In this excerpt from Ritualwell’s weekly “Holding Each Other” gathering, Rabbi Janet Madden chants the Oseh Shalom and Mi Shebeirach prayers. Madden lovingly and soulfully expresses what so many yearn for: peace and healing.
At Ritualwell’s weekly “Holding Each Other” virtual event, Rabbi Alex Lazurus-Klein read two poems, one written during the Second Intifada and the other composed in the harrowing days following October 7.
https://vimeo.com/879636915/82bbf6be16?share=copyWe left the embrace of the sukkahfor the shelter of Shabbat HoshanaAnd they blasted away the wallHoshanaPlease reopen Your gates of salvationHoshanaCan anyone pick the lock?Hoshana For Your sake and Hoshana For oursHoshana For fathers gunned down in front of daughtersHoshanaFor mothers shielding the bodies of sonsHoshanaFor elders with caregivers bedsideHoshanaFor Amit who bandaged wounds in
Cathleen Cohen recites her new poem “Mirrors,” as part of Ritualwell’s October 19th virtual gathering, “Holding Each Other: Israel on our Hearts.”
While all of us on staff at Reconstructing Judaism salute the life-saving and difficult work of these organizations, as is our standard practice, we make the disclaimer here that the views or statements expressed by outside organizations may or may not reflect the official policies and positions of Reconstructing Judaism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAgf_zMxyzY The traditional Mitzvah of hafrashat Challah (“taking” or “separating” challah) refers to removing and burning a small piece of challah dough as a symbolic offering before baking (some people throw away that piece instead of burning). In the time of the ancient temple in Jerusalem the Israelites would give
When I was a kid, I remember the moment on Simchat Torah when the Torah scroll would be unrolled around the sanctuary. We would sit in the middle of the room with our parents carefully holding the parchment around us. Even as a child, I knew the rules: Don’t put
Talmudic specifications for the sukkah have much to teach us about embracing everyone.
Explore the concepts of sin and repentance from a contemporary perspective.
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
