school wasn’t fully observing Jewish holidays. He wanted to vent — and then wanted to know what we could do about it. My answer was simple: you knew what you were getting into. The Quaker school system serves many communities, cultures, and traditions. Its mission isn’t to support any one of them; it’s to instill the values it considers foundational....

Years ago, a friend came to me frustrated that his child’s Quaker school wasn’t fully observing Jewish holidays. He wanted to vent — and then wanted to know what we could do about it. My answer was…

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