With humility and profound gratitude to the Omnipresent, my family and friends, and the extended Reconstructionist community, I am writing to share the news that I will step down as president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism when my current contract wraps up on August 31, 2026. I am committed to continuing to lead the Reconstructionist movement with vigor and, I hope, vision over these next 16 months. I shared this news with Reconstructing Judaism’s outstanding Board of Governors so early to ensure a robust and unrushed search for my successor. I am sharing it with you now because of your support and encouragement of me and of the Reconstructionist movement, which I hope will continue far into the future.
President & CEO of Reconstructing Judaism
By next summer, I will have served in this role for nearly 13 years. While I do not believe in a personal God (click here and here for more on my theology), I did feel called in 2013 to apply for this position, and these years have been an extraordinary journey, full of tremendous growth, abundant blessings and unexpected challenges. Through it all, I have been nourished and sustained by a Reconstructionist approach to Judaism, which has given me conceptual language to understand my relationship with the divine, the Jewish people and the wider world; introduced me to vital communities whose members recognized that the fullness of my multiple identities – a woman, a lesbian, the partner of a passionate Jew-by-choice – makes me a better rabbi and leader; brought me into abiding relationships with some of the most interesting, engaged, passionate people I could ever hope to know; and so much more.
With your partnership over the last decade, we have navigated tumultuous times in Jewish, American and Israeli life. My initial goals were to demonstrate the vitality and relevance of Reconstructionism and to secure the financial viability of Reconstructing Judaism, then newly-created out of the merger of our seminary and congregational union. Thirteen years ago, I thought that the primary task ahead of us would be helping the Jewish community make the shift from post-World War II ethnic Judaism into 21st-century post-ethnic Jewish life. That work has been ongoing and important, but more often than I could have imagined it has taken a backburner to the many, many world-changing inflection points of the last 12 years. Through all these challenges, the vigor of a Reconstructionist approach has been both an engine and a comfort, especially as it is brought to life in diverse and exciting ways by the extraordinary people who are drawn to this approach.
The Reconstructionist movement is my home — religiously, intellectually, and professionally — as it has been for my entire adult life. I am grateful for all that I have received from it, all that I have been able to contribute to it, and especially for my partnership with the Board of Governors and my colleagues – the professional leadership and faculty of Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. I am also deeply grateful for the relationships that I have formed with the many students we have educated as rabbis, with my colleagues in the rabbinate and with hundreds of members of our affiliated communities who have welcomed me into their synagogues and their homes, and for the warmth and generosity of the many donors who are helping to bring our vision to life. I look forward to the important and meaningful work ahead over the next 16 months, and then to finding new ways to contribute after August 2026, first and foremost by supporting my successor, and their partners in leadership, in taking on this holy work.
With deep appreciation and birkat shalom, a blessing for peace—
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Reconstructing Judaism
A Note from Board Chair Seth Rosen
Chair, Board of Governors
Please join me in thanking Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., for her extraordinary leadership as president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism. Through unforeseeable challenges and turmoil in the world around us, Deborah has strengthened the Reconstructionist movement and championed our shared ideals with her unyielding commitment to building and sustaining “covenantal community” that is resilient, joyful, diverse, engaged, and deeply rooted in our Jewish tradition.
I have been blessed to partner with Deborah in my role as chair of our Board of Governors since 2017 and she continues to inspire me. With her determination, passion, optimism, erudition, warmth and extremely hard work, Deborah has made our movement what it is today: an innovator, a moral voice and a trusted partner. Deborah has led Reconstructing Judaism in demonstrating how a Reconstructionist approach brings meaning and vitality to Jewish life; in enacting our commitments to justice, equity and inclusion; and in ensuring that the rabbis we graduate reflect the breadth of the Jewish community and are prepared to lead in the years and decades to come.
Deborah has championed bold and impactful new initiatives across our work – in education, in supporting both our affiliated communities and newly emerging innovative expressions of Jewish life, and in developing forums for sharing Reconstructionist ideas and creativity. Thanks to her dedication to representing Reconstructing Judaism in the public square and on the boards of peer organizations – in both the US and Israel – our distinctive voice is heard much more clearly across the Jewish landscape.
Deborah has informed us of her decision to step down as president and CEO at the end of August 2026 in the same spirit with which she has served – with foresight and commitment. Our board looks forward to partnering with Deborah over the next 16 months to continue the work of building and strengthening Reconstructing Judaism so that our movement will thrive into the future.
The timing of Deborah’s announcement leaves ample time for our board to identify a new president and CEO who can lead Reconstructing Judaism with the sustained passion that Deborah has brought over the years. In the next few weeks, we will appoint a search committee made up of Reconstructionist leaders from our board, faculty, affiliated communities, rabbinate and student body. We’ll be happy to provide more details as they become available. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact at SRosen@ReconstructingJudaism.org.
To all who have the good fortune to know Deborah and her work, I promise we will have occasions to express our appreciation over the next 16 months. Thank you for your support of Deborah’s leadership and the Reconstructionist community.
