Bryan Schwartzman

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

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

December 21, 2023

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.

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

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

December 7, 2023

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.”

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

December 6, 2023

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

Open book on a table next to a glass vase holding dried flowers against a beige textured wall.

Improv Your Writing Craft; Grow as a Person While You’re at It

October 27, 2023

Rabbi Joshua Boettiger is the kind of religious leader — and the kind of writer — who sees connections in seemingly disparate things, such as

An illuminated, floating heart on a beach, with ocean water in the background. This image was to promote the recent Ritualwell program.

Virtual Ritualwell Gathering of Poetry and Prayer Provides Space to Grieve and Come Together

October 12, 2023

For 45 minutes, participants had a digital space to be together and hold their intense, conflicting emotions. Presenters recited poems — both their own work, composed in the past days, and the work of other poets — led meditations and recited prayers, such as the Mi Sheberach, a prayer for healing, and the Kaddish, the memorial prayer for the dead. (Here is a link to all the resources recited during the program.)

A waist-up image of Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, standing in front of a tree.

Writer, Educator, Disability Activist to Lead Ritualwell, Leading Source of Creative Jewish Expression and Writer’s Community

September 18, 2023

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer was recently named Ritualwell’s director of virtual content and program, a position she considers her dream job. In this role, she can weave together the multiple strands of her life: her passion for creativity and the arts, her focus on spirituality and writing, her experience in editing and mentoring writers, her commitment to children and families, and making Jewish community and experience accessible to all.

Rabbi Lily Solochek: Taking K-12 Reconstructionist Education to the Next Level

July 24, 2023

Rabbi Lily Solochek is a key part of a bold new endeavor and has been tasked with taking Reconstructionist education to the next level. They have been named director of Reconstructing Judaism’s new Wenger-Markowitz Family Education Initiative. Funded with a $1 million gift from Reconstructionist leaders Jonathan Markowitz and Ruth Wenger, the initiative will bolster K-12 educational offerings across the Reconstructionist movement.

Demonstrators at a Black Lives Matter march

‘Race, Religion and American Jews’: A Wide-Ranging Project Reaches Beyond the Academy, Inviting Conversation

April 18, 2023

As a Black Jewish woman and mother of two biracial sons, Buffie Longmire-Avital has felt compelled to apply some of those same research methods to Jewish households. Yet she lacked the time, funding and support.

Rabbi Sandra Lawson playing guitar and singing at Juneteenth Shabbat wearing a rainbow colored tallit.

Rabbi Sandra Lawson Sings Song of Freedom at White House Passover Seder

April 11, 2023

“As a Jew and an African American, I carry the memory of two groups of people who were once enslaved,” said Rabbi Sandra Lawson, RRC’ 18, Reconstructing Judaism’s inaugural director of racial diversity, Justice and inclusion.

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

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

Course Spotlight: Rabbis in Social Movements

Improv Your Writing Craft; Grow as a Person While You’re at It

Virtual Ritualwell Gathering of Poetry and Prayer Provides Space to Grieve and Come Together

Writer, Educator, Disability Activist to Lead Ritualwell, Leading Source of Creative Jewish Expression and Writer’s Community

Rabbi Lily Solochek: Taking K-12 Reconstructionist Education to the Next Level

‘Race, Religion and American Jews’: A Wide-Ranging Project Reaches Beyond the Academy, Inviting Conversation

Rabbi Sandra Lawson Sings Song of Freedom at White House Passover Seder

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