By Jane Eisner August 19, 2009

Every year, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism sets up a mega-conference call for its rabbis — a sort of spring training for the High Holidays, with discussion about sermon topics, text study, and the like. And every year, the RAC invites guest speakers to participate.

This year, they scored a home run.

At 11 a.m. today, the nearly 1,000 rabbis who signed up for the call will get to hear President Obama offer his ideas for the Jewish new year. According to Kate Bigam, the RAC’s press secretary, “we made a leap” and tried to get on the president’s schedule. It worked.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Obama is expected to talk about 10 to 15 minutes in what is billed as a strictly private conversation, though how private that can remain with a thousand rabbis on the line will soon be tested. Bigam says it’s the first time a president has ever participated in this program.

What’s next? Shofar blowing in the White House?

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount