Making Decisions on Controversial Issues
November 22, 2016
How can congregations best handle controversial issues and explore the values underlying disagreements about issues?
Rabbi Rebecca T. Alpert is Professor of Religion at Temple University. Alpert was among the first women in America ordained as a rabbi, at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1976. She is the co-author of Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach, co-editor of Lesbian Rabbis: The First Generation, author of Like Bread on the Seder Plate: Jewish Lesbians and the Transformation of Tradition, Whose Torah? A Concise Guide to Progressive Judaism and Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball. At Temple University she teaches undergraduates about contemporary religion with a focus on Philadelphia, sexuality, sport, and race. She teaches graduate courses on religion and public life, sexuality, and higher education teaching.
How can congregations best handle controversial issues and explore the values underlying disagreements about issues?
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
