Statement on the Formation of a New Israeli Government

High Holy Days are an inflection point. They are a time to pause and absorb words of wisdom, comfort, and purpose from the bimah. As Reconstructionists across the country wrestle with the ongoing situation in the Middle East and search for light and joy, we want to share a few recent High Holy Day sermons with you. While our rabbis do not have all the answers, they have some, especially when they hold up a mirror to our collective struggles and speak about them with refreshing candor and insight.

According to Mordecai Kaplan’s teachings, which have long resonated with me and so many others, to be Jewish in America is to live simultaneously in two rich civilizations, the Jewish and the American civilizations, both full of promise and character-shaping values. To be Jewish in America is to draw deeply from both of these civilizations in order to contribute meaningfully to both of them. As deeply as Kaplan believed this, living it out was often challenging in his day. Increasingly, it is challenging in our day as well.

In this moving reflection, Rabbi Deborah Waxman shares her transformative experience on a service-learning trip to Israel with Yahel and Repair the World. Amid the complexities of a region in conflict, she discovers how hands-on service work—from weeding at a therapeutic farm for veterans to packing food for Bedouin villages—opens pathways to hope, agency and renewal when mere words and meetings cannot.