Territories Department
Protective presence for Palestinian farmers, assistance with access to land, and documentation of human rights violations.
Social Justice Department
Promoting social and economic rights, combating poverty and discrimination, and advancing equal opportunities.
Education Department
Designing and delivering educational programs on human rights, religious pluralism, and tolerance.
Interfaith Department
Dialogue and interfaith cooperation, development of joint initiatives, and the promotion of mutual understanding.
About the Organization
Rabbis for Human Rights is the Jewish voice on human rights.
Founded in 1988, it brings together more than 170 members – ordained rabbis and rabbinical students from across the denominations.
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Weekly Torah Portion
Seek the Secret of the Desert
Thoughts for Parashat BaMidbar / Rabbi Ariella Graetz Bartuv
It is from a place without permanence, property, land, or security that the human ability to create a moral, sensitive, and compassionate society is tested. In a settled land, one might think that power, abundance, and land are what define a person.
In the desert, everyone depends on one another, and everyone depends on God’s grace — on the manna, the water, and the clouds of glory. The desert dismantles hierarchies of power and wealth and forces the people to understand that society cannot exist without mutual responsibility. One could even say that God does not immediately give Israel a state, an army, and land. First, God sends them to learn how to be humane to one another
In the desert, everyone depends on one another, and everyone depends on God’s grace — on the manna, the water, and the clouds of glory. The desert dismantles hierarchies of power and wealth and forces the people to understand that society cannot exist without mutual responsibility. One could even say that God does not immediately give Israel a state, an army, and land. First, God sends them to learn how to be humane to one another
“My Teacher, You Revived Me!”: Between Human Dignity and State Responsibility
Shabbat for Social Justice, Parashot Behar–Bechukotai / Rabbi Kobi Weiss
Between Passover and Shavuot, as nature awakens to life, Jewish history reminds us of the terrible silence that fell upon the study halls of Rabbi Akiva. Twenty-four thousand students—the future bearers of Torah tradition—vanished in a short period of time. The chilling reason handed down to us was not a biological plague or an external enemy, but a deep spiritual failure: “because they did not treat one another with respect” (Yevamot 62b).
Paying Attention to the Corner of the Field
Thoughts for Parashat Emor / Rabbi Idit Lev
Within the description of the sequence of festivals in Parashat Emor, there is one verse that seems out of place:“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the ETERNAL am your God.” (Leviticus 23:22)
How is the commandment to leave the corner of the field for the poor and the stranger connected to the festivals described in the surrounding verses?