Jane E. Herman

Jane E. Herman (she/her), a.k.a. JanetheWriter, a longtime writer and editor at the Union for Reform Judaism, is now a senior writer at JCC Association of North America and blogs at JanetheWriter Writes. She grew up at Temple Emanu-El in Edison, N.J., and currently belongs to Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City.

"Never Again" Means Never Again for Anybody

Jane E. Herman

On February 12, 2017, HIAS organized a National Day of Jewish Action for Refugees with rallies in cities nationwide. As a participant, I was proud to stand in the sleet and freezing rain, alongside nearly a thousand others.

How Shabbat Traditions Give You What You Need, When You Need It

Jane E. Herman

On most Friday afternoons during the last six years, just before turning off my computer, I peruse a starred folder in my Gmail account that most people probably don’t have: It’s my “Possible FB postings for Shabbat” file, an organic, growing anthology of quotes related to Shabbat. Many of them are borrowed from the liturgy in the Reform siddur (prayer book).

When a quote strikes me as the right one for a particular week, I make that text my Facebook status, turn off my computer, and let Shabbat begin. Last week, Ahad Ha-am’s words spoke to me, as they so often do. Even as I scurried to close up shop on the work week, I noticed that the first quote in the anthology is dated July 19, 2010 – almost exactly six years ago to the day.