WASHINGTON (RNS) — A half-century after arriving in the nation’s capital to work as a lobbyist for Reform Judaism, Rabbi David Saperstein is still energized by the work he’s doing — and he’s still doing a lot of work.
This summer, Saperstein, director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, traveled with an evangelical Christian pastor and an imam to Ghana, where the three hope to expand their efforts to get clergy of the three Abrahamic religions to meet, dialogue and work together on community projects. He’s also been meeting with groups who are devastated and distrusting of each other since the Middle East crisis took a sharp turn on Oct. 7, 2023.
Sitting in his office at the center on a recent damp December day in Washington, Saperstein declined a call with U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin that came in during his interview with RNS before racing off afterward for a meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“That I ended up with a career in which somebody paid me a salary to do work that I would rather be doing than anything else I can imagine has been the blessing of my life,” Saperstein, 77, said.
On a webinar held in late October, an eclectic group …