A D’var Torah for Pride Shabbat
June 28, 2023
The following d’var Torah by Nancy Katz was delivered as part of Pride Shabbat, June 23, 2023 at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill. Judge
The following d’var Torah by Nancy Katz was delivered as part of Pride Shabbat, June 23, 2023 at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill. Judge
Reconstructing Judaism, The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and 26 other Jewish organizations have signed on to a letter sent to President Biden, urging his administration to establish a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans through executive order before Juneteenth.
There’s much food for thought in this vital web conversation about how non-Orthodox Jews relate to Israel, featuring Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism. The program was organized by SAPIR, the influential journal of ideas for the Jewish future which recently launched an in-house institute to bring ideas to fruition. Waxman was in conversation with Channan Weissman director of the New SAPIR Institute, a former State Department official and White House liaison to the Jewish community.
The Progressive Israel Network (PIN) welcomes the Biden administration’s national-level plan to fight antisemitism, a plan that demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to confronting this serious threat.
As Rabbi Barbara Penzner reviews her 28 years as senior solo rabbi of Temple Hillel B’nai Torah, a small, urban Reconstructionist congregation in West Roxbury, she told JewishBoston that she feels much gratitude for the community she and her congregation have built over the decades.
Congregation Kol Emet’s new outdoor contemplative space is not a big sanctuary with seating for hundreds. It’s a small patch of land with benches and enough seating for perhaps 100 people.
But leaders at this Reconstructionist synagogue in Yardley want to use the space for the biggest events in Jewish life, from High Holiday services to bar and bat mitzvahs. They also want to use it for regular activities on the Jewish calendar, like Shabbat services.
At Shavuot, every Jew throughout time stands at the foot of Mount Sinai to recive the Torah. That powerful metaphor — passed down from an ancient midrash, or biblical interpretation — should provide every Jew a way to connect with a holiday that re-enacts God’s revelation.
Forty-nine days ago, we began an annual journey, and now we’ve arrived. We’re here at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Jewish people prepare for this moment
Make room for a new dessert at your Shavuot table, right between the cheesecake and blintzes – a Torah Scroll roll cake of milk and honey.
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
