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Our 2023 Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) programs focused on creating communities of belonging. Our workshops included topics such as REDI 101 (a foundation training around the experiences of Jews from marginalized groups and how to affirm Jews from a wide range of backgrounds), microaggressions and upstander workshops, a series around antisemitism and the intersection of whiteness and white-dominant culture, an inclusive greeter workshop, and inclusive programming training.
Our Adult Jewish Learning classes saw 2,148 students enroll in 2023, an increase of 104% from 2022! 780 students enrolled in our Intro to Judaism course, 11% more than in 2022. Our Hebrew courses had nearly 350 students, and our other programs (Becoming Jewish; Just Add Water: An Introduction to Mikveh; Jewish & Newish; and more) boasted a combined enrollment of 1,078 adult learners.
As part of our year-long 150th anniversary celebration, we invited thought leaders from within the Movement to share their reflections on Reform Judaism, our history, and our goals for the future. Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner noted, “We celebrate all that we have achieved while...work[ing] toward a world of wholeness, justice, and compassion.” Rabbi Esther Lederman emphasized the most important part of our Movement: “the sacred human lives that make up [our] community.” As URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs observed, “unity does not require unanimity, but it does require...respectfully embracing our diversity.”
