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Long before the rise of independent minyanim, Open Orthodoxy, and serious textual scholarship in religiously-committed circles, there was the UTJ, a small but passionate group of Rabbis and lay members committed to a principle we coined: Emunah tzerufah v’yosher daat – genuine faith with intellectual honesty.
What exactly does that mean?
Well, for four decades, the UTJ has been threading the delicate needle between modernity and mesorah (Jewish tradition). We are informed and guided by the wisdom of our ancient sages, and we are energized by applying this wisdom to the hottest issues of the day.
One thing is for certain: unlike too many, we never approach a hot-button issue with a pre-determined “Yes” or “No.” We study the issue, we debate it internally and we share our opinion with humility and confidence.
We were the first to offer a halakhic solution to Israel’s Who is a Jew debate. We were among the first to confront sexual molestation in the Orthodox community. In the early 2000s, we were already exploring the challenges confronting religiously committed members of the LGBTQ community. And just a few years ago we hosted a two-day plenary on the challenges facing the religious singles Jewish community.
Most recently, we launched a website rich with source material on countless contemporary issues, from #Me Too Movement to non-chief rabbinate marriages in Israel. We encourage you to click on utj.org/viewpoints to find issues meaningful to you.
To continue our activities, we come to you before the High Holidays, asking you to invest in the UTJ. No donation is too small (well, maybe 5 cents ). To become a member for 578, please go to utj.org/join-us. To make any other contribution, please go to utj.org/donate/.
Thank you and wishing you a meaningful 5780.