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Lila Corwin Berman offers a wry smile.

Power to Which People? American Jewish Philanthropy & Democracy

Philanthropy and private giving are a vital part of American democracy and deeply ingrained in Jewish communal life. Historian Lila Corwin Berman, Ph.D., has, through her scholarship, shed light on the history of Jewish philanthropy while raising questions about how it is practiced. Who benefits from philanthropy? Who gets to decide how dollars are spent? Do good intentions lead to good results? Does philanthropy advance democracy?

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Rabbi Asher Sofman, wearing glasses, a collared shirt and patterned sweater, poses outside.

Reconstructionist Community Sustained Rabbi Asher Sofman; In New DEI Position, Seeks for Others to Have the Same Gift

From his childhood congregation to Camp Havaya and rabbinical school, Rabbi Asher Sofman found his spiritual home in the Reconstructionist movement. Now the 2023 Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) graduate has joined the Reconstructing Judaism team to help even more people find the same kind of life-affirming, spiritually nourishing community.

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Two women with a child who is blowing out a birthday candle.

Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives

Considering adopting a child? Pursuing parenthood through artificial insemination or surrogacy? Interested in using a Jewish framework to think through the myriad ethical questions each path presents?

Then be sure to register for the upcoming online learning series, “Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives.” The five live sessions, which will be shared on Zoom, begin on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 4:30 p.m. EST, concluding Sunday, March 10, at 4:30 p.m. EST. (See schedule and register here.) The series also includes an array of pre-recorded sessions.

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Overhead view of an Or Zarua Purim party, with most people wearing costumes.

Or Zarua Takes a Collective Approach to Synagogue Life

Back in 2017, Rabbi Shelley Barnathan met with 100 prospective members individually over coffee to ask some central questions about what they wanted in a new Reconstructionist synagogue in Philadelphia’s western suburbs.

She had just completed rabbinical school after leaving a 32-year career as a language arts teacher. A child of Holocaust survivors, she wanted to realize a childhood dream that wasn’t accessible in her Modern Orthodox community.

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The front door of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill.

Talking About Israel During Wartime? Here’s One Reconstructionist Model

Members of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill. — one of the movement’s oldest congregations, and one where the conversation about Israel had long proved polarizing — have shown that such respectful engagement is possible, maybe even necessary.

Over the past two months, the congregation has leaned into Reconstructionist values by emphasizing the community’s voice over the rabbi’s and embracing complexity and nuance. Following a process that lasted for about three weeks, entailing thousands of emails, two board meetings and feedback from more than 200 members, the congregation adopted a statement steeped in Jewish values, that declared “All parties must stop the killing to create the conditions for lasting peace.”

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A rabbi holds a "no more harrasment at work" sign on the streets of Philadelphia. It's snowing and people around her are carrying umbrellas. Her hair is dotted with white snowflakes.

Course Spotlight: Rabbis in Social Movements

When Rabbi Alex Weissman applied to rabbinical school in 2011, he estimates that there were just a handful of rabbis working at social-justice organizations. Fast-forward a dozen years and that number now exceeds several dozen — too many for Weissman to name. Why the dramatic shift? Many advocacy organizations now

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The Reconstructionist Network