As part of our recent convention, B’yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together, we shared this video of a new setting for Hinei Mah Tov by RRC student Solomon Hoffman. It features over 150 Reconstructionists representing 40 of our communities from across North America and beyond. The participants reflect the spectrum of our movement—lay leaders, Rabbis, Cantors, students, teachers, children, elders, musicians, singers, dancers, artists—all sharing in this collective project.
The last two years have shifted and expanded our concept of what it means to gather, and indeed, our recent convention included both in-person and virtual attendees. As a movement that spans time zones and countries, we are also continually exploring creative ways for coming together, especially as “community” is a core value of Reconstructionist Judaism. This video, conceived by director Alex Hare, draws on the opening words of the psalm, “a song of ascents,” to take us on a journey toward togetherness. As we sing the text “behold, how good and pleasant it is for all of us to sit together,” we gradually meet people along the way. Our ultimate height is reached by arriving in a sanctuary, where we can experience the presence of community.