Daphne Price

Daphne Price is the development director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. She is charged with overseeing the RAC’s $1 million annual campaign as well as the RAC’s capital and endowment campaigns. Daphne is the lead advisor on use of Jewish text and tradition in the RAC’s social justice work. From 1999 to 2011 Daphne served as Executive Assistant to the Director, Rabbi David Saperstein, where she coordinated the work of the executive office. A native Torontonian, Daphne graduated from York University in Toronto with a bachelor’s degree (Honors) in Religious Studies, focusing on Judaism Studies, and a master’s degree in Jewish History from Concordia University in Montreal. She also spent two years studying at Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel program. In her spare time Daphne sits on the board of the Melvin J Berman Hebrew Academy (where her children go to school) and is the Food Editor on www.challahcrumbs.com. You can also find her training for marathons throughout the year.*

Faith and Practice

Why this Fast of Esther, I'm Fasting for Immigration Reform (Hint: I'm an Observant Jewish Woman. And an Immigrant.)

By Daphne Price

As an observant Jew, I, along with so many people in the Jewish community will spend today fasting and reflectingon the bravery of Queen Esther and the Jews in the Persian Empire. At that time, they gathered to fast and to pray in order to spare the Jewish people from extermination. There are seven fast days every year. But today’s fast feels different. On this day, women from across the Jewish spectrum are fasting and raising awareness to speak truth to power to achieve just, humane, and comprehensive immigration reform. As a Jew, as a woman and as an immigrant from Canada, I identify with the gravity of the mission of the day.