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I'm Rabbi Mary Zamore.

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My pronouns are
she/her/hers, and I'm

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the Executive Director of
the Women's Rabbinic Network.

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WRN is a partner organization
of the Reform Movement.

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For over 40 years, we've
worked on gender justice

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promoting safety and equity
in the Jewish community.

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The videos and study materials
you're about to view have

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the potential to be a
powerful guide in the process

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of t'shuvah, taking account of
our wrongs and creating a path

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forward to strive to repair
the harms we have caused.

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I am grateful that
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

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will be sharing
from her new book,

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On Repentance and Repair--

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Making Amends in an
Unapologetic World.

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Our tradition teaches us that
t'shuvah is work in which we

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can and should engage
whenever it is needed.

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Each of us will
certainly find ways

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to bring these
ancient teachings, so

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relevant for modern living,
into our personal lives.

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Perhaps we will be able to
take ownership of a wrong

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we recently
committed, or perhaps

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we can revisit something
from years ago.

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These teachings may
also give us the voice

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to communicate to
friends or loved ones

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the pain we have suffered
to ask to be heard.

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Most of all, I hope the path
of repentance and repair

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will be open to many whenever
they are ready for them.

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There is also a larger context
for our study of t'shuvah.

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For members of the
Reform Movement,

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whether we belong to
individual congregations

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or have other connections
to our greater movement,

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together we are in a
season of reflection.

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Months ago, the three
major organizations

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of the Reform Movement, the
Union for Reform Judaism,

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Hebrew Union College -
Jewish Institute of Religion,

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the Central Conference
of American Rabbis,

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released separate
reports resulting

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from three independent
legal investigations.

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These reports document
incidents of sexual misconduct,

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abuse, harassment, and
discrimination based

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on gender identity, gender
expression, sexual orientation,

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race, and identity.

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These reports also
document systems, policies,

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and institutional
processes that enable harm.

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As a member of the
Reform Movement,

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I personally want to express
my deep, deep gratitude

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to the victim survivors
who have come forward

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to report to these
investigations

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or are now in conversation
with these organizations.

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My deep thanks.

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Within the Women's
Rabbinic Network,

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there are many who have
been subject to misdeeds

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and discrimination.

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However, the victim
survivors include all variety

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of Jewish professionals,
employees, laypeople, even

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children.

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This is a season
of deep reflection.

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It is a difficult season.

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We can begin to find comfort in
the process of t'shuvah itself.

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There is power and
speaking with transparency.

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There is hope and being
willing to hear and understand

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the harm done even
when it is painful,

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even when we contributed
to that harm,

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whether we understood
that before or not.

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There is hope in
finding a path to repair

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as much as it is possible.

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And I'm grateful that
our tradition gives us

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the opportunity and
tools of repentance.

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Of course, the promise of repair
is being able to move forward,

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to feel seen, heard,
and supported,

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to know that we can make changes
so that no one is harmed again.

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At the end of Yom Kippur,
both the language and music

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of our prayers shift
to a more upbeat tone.

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This shift reflects that our
tradition not only sees great

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value, but also optimism
in the work of t'shuvah.

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Thank you for joining us in this
journey of study, reflection,

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and action.