David Saperstein

David Saperstein

Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Rabbi David Saperstein is the Washington representative of Judaism's Reform Movement as Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a position he has held for 30 years. The "On Faith" panelist also co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations including the NAACP and People For the American Way. In 1999, Saperstein was elected first chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom created by Congress. The Religious Action Center advocates for a broad range of social justice issues and provides extensive legislative and program materials for synagogues, federations and Jewish community relations councils nationwide. It also coordinates social action education programs that train nearly 3,000 Jewish adults, youth, rabbinic and lay leaders each year. Also an attorney, Saperstein teaches seminars in First Amendment Church-State Law and in Jewish Law at Georgetown University Law School. He co-authored Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time (1998). Close.

David Saperstein

Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Rabbi David Saperstein is the Washington representative of Judaism's Reform Movement as Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a position he has held for 30 years. The "On Faith" panelist also co-chairs the Coalition to Preserve Religious Liberty, and serves on the boards of numerous national organizations including the NAACP and People For the American Way. more »

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August 2007 Archives



August 21, 2007 2:14 PM

"You Shall Be Holy"

“It is that command to be holy that calls us to a partnership with the Divine to make God’s vision of justice and peace real here on Earth, to create a better and more hopeful future for all God’s children. You shall be Holy for the Eternal your God is Holy.”

There is to me no more exalted formulation of the human condition and our role in the universe than these words of Lev.19:2 and the evocative rules exemplifying the implementation of that idea described in the ensuing verses.

We are reminded that we are created in the image of God, capable of being holy through the way we live our lives, just as the Eternal is holy. Infusing a sense of God’s presence into every aspect of our lives remains at the core of our religious values and identity."

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Posted by David Saperstein | | Comments (34)




August 23, 2007 9:16 AM

God Embraces Faithful Relationships

Fifty years from now, most religious communities will look back with astonishment on the controversy over same sex relations the way we do today on yesterday’s bans on miscegenation.

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Posted by David Saperstein | | Comments (110)


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What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions

Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith

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