February 2025 Jewish Faith Network Newsletter

Jewish Faith Network

Newsletter

February 2025

Thank you for joining us for this month’s Jewish Faith Network newsletter at the One America Movement. See below for resources to support your work.

Resource for Faith Leaders: Trauma-Informed Toolkit

Trauma-Informed-Toolkit-Download-Page-1 image

Faith leaders are at the heart of their communities, guiding people through moments of crisis and division. That is why the One America Movement, in partnership with Beyond Conflict and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding, has developed the Trauma-Informed Toolkit for Faith Leaders Facing Crisis and Division.

This resource equips faith leaders with practical, trauma-informed strategies to foster resilience and healing.

It offers faith-centered communication tools, crisis-response protocols, and community-building exercises designed to help leaders navigate difficult conversations with empathy and clarity.

Whether you’re responding to an immediate trauma or strengthening your community’s long-term well-being, this toolkit provides guidance to help you walk alongside those in need, fostering spaces of understanding, support, and hope.

Download the Toolkit today

Get Involved

Faith leaders across traditions are coming together May 5-7 for Rooted in Faith: Cultivating Spiritual Strength for Transcending Divides. This gathering is an opportunity to strengthen your leadership, build relationships, and gain practical skills to navigate division with wisdom and compassion.

Why Apply?

Join a National Network: Build supportive relationships with other faith leaders across the country who are navigating the complexities of toxic polarization.
Enhance Your Leadership: Gain valuable tools, skills, and insights from experts to effectively guide your congregation and broader community through challenging, divisive times.
Make an Impact: Develop and implement action plans that will strengthen the resilience of your local community.

What to Expect as a Fellow:

An all-expenses-paid trip to the One America Movement Summit in Tulsa, OK, from May 5–7, 2025 (with May 4 designated as a travel day).
Engaging conversations and shared learning with faith leaders and subject-matter experts.
Support in leading your community through polarized times.
Resources and mentorship to implement real change in your community.

I invite you to apply here, it'll take no more than 10–15 minutes, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. I hope you’ll consider this opportunity—your faithful leadership is needed now more than ever!

Apply to Become a Lead by Faith Fellow

Sermon Hooks for Next Month's Torah Readings

Terumah

(Exodus 25:1-27:19)

Exodus 25:2 – “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him.”

Theme: Relationship Building & Superordinate Identity – The Mishkan (Tabernacle) is built from voluntary donations, showing that communal projects require collective participation. This fosters unity and strengthens shared identity.

Exodus 26:31-33 – “You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen; it shall have a design of cherubim worked into it… and you shall put it in place under the clasps, and the Ark of the Covenant shall be behind the curtain.”

Theme: Sacred Values & Group Norms – The separation of the Holy of Holies emphasizes the idea that certain spaces and rituals hold sacred significance, reinforcing the group’s religious framework.

Tetzaveh

(Exodus 27:20–30:10)

Exodus 28:3 – “You shall instruct all who are skillful, whom I have endowed with the gift of skill, to make Aaron’s vestments for consecrating him to serve Me as priest.”

Theme: Group Norms & Identity – The priestly garments reinforce the role of leadership within the community, setting expectations and norms around religious authority and identity.

Exodus 29:45-46 – “I will abide among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I the LORD am their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt that I might abide among them.”

Theme: Superordinate Identity – God’s presence among the Israelites defines their collective identity, reinforcing that their unity is rooted in divine purpose.

Ki Tisa

(Exodus 30:11–34:35)

Exodus 32:1 – “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron and said to him, ‘Come, make us a god who shall go before us, for that man Moses, who brought us from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him.’”

Theme: Motive Misattribution & Toxic Polarization – The people assume Moses has abandoned them and act impulsively, demonstrating how fear and uncertainty can lead to division and rash decisions.

Exodus 32:19-20 – “As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he became enraged; he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain.”

Theme: Challenging One’s Own Group When They Do Wrong – Moses’ dramatic reaction to the Golden Calf demonstrates the importance of holding one’s own community accountable when they stray from core values.

Exodus 33:11 – “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”

Theme: Trust & Relationship Building – This verse highlights the close, trusting relationship between Moses and God, emphasizing that leadership requires open communication and a foundation of trust.

Vayakhel

(Exodus 35:1–38:20)

Exodus 35:1-2 – “Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD.”

Theme: Group Norms & Sacred Values – The observance of Shabbat establishes a shared rhythm of work and rest, reinforcing communal identity and sacred obligations.

Exodus 35:21 – “And everyone whose heart moved him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting...”

Theme: Relationship Building & Superordinate Identity – The construction of the Mishkan is a communal effort, demonstrating the power of shared purpose and collective contributions.

Exodus 36:6-7 – “So Moses gave an order, and they proclaimed throughout the camp: ‘Let no man or woman make further effort toward gifts for the sanctuary!’ So the people stopped bringing: their efforts had been more than enough for all the tasks to be done.”

Theme: Trust & Relationship Building – The people’s overwhelming generosity in supporting the Mishkan reflects their trust in the project and their desire to contribute to something greater than themselves.

From the Talmud

Sanhedrin 17a

This sugya discusses the requirement that members of a Sanhedrin must include those who are willing to challenge their own peers and leaders when necessary. A Sanhedrin should not include unanimous judges who always agree because dissent and debate are necessary for justice.

Key Takeaways from a One America Movement perspective:

In-group Moderation: The Talmud sees unanimous decisions as suspicious. If all judges agree immediately, it may indicate a failure to critically examine the case. This principle emphasizes the necessity of questioning even one’s own in-group to ensure fairness and truth.

Trust: The idea that disagreement strengthens justice rather than weakens it builds trust in the integrity of the system. Trust in leadership is not based on blind loyalty but on rigorous ethical debate.

Group Norms: The Sanhedrin is expected to function with healthy disagreement. This suggests that the ideal group norm is not blind agreement but a culture that values dissent when necessary.

Meet Our Director

Contact Fred

Rabbi Frederick Reeves is the Director of Jewish Programs at the One America Movement.

Fred served pulpits in Atlanta and Chicago before coming to the One America Movement. He also was the president of the Hyde Park-Kenwood Interfaith Council, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, and the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis. In those roles, he has been active Jewishly and across faith lines working to bring positive change to our society. Fred graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in French Literature. He completed a Master’s in Hebrew Letters and received rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Learn More About Our Work

The One America Movement's mission is to build a network of people of faith who speak and act against toxic polarization in America in accordance with their faith tradition.

Vayakhel

﻿(Exodus 35:1–38:20)

(Exodus 35:1–38:20)