Virtual Shabbat Box
Your Virtual Shabbat Box holds many ways to celebrate the day. Choose what nurtures you: listen, watch or read.
January 17-18
All of the hostages need our prayers; those we pray are on their way to freedom and a chance to rebuild their lives, those still in captivity and those who didn’t make it out alive. Rabbi Janet Madden’s powerful poem helps channel all these thoughts and emotions.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson writes that, by working together for social justice, communities “embody the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the enduring call of Jewish values to pursue a better world.”
Stanley Levison may not be a household name, but the Jewish New Yorker was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest friends and advisers. Evolve podcast host Bryan Schwartzman writes about what we can learn from their relationship.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Beyond Speech” is today considered one of his most consequential. In it, he talks of “a shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society.” Hear King’s words chanted to traditional haftarah melodies.
January 10-11
Trained chaplains can make a profound difference in difficult situations. Learn about how RRC students train to be chaplains, grow professional skills and engage in deep theological reflection — while serving others.
Kohenet Keshira haLev Fife offers a deeply felt petition to the divine presence to alleviate much of what ails the world. More powerfully, she calls upon each to partner with the divine to “create the world as it could be.”
Rabbi Irwin Keller writes about the Taproot Community and his search to more fully understand the biblical Joseph, who might be understood as having lived a life of gender fluidity. Ultimately, Keller hopes “that we might all be seen in our complexity.”
In his commentary on the final portion of Genesis, Rabbi Lewis Eron explores how “our bodies are like Torah scrolls.”
January 3-4
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., explains how the concept of covenantal community is crucial to understanding what it means to be a Reconstructionist Jew.
Tashmishei mitzvah are objects used to perform a mitzvah. Writer Char Hersh offers blessings for using medical devices, fulfilling the mitzvah of taking care of one’s body.
The largest Reconstructionist gathering since the 2022 convention focused on “the depth and breadth of Reconstructionist engagement with Israel.”
In this podcast, author Myra Sack reflects on her work in grief literacy and her own grief process after the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Havi. She also discusses the importance of observing rituals and finding forgiveness.
2024
December 27-28
Rabbi Lily Solochek teaches that, sometimes, small acts of courage and kindness matter more than heroic deeds from storybooks.
Rabbi Ben Weiner asks how can we understand Hanukkah during a time of war in the Middle East and Ukraine?
Rabbi Amber Powers explores how we celebrate a time of miracles and light when hostages remain underground.
This beautiful song by Rabbi Jonathan Cohen praises light’s multiplier effect.
December 20-21
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer teaches her grandchildren –– who are being raised Catholic –– about the special aspects of Hanukkah and Christmas.
Rabbi Elyse Wechterman explores Hanukkah’s more grown-up stories and what they can tell us about how to find courage today.
Adva Chattler shares a family Hanukkah favorite and cousin to the latke, the aruk. It’s a delicious way to remember the miracle of the oil.
Rabbi Yael Levy offers a different meditation for every day/night of Hanukkah. Each is geared to help us find the infinite light within ourselves.
December 13-14
In preparation for Reconstructing Judaism’s December 15 movement wide virtual convening, Rabbi Elliott Tepperman and Rabbi Rachel Weiss join Rabbi Deborah Waxman for a deeply thoughtful and nuanced conversation.
In this excerpt from her heartbreaking and powerful memoir, author Myra Sack reflects on the first week after the death of her 2-year-old daughter, and the beginnings of rituals her family would observe.
Winter is almost officially upon us, and Rabbi David G. Winship shares his blessing for outer and inner warmth.
In this vivid, gripping midrash, Rabbi Steven Nathan tells the story of Jacob’s restless night before his reunion with Essau. Here, in full cinematic scope, the reader can visualize the dramatic wrestling match with the angel.
December 6-7
Andy Levin, a former Congressman and synagogue president, discusses the election, war in the Middle East, his sources of courage and his love of Reconstructionist Judaism.
Rabbi Bob Gluck meditates on the human fascination with humpback songs and the limits of our knowledge. For insight, he turns to the Patriarch Jacob and theologian Martin Buber.
Rabbi Haviva Ner David’s poem is both a dispatch from a street protest focused on the hostages and a heartfelt prayer.
Rabbi Arlene Berger’s teaching on Parshat Vayetzey highlights Jacob’s request for the bare necessities, which can serve as an example during a season of excessive materialism and consumption.
November 29-30
Rabbi Sandra Lawson discusses Thanksgiving from a Reconstructionist and contemporary perspective.
The Reconstructionist prayerbook reprints this classic New Yorker story about an immigrant home and one girl’s desire for an authentic, American Thanksgiving.
Writer and editor Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer offers prompts to share different experiences of gratitude at your Thanksgiving table.
This Thanksgiving Day prayer focuses on gratitude for “hope in uncertainty.”
November 22-23
Rabbi Jacob Staub explores Abraham’s journey to Mount Moriah. What can we learn from Abraham about how to face the uncertainty and anxiety of this moment?
In a conversation with Reconstructing Judaism, Justin Smolen Rosen shares his Jewish journey and how the Thriving Communities team is serving Reconstructionist communities.
Writer Bryan Schwartzman expresses gratitude for one immigrant in his life. The poet aims, in a small way, to counteract too much dehumanizing language about immigrants.
The founding director of the Jews of Color Sanctuary explains her fascination with Bilhah and Zilpah, two enslaved women who didn’t get speaking roles in the Torah.
November 15-16
In honor of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, Rabbi Sandra Lawson spotlights the Jewish teaching that we are all created in the image of God. Our actions, she writes, must reflect this principle.
This practical list can help you become a better ally to transgender folks.
Invoking the v’ahavta prayer and the work of Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton, Aura Levin Morales’ poem invites the reader to imagine a better world and to set out building it.
These 20–plus essays describe, from a Jewish perspective, practices that citizens employ to defend democracy and, if necessary, resist tyranny.
November 8-9
How do we move beyond bitter divisions or cultivate optimism? Rabbi Deborah Waxman talks with Justin Rosen Smolen about the concept of covenantal community and how it is expressed in the world.
Enjoy these songs of healing and hope today performed by Rabbi Annie Lewis and Rabbi Yosef Goldman — originally recorded during the pandemic but just as relevant today.
In honor of Veteran’s Day, this prayer asks for healing for our veterans and asks that we fulfill our collective responsibility to those who have sacrificed on behalf of the United States.
Rabbi Jonathan Kligler’s commentary on one of the most well-known portions of the Torah — God’s call to Abram to leave his home behind — reminds us that each day presents a chance to grow in awareness and love.
November 1-2
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer’s essay frames defending democracy as a series of spiritual practices informed by Jewish teachings.
This Trisha Arlin poem treats voting as a sacred ritual.
Tareq Abu Hamed, Ph.D., and Rabbi Michael M. Cohen discuss how the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies continues to bring Arabs and Jews together during wartime.
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., and Rabbi William Plevan, Ph.D., dive deep into Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s thinking on democracy and pluralism and why it matters today.
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These resources were drawn from:
- Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
- Hashivenu: Jewish Teachings on Resilience
- Recon Connect Beit Midrash
- Reset: Providing Jewish activists with accessible spiritual practice and teachings
- Ritualwell
- The Center for Jewish Ethics
Previous Virtual Shabbat Boxes by month:
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
