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This Shabbat Box doesn’t contain challah or candles, but rather essays, meditations and other ways for you to engage with Shabbat.
Rabbi Nina Mandel reflects on the soul satisfaction of baking and being creative during the time of a pandemic. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
Alexander Massey assembled the lyrics for this song from phrases in Song of Songs (Shir Hashirim 3:6, 4:1, 4:9). Wonderfully, the words of the chorus refer to the bride as a “sister.” So, while the song is orientated towards a same-sex relationship of two women and a relationship of equals, it can also be sung at a heterosexual wedding, specifically for the bride. Sourced from Ritualwell
Rabbi Deborah Waxman speaks with Rabbi Sara Luria, co-founder of Beloved, a home-based spiritual community in Brooklyn, N.Y. Their conversation explores the power of putting love, nurturing and acceptance at the center of community life. Sourced from Hashivenu: Jewish Teachings on Resilience
The practice of tzedakah/support for the poor is an expression of the Torah’s commitment to tzedek/justice. But its vision of social justice is distant from today’s reality, in which great disparities between rich and poor have been exposed and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Rabbi Mira Wasserman and rabbinical student Armin Langer ask, “When the risk of illness is not fairly distributed, how can we use our resources to advance justice?” Sourced from Reconstructing Judaism Center for Jewish Ethics
Judaism has a beautiful tradition of blessing the children on Friday night. Rakhel Silverman’s resource makes this ritual inclusive for all kinds of families — those that want a gender-neutral traditional version and those that are not the traditional family structure, such as queer chosen families. Sourced from Ritualwell
Looking for Shabbat services? Check out Recon Connect for virtual services and more live, online programs throughout the week.
If you don’t believe in a God who controls our destinies, how does one cultivate “trust” in our futures? Rabbi Jacob Staub explores how Mussar teachers explain “trust,” with a little help from Maimonides. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
A special Father’s Day gift from the staff at Reconstructing Judaism to honor all Dads. The poem, “A Prayer for Dad,” written by Alden Solovy, was taken from his collection, To Bend Light: Jewish Prayers From the Heart and Pen of Alden Solovy. Sourced from Ritualwell
Based on a prompt by Rabbi Tamara Cohen, Maria Pulzetti’s poem explores what it means to be a white Jewish woman in Philadelphia right now, and what do I want it to mean? Sourced from Ritualwell
This meditation was created by the participants in “Creating Resilience: Writing and Spiritual Practice Inspired by Etty Hillesum,” led by Hila Ratzabi. Sourced from Reset: Resilience Practices for Jewish Social Justice Organizations
Portraits in Faith presents Bat Ella Birnbaum and family in concert!
Looking for Shabbat services? Check out Recon Connect for virtual services and more live, online programs throughout the week.
On the brink of Shavuot, Rabbi Vivie Mayer shared insights into the concept of multiple intelligences as it applies to receiving Torah. Sourced from Reconstructionist Judaism: Reconstructionist Voices
Each of the texts traditionally read on Shavuot imagines a radically different engagement with God. Dr. Elsie Stern teaches that, even as we move beyond the intensity of Shavuot, these texts invite us to explore how and when we encounter the holy. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
While our physical campus has been closed due to the pandemic, we still feel a closeness to one another. And so, in May 2020, we gathered virtually for our annual closing circle. Three of our students, Koach Baruch Frazier, Solomon Hoffman and Adam Cerino Jones, put together this video from other members of the college community to create this beautiful musical piece. Sourced from RRC.edu College News
This piece by Rabbis Jessica Rosenberg and Mackenzie Reynolds provides a brief overview of American Jewish history, antisemitism in the 21st century and big questions for challenging assumptions about Jews, whiteness and privilege in the United States. Sourced from Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations
The Torah charges us with responsibilities for stewarding the earth and its creatures. To respond to the corona virus, we have made drastic changes in our day-to-day lives that would have been unthinkable before it struck. In this guide, Rabbi Mira Wasserman and rabbinical student, Armin Langer channel our collective will to change and suggest ways we can avoid a return to our worst abuses of the environment. Sourced from Reconstructing Judaism Center for Jewish Ethics
George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25th, 2020. This Havdalah service by Sam Schauvaney includes quotes from small-business owners in the Twin Cities. Sourced from Ritualwell
Looking for Shabbat services? Check out Recon Connect for virtual services and more live, online programs throughout the week.
Portraits in Faith presents Neshama Carlebach and Rabbi Menachem Creditor in concert!
Imagine the world breathing into you. Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg guides our breath, as if it were the waves on the beach. Sourced from Reset: Resilience Practices for Jewish Social Justice Organizations
Rabbi Deborah Waxman examines the bedtime recitation of the Shema as a resilience practice for adults. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
Rabbi Beni Wajnberg composed the following blessing with the intention to stop, breathe and be present for the sacred action of eating and to contemplate the impact that it has on the world. Sourced from Ritualwell
For those of us sheltering alone, it can be difficult to find the magic of Shabbat while protecting the health and safety of one another. OneTable offers this guide to help the process of finding that special moment to exhale. Sourced from Ritualwell
These resources were drawn from:
Previous Virtual Shabbat Boxes by month:
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
