How Fred Rogers and Jeff Erlanger Became Friends for Life

How Fred Rogers and Jeff Erlanger Became Friends for Life

By Aron Hirt-Manheimer. This blog originally appeared on ReformJudaism.org. Jeff Erlanger was an OSRUI camper and staff member who was an inspiration to all who knew him. One of this summer’s surprise box office hits is Won’t You Be My Neighbor, a documentary about...
Where I’m From: A Poem on Identity

Where I’m From: A Poem on Identity

by Rabbi Phyllis Sommer, OSRUI alum and faculty member, and associate rabbi at Am Shalom in Glencoe, IL. I am from blintzes, from Crest toothpaste and kippot tucked into a dresser drawer. I am from no eating in the bedrooms, singing all the time, comfy couches, a...
“And you shall order schnitzel …”

“And you shall order schnitzel …”

by Bradley Egel, NFTY and OSRUI Alum People frequently talk about generational leadership. The Hebrew phrase, l’dor vador, literally means “from generation to generation,” and is most often applied to the handing down of leadership from one generation to the next. If...

Tradition Welcomes Change in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

By Ilene Weismehl, Development Manager at JOIN for Justice and an OSRUI camper from 1974-1979. For as long as I can remember, it was a given that my brother and I would go to Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, commonly known as OSRUI (pronounced Os-roo-ee), and even more...

A Fifth Cup – Going Beyond What is Required

by Rabbi Joshua Weinberg, President of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) and an OSRUI Alum. Growing up, I struggled with the impression that being a Reform Jew meant that we did less. Fewer mitzvot, shorter holiday observance, and less time spent in...

18 Years After Yitzhak Rabin

by Deborah Goldberg, Eisendrath Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and an OSRUI Alum. My first memory of being taught of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination was during the summer of 2006 as a camper in the Hebrew-immersion program at...