The rise in antisemitism is a real and growing threat, but the prospect of defining Judaism as a nationality is deeply problematic. The Reconstructionist notion of peoplehood sheds light on the weighty issues at stake.
Shalom Bayit of Bend Oregon is a new affiliate of Reconstructing Judaism. Their story is one of an eclectic, big-tent congregation with a spiritual and informal approach. Members have built a meaningful Jewish community in a city with virtually no history of Jewish life and where nearly everyone is a transplant.
