This letter, along with the growing number of statements of protest from many quarters of the Jewish community, is a clarion call. These statements communicate that this government and what it espouses are not normal and should not be normalized. They seize the opportunity to reassert the kind of Zionism championed by Justice Louis Brandeis, who equated Zionism with American democracy, and who believed in a Zionism dedicated to giving social justice and democratic values expanded expression.
As the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College continues to hone rabbinic education to meet the needs of rapidly changing Jewish communities, it has tapped two members of its 2017 graduating class to help put its ambitious plans into practice.
An act of consent lies at the heart of the whole rabbinic Jewish enterprise. The rabbis understood the covenant at Sinai to be the foundational moment of the ongoing relationship between God and the Jewish people. In order for the covenant to be valid, Israel must have agreed to it.
Rabbi Toba Spitzer explores the obstacles to prayer posed by stale language about God, and suggests new language that may ease our way in finding connection.
Our first session of Reconstructing for Tomorrow, led by Rabbi Deborah Waxman, began the difficult and exciting task of grappling with the history of the Reconstructionist movement and the questions of Jewish peoplehood in the future.
In our second session of Reconstructing for Tomorrow, we were led in a discussion about the spiritual and tangible ways we can integrate ecological values into our Jewish lives.
Our third Reconstructing for Tomorrow conversation with Rabbi Deborah Waxman focused on unpacking the ideological and practical differences between the Reconstructionist and Reform movements.
The Reconstructionist Network
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
