Why We Have to Talk About It
April 29, 2019
Can Reconstructionist communities avoid discussing controversial political issues? Seth Rosen argues that despite the challenges, difficult conversations are the only path forward.
Can Reconstructionist communities avoid discussing controversial political issues? Seth Rosen argues that despite the challenges, difficult conversations are the only path forward.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association were signatories to a letter objecting to the Tennessee legislature’s proposed legislation that would allow federally funded foster care and adoption agencies to practice taxpayer-funded religious discrimination against potential adoptive and foster parents.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association send our deepest condolences and wishes of refu’ah shlaymah — full and complete healing — to all who were affected by the shooting at Chabad of Poway, California.
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman’s vision of a synagogue: a community that sustains itself through prayer and Torah, while also “trying to be a powerful force for making change in the world.”
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association are shocked by and condemn the terrorist attacks carried out on Easter Sunday at multiple churches and other locations in Sri Lanka. With broken hearts, we stand in solidarity with the Christian communities of Sri Lanka, and with people in grief and shock around the world.
The American Jewish community stands united against the genocide of the Rohingya people and the persecution of all ethnic minorities in Burma. We applaud the bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate for their moral courage and leadership in introducing powerful legislation that would authorize humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees and hold the Burmese military officials responsible for this persecution accountable.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association were among more than 300 organizations to support the Never Again Education Act (H.R. 943). The attached letter, sent to the chair and ranking member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, urges the swift passage of the bill, which uses public funding and private donations to provide teachers with resources and training on lessons of the Holocaust and the consequences of bigotry and hate.
The Center for Jewish Ethics’ conference in March 2019 highlighted voices from across the Jewish world, yet the proceedings embodied the Reconstructionist approach to conversation. Presenters and attendees examined issues from many sides, exchanging perspectives with deep respect for one another and Jewish tradition.
Synagogues are a means, not an end in themselves. But thriving synagogues contribute to Judaism’s goal: to create healthy individuals, thriving communities, flourishing Jewish life, interconnected human life and a sustainable planet.
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
