Jill Jacobs
Jewish Funds for Justice
Telephone: 212-213-2113
Email:
Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Rabbi-in-Residence for the Jewish Funds for Justice and the author of There Shall be no Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition, to be published by Jewish Lights in spring 2009. She has written extensively on issues including housing, labor, and health care from a Jewish perspective; her work has appeared in more than two dozen magazines, journals, and anthologies. Rabbi Jacobs has twice been named to the Forward 50, the Forward newspaper's annual list of "movers and shakers" in the Jewish world, and has also been named to the New York Jewish Week's "Thirty-six under thirty-six." She received rabbinic ordination and an MA in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she was a Wexner Fellow. Rabbi Jacobs also holds an MS in Urban Affairs from Hunter College and a BA from Columbia University. She lives in Manhattan with her partner, Guy Austrian.
Re-Imagining Jewish Marriage
Kiddushin and Beyond
How-To, Ritual & Prayer
- Friday 1:30PM–2:45PM Empire Room 3 North
Central to the Jewish marriage ceremony is kiddushin—the moment when the man (traditionally) gives the woman an object of value in order to establish his exclusive rights to her. Many contemporary Jews have been redefining kiddushin, making the process more egalitarian and less hetero-normative, and even exploring alternatives that avoid kiddushin altogether. We will explore these options and consider what Jewish marriage should look like in the 21st century. No marriage experience is necessary!
Creating Ethical Workplaces
How-To, Identity & Responsibility
- Saturday 11:45AM–1:00PM Congressional Room 1
What makes a workplace Jewish? In this session, we will consider issues such as wages and hours, union relations, health and safety, and other areas of Jewish law and tradition regarding workplace conditions. We will also spend time thinking about how we can make our own workplaces more Jewish places, whether we are the owners or CEOs, or whether we are simply employees.
Planet in Peril
What Can Jews Do?
- Sunday 5:30PM–6:45PM Embassy Room 1
While our addictions to oil, credit, and fast food are new, our tendencies to overuse and overextend our resources are not. Judaism provides us with guidance on how to conserve our resources, spend wisely, and build a more sustainable world. Our panelists will provide unique insights on the Jewish ethics of consumption from their social justice work.
A Jewish Plan for Health Care
Lessons for Washington?
Identity & Responsibility
- Monday 8:15AM–9:30AM Empire Room 2
Health care was one of the central issues of the 2008 elections, and will probably continue to be at the top of the national agenda as the new government tackles the creation of a national health care system. We will look at some Jewish legal and historical texts about the responsibility for providing health care, and will consider what a Jewish health care system might look like.
Tikkun Olam
Inspiring Call to Action, or Meaningless Jargon?
Identity & Responsibility
- Monday 11:15AM–12:30PM Tower Board Room
When you hear “tikkun olam,” what comes to mind? Does this term describe the essence of your Judaism? Do you associate it with one political position or another? Do you dismiss it as meaningless? In this session, we will look at the historical evolution of the term “tikkun olam” and consider what this phrase could or should mean today.
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