Posted on February 20, 2026 by Rabbi Noah Diamondstein
Dear friends,
I will not be on our bimah this Shabbat, as I am currently on a bus with our 10th graders down to Washington, DC for our L’Taken weekend. We’ll join teens from many other Reform synagogues around the country in learning about how our Reform Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and r’difat tzedek (pursuit of justice) intersect with our American values of civic engagement and pursuit of public policies that benefit the common good. While on this trip we will visit the MLK memorial and the Holocaust museum, paying special attention to the histories of oppression of Americans of Color and of Jews so that those lessons can shape our present consciousness.
It is, of course, not only our teens that need this learning and these reminders of the values that underpin our Reform Jewish worldview. Our community is pursuing justice in every generation, and I want to lift up an opportunity for our adults to join us for still another incredible trip. This October we will be traveling to Atlanta for an adult trip that explores the intersection of Judaism and the American Civil Rights movement.
Among other highlights and workshops, we will tour and spend Shabbat evening worship at The Temple, one of the country’s most historic Reform congregations, founded in 1867, visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, attend Sunday morning services at Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, and explore the MLK National Historic site.
Registration for the trip is open, and the deposit to reserve your space is only $360! See the email that went out yesterday, or click this link for more details.
Join us and follow the example of our 10th graders as we pursue a more just world!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Noah Diamondstein